Quinoa Pilaf With Salmon and Asparagus

One of the things that we have discovered is that we can live quite happily without (white) rice and pasta. We, instead, eat a lot of bulgur, couscous, tofu noodles, and quinoa. All of these are lower carb alternatives with lower glycemic indices, and so process much more slowly than over processed white rice or any kind of pasta.

As mentioned before, we also are trying to eat more fish and leaner meats.  This is another salmon recipe, although I think next time I'll bake the salmon with some seasonings. We didn't mix the salmon in with the pilaf, since all of the carbs are in the pilaf and that might preclude us having extra servings of the fish.  So, instead I prepared it on the side and served it on top of the pilaf.  This is the version that I prepared last night, but does not include the changes I would make next time.

From Betty Crocker 30 minute meals for diabetes:

Quinoa pilaf with salmon and asparagus


For the quinoa:

1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups water
1 vegetable bouillon cube

For the pilaf/salmon:

4 cups water
1 lb salmon filets
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
20 fresh asparagus spears, cut diagonally into 2-in pieces
4 medium green onions, sliced
1 cup frozen sweet peas, thawed
1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
1/2 tsp dried dill weed

1. Rinse quinoa thoroughly by placing in a fine-mesh strainer and hold under cold running water until water runs clear (about 2 minutes); drain well.

2.  To cook quinoa:  In 2-quart saucepan, heat 2 cups water and the bouillon cube to boiling over high heat. Add quinoa; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or until water is absorbed (it always seems to take longer than this for me....)

3.  Meanwhile in a 12-inch skillet, heat 4 cups water to boiling over high heat (I used much less, and didn't really like poaching the salmon in this much water... Might try less water and a little white wine next time, or baking the salmon). Add salmon, skin side up; reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 10-12 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork.

4. Meanwhile, in another skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Add asparagus and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Stir in green onions; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in peas and tomatoes; cook 1 minute.

5.  Gently stir quinoa, lemon-pepper seasoning and dill weed into asparagus mixture.  Cover and cook 2 minutes or until combined.  Serve about 1 cup of quinoa pilaf topped with salmon filet.

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Since this meal was pretty high in carb (about 38 grams per serving) we finished this with a large green salad and that was dinner. It was pretty filling, and we both really liked the pilaf. I think that the pilaf would be a great side dish to other meals, and would have been better if the fish had been better prepared.

Weeknight dinner

Tonight's dinner was easy, but not very exciting - taco salad from a kit, but with some extra veggies in the salad (radishes, bell peppers) and using ground turkey instead of ground beef.  Big meal, lots of protein, but low fat. Oh, and using the low sodium taco seasoning mix. Not bad.


Last night's dinner, however, was fabulous.  When we started this journey last May, I didn't eat fish at all, and was a little in shock when I realized that making diet changes to help Robert's cholesterol would mean more chicken, more pork, more fish, and much less red meat.  Since then we have been doing just that - red meat maybe one time per week, and lots and lots of fish and poultry in between.  For instance, have pretty much eliminated hamburgers and replaced them with salmon burgers (Robert's preference) and turkey burgers (my preference). Hot dogs are now  either turkey dogs (my preference) or 99% fat free Hebrew National all Beef Hot dogs (Robert's preference).


One of the hardest things for me about this lifestyle change has been meal planning - how do we find enough to eat without having a large portion of the plate taken up by rice or pasta or bread or something like that.  We have learned, through a lot of trial and error, that if we have a veggie and a salad (which we can eat in almost unending quantities) to go with the protein, we can find enough to eat. Also, eating lower fat chicken or pork or fish means that we can have seconds on that without feeling guilty about eating stuff we shouldn't.  This was the hardest part of the changes we have implemented, but now it just makes sense to us.


Anyhow, last night's dinner was walnut-crusted salmon, spicy green-beans with carmelized onions, and salad from a bag.  Both of these are from Betty Crocker 30 Minute Meals for Diabetes (one of our "old standards" for cookbooks).  Recipes follow:


Walnut-crusted salmon:

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
3 Tbsp finely chopped walnuts
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
3 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp honey
4 4-oz salmon filets

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Combine bread crumbs, walnuts, olive oil, and thyme leaves in a small bowl and mix.

In another small bowl, mix mustard and honey. Spread over tops of salmon pieces. Sprinkle with bread crumb mixture, pressing gently so crumbs adhere. Place on cookie sheet

Bake 12-14 minutes or until salmon flakes easily with fork and topping is lightly browned.


Spicy Green Beans with Carmelized Onions


1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Large onion, thinly sliced
1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
2 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes


In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion; cook 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender and light golden brown. Remove onion from skillet.


To same skillet, add remaining ingredients. Cook 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until beans are crisp tender. Stir in onions, cook until thoroughly heated.