Quinoa: a species of goosefoot

Prior to moving to New York I was a pretty healthy eater. Cooking was a stress reliever for me in college, so I did it often and as a result ate nutritious meals most of the time. This cookbook was my go-to...the granola recipe is to die for, plus it makes the whole house/apartment smell scrumptious. Since moving to the land of bagels and pizza though my eating habits have gone slightly downhill. It's just so much more convenient sometimes to walk around the corner and grab something than to lug bags of groceries home. After having a particularly unhealthy eating week (see Tuesday's post) I have vowed that from here on out I am going to try a new recipe at least once a week in order to get back in to the swing of things. Given that it is now Thursday and I did not feel like braving the after work line at Trader Joe's this late in the week, I had to make due with what was already in my cabinet, i.e. Girl Scout cookies, an abnormal amount of spices, and a bag of quinoa that was purchased at least 3 months ago. Despite its vegetarian health benefits I find quinoa to be bland and boarder-line disgusting, but it seemed to be my only option. Supposedly you can treat the weird little food like pasta. I tried it with vodka sauce and veggies a while ago and did not see the comparison, but decided to give it another shot. This time I stuck a chopped up onion in the pot when it was cooking in hopes of giving it more flavor and when it was finished added some butter, salt, pepper and an ungodly amount of parmesan. I'm now full and protein enriched, but it was still boring...as in I might as well just have had plain lettuce and dressing. I still have a huge pot of it left though, so maybe I'll attempt to get more creative this weekend. A quinoa burrito perhaps? 


*Speaking of making things more interesting I found a pair of black lacey, flowery tights to go with my dress for tomorrow. Pictures of the whole ensemble (and maybe a camera-shy boyfriend thrown in too) to come!