I admit when a recipe has the word “vegan” in it, I usually run in the other direction. I consider myself a meat lovin’ girl and married a man who doesn’t consider it a meal unless some type of meat is present.
Recently, we had a dinner guest who was vegan and I thought, “What in the world am I going to feed her?” But as it turns out, our worlds are really not that far apart.
Quinoa was the answer. I’ve been dying to make a quinoa dish ever since all of my friends started raving about it. I’ve been butchering the pronunciation of the word “quinoa” for so long (pronounced “KEEN-wa” ) that I figured I owed it a retribution recipe to showcase it.
This Vegan Quinoa and Black Beans cooked up so fast and easy. It has black beans, corn, lime, and cilantro — all of the Mexican flavors that I crave so often.
Although it’s appears and tastes grain-like, quinoa is actually a small seed. It’s full of nutritional benefits and is a complete protein in itself. That must explain why after I ate this dish I was stuffed!
Informing my protein-obsessed husband of its high protein level was all he needed to be convinced. I will say that my natural instinct was to add some grilled chicken to the recipe. But that was just my meat-ingrained mind thinking. The dish absolutely did not need it.
Have I converted to a vegan now?
No. Not yet.
But this Quinoa and Black Bean dish sure did make me think about it…
How about you? Do you eat quinoa?
Christy joined the Tablespoon team to share her recipes and inspire family food fun. Watch her Tablespoon member profile for great new recipes!
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