recipe: artichoke and spinach quinoa

A few weeks ago, Chad and I revamped our kitchen and eating habits -- we've always eaten reasonably healthy, but we started to realize that we were consuming a LOT of junk food. In New York, I'd usually stop by a grocery store once every few days, and there were always easy takeout options that we went to in a pinch. In Houston, our routine is really different -- we cook a lot more on a day-to-day basis, but since everything isn't in walking distance of our house, we depend a lot on what we have on hand.

Which... eventually became a lot of junk food. We were caught in this cycle of me buying food, Chad not knowing what we had and grabbing less healthy options by default, and then I wouldn't buy as many healthy options because we never ate them... big mess. But a few weeks ago, we decided to make a major effort to be all-around healthier.

So I thought I'd share with you guys one of my new go-to recipes! Quinoa is actually super easy to make -- it only takes 15-20 minutes to cook and it's a whole grain that's packed with fiber. Pair it with some easy staples like artichokes and fresh baby spinach, and you have a quick, simple dish that's perfect for a healthy weeknight dinner!

And, yes, I still totally cheat -- there's still ice cream in our freezer and I'll kick and scream before giving up flavor-blasted goldfish (love them!). But overall, these are good, healthy steps in the right direction!

Artichoke and Spinach Quinoa

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped baby spinach

1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel

1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts

1 cup vegetable stock

2 cups uncooked quinoa

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Water

DIRECTIONS

Before cooking, rinse the quinoa thoroughly using a mesh strainer.

Cook the quinoa according to package directions, but replace one cup of water with vegetable stock (so, if the package calls for 4 cups of water, use 1 cup of vegetable stock and 3 cups of water). After the quinoa is cooked, stir in the artichokes, baby spinach, olive oil, garlic powder and lemon juice. Leave the mixture on low heat, stirring frequently, for about 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Serve warm or at room temperature.