Quinoa Made 3 Ways: Breakfast Porridge, Curry Balls, Feta Salad

{This post is sponsored by ALDI. Visit the store nearest you to experience the difference.}

Weekdays can be hectic! That’s why I enjoy “batch cooking” meals. I love SimplyNature Organic Quinoa because you can make it ahead of time, easily change up the flavors and ingredients and the quinoa keeps you feeling full for hours. Did you know that you don’t have to pay full price for fresh, quality, healthy, and even organic groceries? I’m excited to share three quinoa recipes made with groceries I picked up at my local ALDI.

ALDI has the most amazing store brands, like SimplyNature, Never Any!, Fit & Active and liveGFree. I created each of these recipes with products from the SimplyNature line, fresh produce and seasonings and herbs from ALDI. High quality food at an amazing price!

Quinoa Breakfast Porridge is a great alternative to oatmeal and it packs in a lot of protein.

• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 1-2

INGREDIENTS

• 2¼ cups Friendly Farms Almond Milk
• ¾ cups uncooked SimplyNature Organic Quinoa
• 1 tbsp SimplyNature Almond Butter
• 1 chopped persimmon
• 1 tbsp Southern Grove Dried Cranberries
• 3 chopped Southern Grove Walnuts
• 1 tbsp SimplyNature Organic Maple Syrup

INSTRUCTIONS

• Pour 2 cups of milk into a saucepan over high heat.
• Bring milk to a boil, add quinoa and reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until the milk has been absorbed.
• Remove from heat, add ¼ cup of milk and the almond butter. Stir and place the quinoa in a bowl.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and enjoy.

Curry Quinoa Balls

This mixture holds together well and is a great base for any number of flavor combinations. I serve it made into crispy panko covered balls as a light meal with salad, tomato salsa and a lime cashew cream.

• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr. 5 minutes

Yield: 12-20 balls

Ingredients

For the balls:

• 1/2 cup SimplyNature Organic Quinoa
• 2 medium sized sweet potatoes peeled and chopped
• 1 spring onion finely chopped
• Handful of cilantro chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 2 SimplyNature Organic Cage-free Eggs
• 1 cup panko crumbs

For the salsa:

• 2-3 tomatoes diced
• 1 spring onion finely chopped
• Handful of cilantro chopped
• 1 tsp SimplyNature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp raw sugar

For the cashew cream:

• 1/2 cup Specially Selected Deluxe Whole Cashews soaked for at least two hours or overnight
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp SimplyNature Organic Ground Cumin

Instructions

• Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
• Boil sweet potato in salted water until soft. Drain and mash. Add cooked quinoa, spring onion, cilantro, cumin seeds, curry powder, one egg and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
• Roll small handfuls of mixture into balls. Set up two bowls, one with whisked egg and the other with panko crumbs. Pass each ball through egg then panko crumbs.
• The balls can then be cooked straight away or refrigerated to cook later.
• When you’re ready to cook, spray with cooking oil and fanbake at 400 Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Makes 20 balls.

For the salsa:

• Mix salsa ingredients together, season to taste and set aside until ready to serve.

For the cashew cream:

• Soaking nuts aids digestion and allows your body to better absorb their nutrients, as well as softening them for blending in recipes like this one.

Drain cashews and add to a high-speed blender or food processor, along with lime juice, ground cumin and about 1/8 cup of water to begin with. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add more water if necessary. You can serve this thick, or thinned to more of a salad dressing consistency. Add seasoning to taste.

Quinoa Feta Salad

It’s the perfect salad to make-ahead for nights when you want to grill out, or to take along for a picnic or potluck, or to bring to work for a fresh lunch, or — really — anytime you’re craving a healthy and zesty little salad.

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups cooked SimplyNature Organic Quinoa (Cook as per package instructions)
• 1 cucumber – diced
• 2 oz Happy Farms Preferred Feta Cheese Crumbles
• 4 cups SimplyNature Organic Baby Spinach – roughly chopped
• 2 tbs red onion – minced
• 1/2 cup Southern Grove walnuts
• Dressing
• 4 tbs SimplyNature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 tbs white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp SimplyNature Organic Wildflower Honey
• 1/2 tsp Burman’s Dijon Mustard

INSTRUCTIONS

• Cook quinoa as per package instructions. Let cool slightly when done.
• Roughly chop spinach and add to a large bowl.
• Dice cucumber into a medium dice and add to the bowl.
• Slice cherry tomatoes into half or quarters (depending on size) and add to the bowl.
• Dice feta cheese and add to the bowl.
• Mince red onion and add to the bowl.
• Add cooked quinoa and walnuts to the bowl.
• Whisk olive oil, white wine vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, black pepper and salt together.
• Toss salad with dressing and serve.