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Gluten Free Quinoa Salad

March 5, 2019


When it comes to the term “Healthy Eating”, most of our immediate reactions consist of the words “bland” and “really though?”. It’s not the most appealing of terms. Despite healthy eats having undeniable positive results on our body’s health, we all know there’s a stigma that lingers on what we assume healthy food tastes like- bland, tasteless, and boring.

But when we had the Declutter Your Mind & Life Workshop in my home a few weeks ago, we had a few attendees that were gluten intolerant. I wanted to rise up to the challenge of serving something gluten free, but super yummy. Because TD and I always believe in serving delicious food, whenever we host something.

It is all part of the MinimaLUXE lifestyle that we would like to promote. A luxuriously minimalist lifestyle, isn’t just about decor & conscious consumption, but also about eating healthy but delicious. I wanted to show workshop attendees that “healthy” doesn’t always mean “bland”.

I can’t believe how delicious this choco chia pudding is! Even the quinoa rice was deceptively delicious! What a wonderful first time to taste both! Yum!

– liliansantos45

This is a favorite recipe in our home, on days that we don’t want to have meat. The recipe originally calls for Couscous, but since that has gluten we substituted Couscous with Quinoa.

Why Quinoa?

Quinoa is a kind of grain that is gluten-free AND contains ALL nine essential amino acids; (See here: 11 Proven Health Benefits Of Quinoa) It’s pretty much a power grain! Now imagine using Quinoa as a substitute to your rice, or better yet, your salad. Yes, you heard us! This Quinoa Salad with Roasted Veggies and Nuts is super yummy and addictive, a great recipe to add to your homes’ regular menu!

SALAD INGREDIENTS

  • 1 Red Bell Pepper
  • 1/2 cup (75g) Almond Flakes, shelled pistachios, cashews or whatever nuts you have in your pantry
  • 350g Peeled Carrots
  • 2 Eggplants (or Zucchini)
  • 2 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 2 Cups (370g) Quinoa (or Couscous if you’re okay with Gluten)
  • 425g Can Chickpeas, Drained and Rinsed
  • 2 Spring Onions, Finely Sliced
  • 1 Cup (50g) Coriander shredded (or fresh mint)

DRESSING INGREDIENTS

  • 2 Teaspoons Cumin Seeds
  • 2 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 small dried chili, seeds removed, finely chopped
  • 1 cup (250ml) Chicken Stock
  • 3 Fresh Bay Leaves
  • 1/3 Cup (80ml) Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 Cup (125ml) Extra Virgin Olive Oil

HOW TO:

  1. Cut the red bell pepper into large, flattish pieces, and remove the seeds and membrane. Cook, skin-side up, under a hot grill for 8-10 minutes, or until the skin blackens and blisters. Place in a plastic bag and leave to cool then peel away the skin and cut each piece into 1cm wide strips.
  2. Preheat the oven to moderate 180 degree Celsius (350 degree Farenheit/Gas 4). Spread the almonds on a baking tray and bake for 5-10 minutes, or until lightly golden, then chop roughly. Keep a close watch on the nuts while they are cooking as they will burn very easily.
  3. Thinly slice the carrots and eggplant, and drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil. Grill under a hot grill for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until olden.
  4. Place the quinoa in a large bowl. Cover with 2 cups (500ml) of boiling water, add the remaining oil and stir gently. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave for 5 minutes. Run a fork through the Quinoa to remove any lumps then add the almonds, chickpeas, bell pepper, eggplants, spring onion and coriander. Toss well.
  5. For the dressing, place the cumin seeds in a dry, heavy-based frying pan and gently toast for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant. Remove from the pan and pound to a powder in a mortar and pestle, then mix with the garlic and chilli in a bowl.
  6. Place the chicken stock in a saucepan with the torn bay leaves and boil for 6 minutes, or until reduced to 1/3 cup (60ml) of liquid.
  7. Strain to remove the bay leaves and add the stock to the bowl with the lemon juice. Whisk with a fork. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper,
  8. You may toss the dressing gently through the salad if serving immediately, or we like to serve the dressing separately so people can put as much or as little as they want. Personally I love the taste of olive oil and tanginess of the lemon so I am very generous with the dressing.

