Kate's Colorful Quinoa Cakes

     I really love making bean and grain patties/cakes filled with spices and herbs! They are perfect anytime of the day - breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even a snack! Not accounting for the vegetables, when I calculated the amount of protein and fiber in the cakes (accounting only for the beans & quinoa), each of my colorful quinoa cakes has about 4g of protein and 4 g of fiber - wahoo!! Your body will thank you and you will be pleasantly satisfied!

Colorful Quinoa Cakes

(...you'll see why I named them "colorful!"...)

Mise En Place
(means "Having Everything Ready to Cook")

The amazing red QUINOA - love this whole grain!

Sauteed Veggies - full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, & fiber!

Mash beans with a fork before adding to your vegetable mixture.

Our lovely mixture - ready to be shaped into cakes!

Colorful Quinoa Cakes - ready to be cooked - light on the oil please!

Cook about 4-5 minutes on each side.

A Colorful Quinoa Cake served alongside Roasted Red Potatoes & Broccoli
tossed with minced garlic, balsamic vinaigrette, a hint of olive oil, sea salt &
black pepper ~ garnished with toasted walnuts.

Recipe time!

Ingredients:

1/2 medium size onion, about 1 cup, small dice
2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup red bell pepper, small dice

3/4 cup carrots, small dice

3/4 cup cauliflower, diced into small florets

1/2 cup freshly diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups collard greens, chopped finely, stems included

1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced

1 tsp coconut oil

1 cup cooked quinoa, cook according to package

1 15 oz can black beans, or 2 cups cooked beans, mashed

3/4 tsp sea salt

3/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

Directions:

1. First, ensure you have your mise en place (everything in place and ready to cook). Heat the coconut oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Saute onion and minced garlic for 3 minutes until translucent. Add red bell peppers and saute for 2 more minutes. Add carrots and saute for 2 more minutes. Continue to saute each vegetable individually for 2 minutes each (cauliflower, tomatoes, collard greens, and scallions). 

2. Turn heat to low and stir in cooked quinoa, mashed beans, sea salt, black pepper, basil, and rosemary. Cook mixture for an additional 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let cool before shaping into patties.

3. Form 3-inch patties until mixture is gone (will make about 10 patties).

4. In the same skillet, cook each patty for 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown.

5. Thoroughly enjoy each bite of quinoa goodness!

6. Store leftover patties in the refrigerator. Simply reheat leftover patties over stove for 5 minutes.

Yum Yum to my Tum Tum!