Thursday, March 29, 2012

All You Need is Love

I had the pleasure of watching the movie 'The Help' recently and am profoundly impressed with it's portrayal of the individual and society.  It is a beautiful movie that evokes great emotions and inspires courage and hope. 

It reminded me of how selfish and ugly people can be, but how we can emerge as better individuals through our thoughts, attitudes and actions.  We can rise from being mere mortals to enlightened souls if only we allow our own inner light to guide us while on this journey called life.  It all starts and ends with love.  First, accept yourself, love yourself.  And then spread the love.

With that in mind, let us now venture into our kitchen and make ourselves something healthy to eat - fancy some Quinoa?  Quinoa (keen-wah)  is being touted as a superfood, being a protein-rich, gluten-free whole grain.  It's easy to cook and can be added to just about anything.  Let's throw some things together and make ourselves a delicious healthy salad. 

Quinoa Salad

1 cup cooked quinoa - soak in water for 10 minutes, drain water and rinse, then cook in vegetable broth until done

Add to this:
-Finely chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, jalapeno (optional - hot)
-Finely chopped dates and walnuts
-a few drops of lemon juice
-garnish with coriander.

No salad dressings required - just dig in !

Variations : You may add avocado, boiled potatoes, bell peppers, even pineapple for flavor and to get those fruits and veggies in. 
This salad can also be seasoned as follows:  Heat a tsp of oil in a pan, add a half a tsp of mustard seeds.  When the mustard seeds start crackling, add 2 curry leaves, a few coarsely chopped peanuts and a pinch of hing (asafoetida) to the oil.  Whole red chillies may be added for extra heat.  Pour this seasoning over the salad and mix.  Eat right away, with yogurt, or as-is, it is SO good!!