Yummy Summer Recipe: Quinoa Bowls

I love food. I love looking at recipes, cooking, and most of all, EATING good food. We try to eat pretty healthy around the Sharpe household, so I'm always on the hunt for delicious, yet healthy recipes. Thankfully none of us, including Mckenna, are picky, so it leaves a world of possibility. I like food that is easy, quick, and includes a variety of colors and textures, as well as being packed with healthy fats, protein, and carbs. Protein is a big one for us as I try to eat around 110g a day and Ronnie tries to eat around 180g a day.

In my daily scouring of Pinterest this morning, I stumbled upon quinoa bowl recipes (search sometime on Pinterest for "Quinoa Bowl Recipes". You'll drool. I promise). I found a million different, mouth-watering recipes for "quinoa bowls" - essentially quinoa, in a bowl, with a variety of different additional ingredient options.

This picture caught my eye (because, well, how couldn't it?!):

It linked to this recipe: 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

• 1/4 tsp chili powder (mild)
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (spicy)
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• Salt

OPTIONAL TOPPING INGREDIENTS

• Grated cheddar or jack cheese
• Sour cream or Greek yogurt
• Pico de gallo or salsa
• Diced seeded tomatoes

• Hot sauce or sriracha
• Sliced avocado
• Guacamole
• Corn

I didn't have many of those things in my fridge, and didn't want to use some of them, so I did what any good fridge-scavenger would do...I dug through my leftovers and made it up as I went along...I'm pretty technical like that when it comes to cooking ;-)

In my bowl I included:

2 oz Cooked Quinoa

1/8 c Diced Avocado

1/3 c "Santa Fe" mix (a frozen bag of black beans, corn, peppers and onions)

4 oz Shredded Chicken

1/8 c Shredded Mexican Cheese

1 tbsp Organic Salsa

Grams from Fat: 13; Protein: 32; Carbohydrate: 27

Total Calories: 363

I mixed together the quinoa, Santa Fe mix, Chicken, and cheese, and microwaved it until it was hot. Then stirred in the salsa and avocado.

I thought it would be good. But it far exceeded my expectations. Ronnie didn't want any when I told him what I was making, as he had other leftovers in mind, but I could tell he had MAJOR lunch envy when he looked at what Mckenna and I got to eat for lunch. I could eat it for one meal a day, at least for a few weeks, before getting sick of it. Mckenna devoured her whole bowl (at least what wasn't on the floor - warning if you make it for a toddler: it was probably the messiest meal she's had in a long time). 

We don't very often share recipes here, but I will try to get better...as it's always nice to make a recipe that someone else has already been the guinea pig for!! 

Have you had a yummy quinoa bowl at home or at a restaurant? If so, hook a sister up with some recipe ideas by posting it in the comment section!

Thankful Thursday: Partner & Monsoons

It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. Please take this time to share with us what you're thankful for as well. If you have a blog expressing your thankfulness, please share the link! Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:

Mandi's List:

I’m thankful for a good parenting partner. Ronnie is a better daddy than I am a mommy, by far!! I am so thankful my parenting partner is not only a great daddy, but a great model for how I can be a better mommy.

I’m thankful for cheese…specifically pepper jack. It is so yummy!! I could eat it all day…but then I would weigh 2483290 lbs, so I do ration it a bit ;-)

I’m thankful for cloudy days. Summers here can be HOT, but cloudy days make for a nice little break and give us the ability to be outside more throughout the day. We’ve had two cloudy mornings this week, and it’s been glorious. Mckenna and I went to the zoo both mornings.
Ronnie's List:

I'm thankful for monsoons. I absolutely love the power and awesomeness of Arizona monsoons. They come through quickly, rain down like crazy, maybe snap a few trees in half and then they're gone! It of course cools things off in the summer, which is nice, but just taking in the storm visually is what I love.

I'm thankful for cashews. I've been snacking on a lot of cashews lately and I love every minute of it. The crispy yet soft nature combined with the saltiness is simply awesome. I probably shouldn't eat them quite as much as I do, but I do not have much self-control around them.

I'm thankful for more family in town. My mother-in-law's brother will be spending some time in AZ this summer and it's going to be very nice having Uncle Brad around. Mckenna met Uncle Brad for the first time yesterday, and I can already tell that she'll warm up fast to him. He's a fun guy and I look forward to getting to know him better myself.

What are you thankful for today?

Mckenna Monday: Big Girl Bed

Usually Monday's are my time to post updates, but Mckenna is really excited to share a new update in her life, so, here she is...

When my mommy, daddy, Nana, Papi, and I went camping, my mommy got me a special new bed, a toddler cot, for the tent. I usually sleep in a pack n play when I'm not in my bed, but mommy said it wouldn't fit in a tent. So I got a cool new bed. I practiced sleeping in it one time before we left and I did great. And then I did a good job sleeping in it when we were living like animals in the woods.

So when we got home my mommy and daddy asked me if I wanted to turn my bed into a big girl bed. I said, "WHAT? You make my bed a big girl bed!?" And they did! They took off the front of my bed and put on a little bar. Then mommy and I went and bought new sheets. I wanted sparkly sheets, but we found some blue ones that were a little shiny, so we bought those.

For a long time now my door has been opening when it's time to get up. Before I would yell and yell for them from my bed, sometimes for a long time, until it was time to wake up at 6AM. So magic started opening my door when I could get up. That way, if I roll over and the door's open, I know they'll come. If I roll over and the door's closed, I know I should roll back over and go back to sleep.

Well when we made my big girl bed, magic still opens my door. I look over and if magic opened my door, then I get up and can go into my mommy and daddy's room and if I kiss them on the lips, they wake up too. But if my door is closed I don't get out of my bed.

For the past week I have done really well. I only get out of bed if the door is open. This morning I got a little confused because I yelled and said I was awake and no one said anything back so I went into mommy and daddy's room and my mommy made me go back to my bed, but she was nice and laid with me til it was time to wake up. Hmm...maybe I should try that again! Wait, no, my mommy said, "no no no, we stay in our bed til the door opens." Well, maybe I can give it a shot. I like to try things at least once to see if they'll say, "yes" or "no."

My favorite thing about my new bed is that mommy and daddy sit or lay on it with me! Before my mommy sometimes would climb into my crib with me to make me giggle. But now every night I lay in bed, and we read my book in there! And my animals have a place to sleep too. Oh and I think it's pretty fun to get in and out all by myself!!!

Anyways, I'm really excited about my new bed!