Recently, Trevor started watching his macros so I’ve been switching our foods to have more of a protein-carb-fat balance but without sacrificing taste. The best way I’ve found to do this is by switching out just some of the ingredients in our favorite dishes. This recipe is one of those. By swapping our the rice for quinoa, adding more vegetables and cutting down on the oils, fried rice becomes a whole lot healthier!
The best part about a recipe like this is if you have some extra veggies laying around, you can just throw them in! Last night, I had a handful of spinach left so in it went. Have some zucchini or corn? That would taste great, too! This is a really flexible recipe.
What’s your favorite healthy recipe? I’d love for you to share in the comments below. Happy cooking!
Quinoa Fried “Rice” with Chicken and Vegetables
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 1 large bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons ginger, grated
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 1/2 cups quinoa, COOKED and cold
- 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce, plus additional to taste
- 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
- 1 small bunch green onions, thinly sliced
Directions
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken. Cook until the chicken is browned on all sides and cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove to a large bowl or plate and set aside. Pour out and discard any juices that have collected in the bottom of the skillet.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, carrots, bell peppers and onion. Toss to coat the vegetables in the oil, then cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove the vegetables and any juices that have collected in the skillet to the plate with the chicken.
- Add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Add the beaten eggs and cook, using a spatula to constantly stir and break apart the eggs into small pieces. Remove the cooked eggs to the plate with the chicken and vegetables.
- Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil to the skillet and increase the heat to high. Add in the cold, cooked quinoa and stir to coat it with the oil. Spread it into as flat of a layer as you can. Let it cook undisturbed until it’s toasted and golden on the bottom, about 1 to 2 minutes. With a large spatula, flip it in large sections so that fresh, uncooked portions are touching the bottom of the pan. Repeat cooking and flipping 1 to 2 more times, until it’s nicely toasted throughout.
- Stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili garlic sauce and stir until the quinoa is evenly coated. Add the chicken and vegetables along with any of the vegetable juices and edamame. Stir to combine. Stir in the green onions, then reduce the heat to low. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until warmed through, about 1-2 minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasoning, as desired. Enjoy!
Season Generously 