Teriyaki Shrimp & Quinoa Bowls

I must admit, I've been on a kick lately -- a teriyaki one. I found an incredible "Island Soyaki" bottled sauce at Trader Joe's this past week that continually rocks my world -- all for $2.99. In case you're curious, it's got all the goodness of pineapple juice, soy sauce, sesame seeds, and teriyaki sauce all in one -- it tastes INCREDIBLE. But enough of my splurge, for this dish, any teriyaki-style sauce will do -- just make sure you opt for the low-sodium variety. Trust me, it tastes just as good and you're doing your body a favor. The lightly cooked sugar snap peas only cost $1.99 and are chock full of vitamins. If you don't have quinoa, brown rice is a good alternative since it also has nutrients like fiber to keep you full -- and with microwaveable varieties available now (like Uncle Ben's 90-second rice) you have no excuse. Enjoy!

Servings: 4

What You'll Need:

• 1 lb of raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• You can get these from your grocery store's seafood section. Sometimes they come frozen in a bag (that's fine) but if you'd like to make these right away, get them fresh from the seafood attendant. Some stores even have their attendants peel and devein them for you if you ask (Whole Foods did this; all I had to do was shop around and come back in 10 minutes to pick it up.)
• In case you were wondering, deveining shrimp means the removal of its veins. Sounds kind of stupid until you realize that the digestive tract of the shrimp (yes, sometimes it's full) is usually left in there unless you request them deveined. Don't believe me? Next time you buy raw shrimp, take one and look on the bottom of its belly. See that big brown line to the tail? Next time, give a sh*t and speak up :)
• Pinch of salt & pepper
• Dash of Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup low-sodium teriyaki sauce
• Cooking spray
• 1 bag fresh sugar snap peas
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa

The Step-by-Step

1. Heat a small pot of water.
2. When it starts to boil, add quinoa, stir, and turn down heat to medium. Cover and let cook for about 30 minutes.
3. In the meantime, wash your hands and get to work on the shrimp:
4. Place shrimp in a bowl, sprinkle with salt & pepper, and dash a little bit of olive oil on top. Toss the shrimp with your hands.
5. Wash your hands again.
6. Take each sugar snap pea and cut in half diagonally (just because this looks prettier/more impressive.)
7. Spray a medium-sized skillet or frying pan with cooking spray. Put on stove, and add shrimp when pan has had the chance to heat up (about a minute.)
8. Wait about 3 minutes before stirring the shrimp -- this'll give it a nice sear.
9. Stir in the sugar snap peas, and lower the heat.
10. After about 3 more minutes, add in the teriyaki sauce.
11. To serve, take 1/4 of the cooked quinoa and place on a plate. Top it with some of the shrimp/pea mixture.
12. Enjoy!

You'll thank me later for this one.

xoxo n

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did you know?

Quinoa costs $1.99 per bag at Whole Foods, and is one of the top natural sources of protein? Yea, okay. Knowledge is Power! Make the switch today!

Baked Cod & Black Beans

Yum, right?
This is the first dish I made after accepting Austin's "Eat Your Kitchen First" challenge, and it turned out wonderfully! Not only did it take 20 minutes to get on my kitchen table, but the flavors blended together seamlessly, and it was even better to know that I was eating clean and nutritiously.

Servings: Two (bag your lunch or feed a friend!)

What I found in my kitchen:

• Frozen Cod Fillets (thaw them before cooking, but if you have fresh fish, go for it!)
• Bell Peppers
• Can of Black Beans
• 1 cup dry quinoa (rice works too)
• Optional: Canned Chicken Broth
• Optional: Fajita Seasoning
• Optional: 1 lime

The Step-by-Step:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat 2 cups of chicken broth (or salted water) on the stove. When it starts to boil, add quinoa and lower heat to medium. Let cook for 15 minutes or until "tails" of quinoa separate from the seed (a sign its done.)
3. While quinoa is cooking, heat the black beans in a separate pan on low.
4. Spray a pan with cooking spray. Slice bell peppers and place on pan. Season cod with salt, pepper, and fajita seasoning. Place the fish on the pan next to the peppers. Place pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, until fish is no longer transparent and the pepper slices are nicely roasted.
5. To plate the dish: place 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa in measuring cup. Flip upside down on a plate so it makes a dome shape. Spoon black beans over quinoa. Layer on some roasted pepper slices. Lightly place baked cod filet on top. Slice a lime and put the "icing" on the cake.

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Challenge met. Happily.

xoxo n