So there you have it, this salad combines the delicious flavors of smokey roasted vegetables, toasted nuts, tangy healthy goodness of olive oil & lemon and freshness of herbs/spices. You need to try it at least once in your lifetime! It might convert you to eat more vegetable based dishes!

For busy moms, making a big batch of this is awesome because it keeps well and tastes even better up to a week or a week and a half after, if stored properly – I like to use glass lock containers because plastic containers can sometimes ruin the taste. This dish is perfect for entertaining or potluck because, you can prepare it ahead of time and it is great hot or room temperature.

If you try this recipe out, please let me know! You can tag me on Instagram or send us a DM at @undiplomaticwife @minimaluxe or mention that you first saw or tried this recipe in the @decluttermnl workshop! We would love to hear how it turned out for you!

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Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

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I love Halloween because it’s super fun for @dip I love Halloween because it’s super fun for @diplobaby. I love how his eyes light up. Before I was a parent, there was no reason to decorate.

Glad there is now a @gifi.ch near us with affordable HALLOWEEN DECOR & COSTUMES. 🧛‍♂️ 

I hope you enjoy seeing what they have in this short video! 👻 

It’s not lost on me how much plastic is used during Halloween, from the polyester costumes to the decor elements. 

ECO TIPS:

🎃 I usually slowly built up my Halloween decor. I buy 2-4 pieces each year

🎃 I take good care of them & store properly so I can reuse for years to come. It’s never singe use!

🎃 I also don’t throw away as much as possible. If there is damage, I repair.

🎃 If i dont use something anymore, I pass them on to others by selling it for a fraction of the price on Marketplace.

🎃 If it doesn’t sell, I pass them on the Pay it Forward Nyon group or place them in the donation pile in our dechetterie where others can take them.

🎃 if it’s not repairable, I take it apart so that the materials can be recycled.

🍭 As for TREATS, I hate the PLASTIC wrapped candy 🍬 so we usually give PAPER wrapped mini chocolate bars.

⛑️ HEALTH TIP:

If a piece of decor or costume SMELLS STRONGLY OF PLASTIC, DO NOT BUY IT! That’s toxic VOCs leaching into the air. It’s not good for you!

What about you? How do you try to have a sustainable Healthy-ish Halloween?🤪

I usually go in the same costume every year. Change is overrated lol. What about you? Do you know what your wearing this year?

#UDWinGeneva #udwholidays #udwhalloween
HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport? We are very lucky th HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport?

We are very lucky that the Geneva Airport is very near because it is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It takes us less than 15mins by car & is easier to get to than airports outside the city.

BUT also means that many of the Geneva residents suffer from AIRCRAFT NOISE POLLUTION. 

In some parts of Geneva, like Vernier, Meyrin, Bellevue, Versoix, etc will have the airplane pass on top of you or very near you. This is something to consider when you are MOVING TO GENEVA & looking for a home.

When we were in @bioparcgeneve recently, it felt like airplane after airplane was going overhead every few mins. The poor animals were screaming each time.

A  report by the European Environment Agency(EEA) in 2017 said that 12% or 73,500 Geneva residents have their hearing disturbed by aircraft noise. Probably the figures have risen with the natural increase population & travel?

“The EEA describes noise as a pervasive pollutant that directly affects the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Populations exposed to high noise levels can exhibit stress reactions, sleep-stage changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All of these can contribute to premature mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that humans exposed to noise levels above 40 decibels at night experience adverse health effects.

Across Europe it is estimated that noise contributed to at least 900,000 additional cases of hypertension in 2011.” - @le_news_ch 

DID YOU KNOW that owners of homes affected by the noise can request for soundproofing to be paid for by GVA? 

Check if your home meets the conditions for FREE SOUNDPROOFING c/o Genève Aéroport here:

https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Geneve-Aeroport/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/Bruit#

SAVE or SHARE this now with someone you know who might be moving to Geneva or is already suffering from aircraft #noisepollution. 

