I love making pilafs for weeknight dinners because it is so easy to prepare. In under 30 minutes, you can put a perfectly delicious pilaf together. And the best part is that there are a ton of ways you can innovate with the flavors by using different veggies and grains. Cooking a pilaf is also probably the easiest way to include something healthy in your diet – in any pilaf recipe swap the white rice out for a whole grain such as brown rice, millets or cracked wheat!
There is something very appealing about a Mexican burrito bowl – there are so many different flavors and colors that come together. For someone new to Mexican cuisine, a burrito bowl is a simple combination of rice, black/pinto beans, veggies and guacamole! All I did here was swap the cilantro lime rice out for quinoa and I had this amazingly healthy, protein rich, super filling brunch/lunch/dinner recipe! Sometimes, trying out a different cuisine is an amazing way to make a home-cooked meal really interesting! Different spices and cooking styles add in different flavors.
Pongal is an absolutely easy one-dish meal that can be put together really quickly, It is wholesome, healthy and nutritious – Rice and lentils combined with really mild spices like pepper and cumin! I always look to add some whole grains in my diet – and hence I swapped the rice out for the cracked wheat! Believe me, the taste is still amazing! 🙂 Another thing I love to do is sneak in some vegetables – hence I added the cucumber. Now you might ask why cucumber? And there is no specific reason for that – I add in whatever veggies I can such as spinach, tomatoes or anything else I can get a hold of in my refrigerator. I have a quinoa-spinach pongal recipe already up on the blog! Check it out 🙂
Did you know that whole-grains and non-starchy vegetables are some of the best food choices to make to help with diabetes? Learn more about what food choices to make at this page.
For a long time Cluster beans or Gorikayi/Guvar was one vegetable that I wouldn’t willingly pick up at the grocery store unless someone forced me to 🙂 It was not that I had had a bad experience with it – on the other hand I had tasted several tasty variants of cluster beans curry. Unfortunately I could never replicate the taste successfully 😛 I have not given up on creating a perfect guvar curry – but for now I definitely have a hands down favorite poha recipe with Guvar 🙂
