Sauteed & Buttery Vegan Quinoa with Okra

A perfect side dish for any meal. In addition to being delicious, Quinoa is a bit of a super food. High in protein, fiber and vitamins and minerals necessary to a healthy, balanced vegan diet. A good source of magnesium, Vitamin B6, Vitamin E, phosphorus, iron, copper, zinc, and manganese, you would never know with how tasty this stuff is. Sauteed in “butter” with peas, carrots and okra, you will love this delicious and nutritious side dish.

You Will Need:

• 1 1/2 Cups Fully cooked Quinoa
• 1 Cup Frozen or Fresh Okra
• 1 Cup Frozen mixed Peas and Carrots
• 1 Medium Onion (Diced)
• 1 Tbs. Vegetable Bouillon Paste
• 1 Tbs. Dried (fresh works great, too!) Parsley
• 1 Tsp Soy or Non-Dairy Butter (olive oil works well, too.)
• 1/3 Tsp. Fresh Cracked Pepper
• Salt to taste.

Directions :

1. In a heated pan with butter, saute onions until translucent. Add about a teaspoon of water and mix in the vegetable bouillon paste. Continue to cook.
2. Add the Okra. If it’s fresh, cook for a few minutes before continuing. Add the peas and carrots and cook until all the vegetables are starting to soften.



3. Add the Quinoa, pepper, parsley and salt (if desired) and cook for only a minute. You don’t want to over cook the Quinoa, you’ll just have mush. Serve with a tossed green salad and your favorite vegan burger!

lovely vegan fridge packed with goodies!

Whether the class will be re-instated or not remains to be seen, but here’s a crash course in vegan nutrition for anyone who wants information on vegan sources of protein, calcium, iron, vitamin B12, and other nutrients. Don’t worry; you won’t be tested on this information. There’s no homework either, but it can’t hurt to take notes anyway.

How Do Vegans get their Protein?

Every vegan has heard this question at least once. Some people still seem to think that meat is the only “food” that contains protein. Actually, almost every food contains protein, so it’s nearly impossible not to get enough if you’re consuming an adequate amount of calories. Soybeans are packed with protein and essential amino acids. Other beans as well as nuts, seeds, mushrooms, broccoli, walnuts, quinoa, whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, and corn are also good protein sources.

Calcium Without Cruelty

Cows don’t have to suffer in order for people to get calcium. It’s abundant in collard greens, kale, broccoli, beans, sesame tahini, and almonds. It can also be found in calcium-fortified soy or rice milk, orange juice, and tofu.

Fish-Free Omega-3s

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for heart, brain, skin, and joint health. Fortunately, you can get them without all the cholesterol and toxins found in fish. Flaxseeds, walnuts, and canola oil are good vegan sources of omega-3s. Flaxseeds should be ground up since some of their nutritional value is lost if they’re eaten whole.

Iron for Vegans

Iron-rich foods include spinach, beans, black-eyed peas, lentils, chickpeas, oatmeal, dried fruits, nuts, sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast, molasses, quinoa, and millet. Vitamin C helps increase iron absorption, so for optimal health, consume foods that are rich in both nutrients, such as dark-green, leafy vegetables.

Vitamin B12 for Vegans

Leading health experts encourage everyone to take a multivitamin or supplement to get ample amounts of vitamin B12. It’s also found in fortified nutritional yeast, cereals, and soy milks as well as in some meat analogues. See PCRM.org for more information about vitamin B12.

Vegan Superfoods!

To get an array of nutrients, include vegan “super foods” like avocados, carrots, sweet potatoes, mangos, orange melons, berries, and tomatoes in your diet on a regular basis. They’re high in various vitamins and minerals and benefit our bodies in a multitude of ways.

Vegan Vitamins

Most health experts encourage people—vegans and meat-eaters alike—to take a multivitamin to ensure that they get all the nutrients they need. Some vitamins are made with gelatin—which is animal bones, skin, hooves, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage, boiled together—but many health food stores and vegan companies like Pangea sell vegan supplements and multivitamins.

No one can live on potato chips, unfrosted pop tarts, Goldberg Peanut Chews, and ramen noodles alone. A healthy vegan diet should include a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and other wholesome plant-based foods. Whenever I start to eat too many sugary snacks and processed foods, I remind myself that I’m a “representative” of a vegan diet and that I should set a healthy example for future vegans. A balanced vegan diet gives me all the energy I need to tackle meat-eaters who want to argue about vegan nutrition.

The mere utterance of the p-word sends many a vegan into abyssal annoyance. The fascination non-vegans seem to have with protein and “getting enough” is a curious phenomenon with roots buried deep in pure ignorance about where one can acquire this dietary darling. Gather around, huddled and curious masses and allow me to introduce you to my dear friend, quinoa.

Beautiful quinoa in a bowl

This teeny li’l grain packs a ridiculously mighty protein punch. A cup of quinoa has 24 grams of complete protein, 48% of the daily recommended value (for adults and children 4 and older). That’s more than a Junior Whopper with cheese and mayo (16 grams), a 10 piece chicken McNugget (23.8 grams), three large hard-boiled eggs (18.9 g), or a slice and a half of Dominos pepperoni pizza (20.9 g). With these few facts under my vegan defense intellectual tool belt, I can’t help but stifle my chuckles when a vaguely aspiring cud gnosher tells me the only hurdle in their cruelty-free dietary journey is that they need their protein and “the only source of that is meat”. It’s sad that most people don’t know that you can even get protein from non-animal sources and I having thought that way for 20 years.

And this ain’t just any old run of the mill protein. Quinoa is teeming with complete proteins, proteins that contain all the essential amino acids. This means no need for combing proteins (i.e. one bean dish plus one rice dish equals one combined protein feast). It’s a common misconception that to get in their complete proteins, vegans have to sit down at every meal and tally up this amino acid here, another amino acid there until all AA’s are accounted for. I’ve heard many an aspiring vegan/vegetarian explain they just don’t have the patience for such a (superfluous) task. Pish, posh, Vegan Would-Be! The vegan banquet table is teeming with complete protein fare (beans, soy, almonds, whole wheat bagels, oatmeal, etc.), and quinoa’s no exception.

Many of the things that give quinoa the right to sit at the cool kid’s table in Healthy High cafeteria revolves around what it doesn’t have. It doesn’t have loads of saturated or trans fats. It doesn’t have sugar. It is easy to find organic so isn’t swimming with hormones or pesticides. It won’t give you cancer if you eat too much of it. It won’t give you E. coli or salmonella if you don’t cook it long enough. It won’t give you heart disease. It can be stored for eons without spoiling.

What is one to do with this curious little crunchy grain? I’m a fan of mixing it in with salad dressings to boost my favorite leafy greens and mixing some in with the morning oatmeal is an easy way to start off right in the a.m. Another fave recipe of mine is Indian-spiced quinoa with sweet peas and pine nuts. When topped with some curried lentils and sweet potatoes, it’s like indulging in a delight fit for the gods and goddesses.

So stock up, my “protein deficient” comrades – quinoa is here to quell your woes and fend of those inquiries into the source of all that needed protein! Not only is it good for your bod, it’s great at putting those skeptics in their place while at the same time giving you the chance to drop some basic nutritional knowledge.