#UDWinGeneva #UDWgenevagoodtoknow #expatingeneva #diplofamily #expatlife #genevaswitzerland #expatingeneva #filipinoingeneva #pinoyingeneva #movingtogeneva #movingtoswitzerland #movingtogeneva #genevaexpats #switzerlandexpatlife #geneva #genevaswitzerland
MERCADONA HAUL Whenever we go to Spain, we love t MERCADONA HAUL

Whenever we go to Spain, we love to go to @mercadona. It might be small but has a good affordable selection. It’s my thrifty Spanish MIL’s favorite.

We were so lucky that we had a @mercadona right beside our hotel Marina Badalona. Very convenient.
Our favorite things to bring home are:

☕️ frozen porras (bigger than churros)

🐑 baby lamb chops (the only lamb I eat coz it’s not malangsa & all you need to do is fry till crispy in olive oil with S&P) it’s called Chuletas Cabrito but TD calls it lechal 

🐽 chicharon or crispy pork rinds

🥔 Homemade potato chips. The best potato chips for me are from Spain. I don’t know how it’s so much yummier! The olive oil???

🎣 canned Sardines & tuna for me and Yaya B

TIPS:

🧊 For frozen items, we usually ask the hotel before we buy if they can put it in their freezer until we fly.

✍️ I usually bring different sizes ZIPLOCK BAGS, MASKING TAPE & MARKER when we travel so we can put everything in, label with our name and room number.

📸 then I take a photo so we can just show it to the staff and they can easily find it in their freezer.

✈️ When it’s time to pack, I placed our beach towels around the frozen packages coz I know they will SWEAT & I don’t want our other things to get wet 💦 

What  grocery do you usually like to shop for when in Spain? Where do you buy them?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries #udwtraveltips #udwtraveltip #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW C FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW Calisthenics Park 

📍Chem. des Tuileries 140, 1293 Bellevue

After the lovely BIOPARC we headed across to this chill park with ample PARKING that had so many things for kids & anyone who wants to move & work out:

⚽️ The kids wanted to kick around a football so we borrowed a ball from @boxup.app (they also have pumps, 🏓, 🏐, 🏀, etc) just download the app & turn on your Bluetooth & follow instructions! Return after 3hrs.

👟 Outdoor gym - this was a huge hit with the kids

⚽️ football - this too!

🏀 basketball court

🏓 Ping-pong 

🏐 Beach volleyball court

🤸🏻 Monkey bars

🛝 small playground

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon guys @lidia_otilia_botezatu! 
How lucky are we to have these beautiful, clean open spaces. And the free rental gear is AMAZING! so convenient.

This is in Geneva, about 15mins drive from where we live.

SAVE THIS on your list of PARKS to visit!

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. It’s not as close as the bioparc but bring earplugs/earphones if you are sensitive.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
BIOPARC GENÈVE Yesterday was a holiday in Switze BIOPARC GENÈVE

Yesterday was a holiday in Switzerland (except for Geneva). It was raining & miserable so I wanted to take @diplobaby out for a few hours. Thankfully midafternoon it stopped raining.

We met with our friends @lidia_otilia_botezatu in @bioparcgeneve and had a lovely time in this volunteer run zoo.

TIPS💡

🆓 It’s free for families on your FIRST visit!

🦢 you walk inside animal enclosures so wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty/stepping on poop. We wore boots & happy we did

🅿️ there’s parking inside on wood chips, if it’s full there’s another pavement parking (free up to 4hrs) across the roundabout 

🦔 Do not feed or touch the animals no matter how cute they are

🗺️ There are 2 routes (purple & blue) and 1-1.5hrs #diplshould be enough 

❎ Park closes at 4pm

SAVE THIS NOW if your looking for a fun & not too you can do in well und2hrs. It’s nice that you can go inside unlike most zoos so it’s quite unique.

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. @diplobaby who is super noise sensitive did not mind as much as I thought he would because he was so entertained by the animals.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
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