The sun is shining and it’s finally starting to get warm in Toronto, and for some reason that made me want greasy fried things… So I drove past the McDonalds that sits 3 blocks from my house and came home to make this bowl of yumminess for lunch. This is a spin on fried rice that is packed with protein, fibre and healthy fat! This will definitely float into my rotation now that I’ve tried it, and I think it would make a fantastic family dinner, beefed up with some shrimp!

I generally cook a pot of my favourite quinoa once per week because it tastes great in leftovers (it has a nice, firm texture but doesn’t harden like rice when it’s cooled so it even tastes good on the go, unheated) and I like to use it with leftover meat for the kiddos’ school lunches. Sometimes there is even some left for me! Because this quinoa recipe includes some seasoning, you can skimp on (or skip) the sodium-laden soy sauce and fish sauce. Or, have a party and throw it all in there! It’s up to you.

QUINOA “FRIED RICE”

serves 2

• 1 cup cooked quinoa (recipe here – it takes just 15 minutes & you can prepare the rest while it cooks)
• 2-3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tbsp. coconut oil
• 1-2 cups favourite chopped veggies, such as green peas, bell peppers, snow peas, mushrooms
• soy sauce and/or fish sauce to taste
• sesame oil for drizzling

1. As quinoa cooks, heat half your cooking oil over high heat in skillet or wok. 2. Add eggs and scramble in pan about 30 seconds until they are cohesive but still a bit wet; remove & set aside. 3. Add remaining cooking oil & heat; then toss veggies (if you are using cold, leftover quinoa add it now so it warms) and cook 2-3 minutes until tender-crisp. 4. Return eggs to pan and cook 1 minute, tossing. Watch the quinoa as it will stick. 5. Season with fish sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil, if desired. Eat!

I recommend you drizzle sriracha on top. And, despite the photos, I did not successfully make it through the entire bowl using chopsticks. If you thought rice with chopsticks was tricky, you haven’t seen anything yet.