Day 2: Vegetarian Quinoa Chili

Courtesy of ww.twopeasandtheirpod.com/ 

Day 2 out of 7 of Ariel's home cooking adventure. Day 1 was a great success, providing me with delicious leftover pork chops with apples and onion for lunch on Day 2. Continuing with the healthy, simple meal theme, I decided to cook up a new favorite chili recipe of mine which I discovered on Two Peas and Their Pod. I love that this chili is packed full of veggies and protein rich quinoa. One of my problems with other veggie chili recipes is that it can be more soup-like due to the lack of ground beef. The quinoa comes in and adds this great texture, in addition to the protein punch. It really mimics that chunky beef chili consistency. I love that quinoa is being incorporated into more and more recipes (ancient grains revolution)! And not all quinoa recipes "taste like a dirty old tree branch" (see video below).

This recipe includes a plethora of veggies: carrots, celery, zucchini, onion, and peppers. This recipe is great in that you can totally swap out any veggies for others that you prefer (I omitted the celery). And it really comes together in a cinch. Plus you have leftovers the next day (which tastes even better). I think one of the keys to successfully eating at home is to cook meals that will provide you with some extras, so you're not constantly cooking every night or making lunches everyday. 

This quinoa chili really hit the spot on the cold winter night. I served it up with some blue corn chips (whole grain party!)