Spinach Salad with Red Quinoa Cakes

Little by little I have been cutting back on the meat and upping the grains & vegetables. I was a little afraid the Nudge would not like it, at all.
He's been surprisingly receptive so I thought when I talked to him about my plan, he thought that meant more pasta, rice and breads.

For the last year or so, I have been making him breakfast smoothies and jar salads and it's been successful so far, but as the weather gets cooler, I notice that he's asking for healthy snacks.

Luckily he loves apples (with PB) and eggs, so that's what I pack for him.

Last night I doubled down with a spinach salad and red quinoa cakes. Except for a few snips of bacon, it was healthy and very tasty.

While the recipe called for couscous, I was out so I subbed in red quinoa.
Why red quinoa?
Red quinoa provides 17 to 24 percent of the RDA of fiber for women and 13 to 24 percent of the RDA of fiber for men. That's double the amount of yellow.

Yes, I know it doesn't look picture pretty, not as nice as yellow but it is a better healthier choice.

If you have never made a warm spinach salad, it is easy to do as long as you remember to wilt the spinach last.

This was the timeline.......
1. Cook the quinoa as you would rice. Equal parts water to seed. Cook for 15 minutes. I use my microwave with great success.
2. While the quinoa is cooling, cut the bacon and the mushrooms into 1/2" slices.
3. Make the quinoa cake mixture and let it rest in the fridge. Will be easier to work with.
4. Wash and stem the spinach and dry thoroughly using a salad spinner.

15 minutes before you wilt the salad, you make the patties.
I used an ice cream scoop to get them into the frying pan and a spatula to flatten them into a patty.

Quinoa & Feta Patties
makes 4-5

* 1/2 cup quinoa with a 1/2 cup water or broth
* teaspoon salt (if using water)

* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/4 cup fresh packed flat-leaf parsley
* 1/4 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
* 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
* 2 tablespoons feta cheese crumbles
* oil for frying
* salt & pepper to taste


* sliced red onion, about 7 slices
* 1 large bunch regular spinach, not baby
* 4-5 mushrooms, sliced
* 3 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/3" pieces

1. Bring the salted water or broth to a simmer, add the quinoa, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Leave the lid on while the quinoa cools.
2. Chop the chickpeas fine, either with a small chopper or a knife. Do the same to the parsley.
3. In a bowl add the garlic, parsley, chickpeas, eggs, feta cheese and salt & pepper.
4. When quinoa is cool to the touch, add the oil to a nonstick frying pan and using a medium ice cream scoop or a 1/4 cup, scoop the quinoa mixture into the hot oil & flatten with a spatula. Fry both sides until a crust forms and then move them to a warming oven.
5. Wipe out the oil in the pan and add the bacon pieces. Saute until crispy brown. In the bacon fat, saute the onions, then the mushrooms and remove to a paper towel to drain.
6. Add a few teaspoon corn oil and quickly saute the spinach leaves until wilted, remove to a platter, top with the onions, bacon and mushrooms.
7. Add 2 patties to a dish with half the spinach salad. Serve.

Enjoy!

Nutrition on Quinoa