How to get lots of protein on a vegetarian diet

Last week I met up with a friend of mine who 5 weeks ago gave birth to two beautiful twin boys. She has struggled to breastfeed the boys and the doctor informed her that one of the reasons she has struggled is because she doesn’t have enough protein in her diet. You see she is a vegetarian and that is something that she has always struggled with, in fact during her pregnancy it got so bad that she had to start eating meat just to be able to keep up with providing her body with enough protein to help grow those little boys. 

Now I remember what it was like when Morgan was 5 weeks old, so I can only begin to imagine how hard it must be for her with two, plus as her husband was way things were very stressful. So Chris and I decided that we would go over and give her a hand with the boys and provide a dinner that would help give her the protein she needed without having to compromise her diet.

Thankfully it didn’t take long to decide how to do that because it was a dish that was already on my menu for the week, Southwest Quinoa Salad a double dosage of protein goodness.

Southwest Quinoa Salad

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced

2 chili peppers, chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Wash the quinoa under cold running water 

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, peppers and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.

Mix quinoa into the saucepan with the onions and fry for 1-2 minutes. 

Add the broth and season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,

Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. 

Mix in the black beans and cilantro. Serve warm or cold.