Breakfast for dinner: quinoa egg scramble

I’m the queen of strange food combinations, and this healthy food experiment is a prime example of just that.

Dave was working at a basketball game last night, so when I came home from teaching BODYPUMP, I took the opportunity to try something new. Crazy Friday night in the City, right?

Enter, the quinoa egg scramble.

Meet the ancient super grain

If you’ve never eaten quinoa before, pronounced KEEN-wah, you’re missing out. It has a nutty flavor, is a whole grain and complete protein and also has quite a bit of fiber and essential amino acids. You can use it in place of brown rice in nearly any recipe.

Dave isn’t too keen on quinoa, after having tried it with me once at home, so I’ve been waiting for the right time to make it again. When I looked in our fairly bare fridge last night (Saturday is grocery shopping day, so it gets empty around Friday evening), I decided to mix a few things together to see how it turned out.

Here’s what I used …

These are the ingredients I had on hand. But after eating the dish, I’d make a couple of suggestions and changes, which are discussed below.

Oh the beauty of trying things out in the kitchen, you have some hits and some misses.

Quinoa egg and kale scramble recipe:

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 eggs
• A little bit of almond milk
• A big handful of fresh kale
• Cooking spray (or extra virgin olive oil or butter)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• OPTIONAL: Parmesan cheese (or another cheese) to add in at the end

Directions:

1. Follow the directions on the bag of quinoa, which includes rinsing the quinoa, bringing it to a boil with water, then covering it and setting it aside to simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
2. Put some butter, cooking spray, or oil in a pan with a little bit of water, and cook up the kale (or whichever veggies you choose) on medium heat.
3. Mix the eggs and milk in a bowl.
4. Once the kale (or other veggies) looks a little wilted, pour in the eggs and milk and scramble them as usual, along with the kale.
5. Right before it’s all done, add the cooked quinoa. Mix it all around.
6. Add cheese.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve.

Modifications:

Now, let’s talk about this dish.

While it is very nutritious, with plenty of protein, veggies and even some whole grain mixed into one, this particular version needs a bit more flavor. When I make my next quinoa egg scramble, I will choose spinach and tomatoes as my veggies, and add cheese at the end.

Last night, in order to kick it up a notch, I used some plain yellow mustard to add a little flavor. Yes, totally strange, but actually a great addition, in a pinch.

Complete and easy meal

The whole concept of the quinoa egg scramble is one that I plan to keep working on, because it’s fast, warm and oh-so-healthy. Plus, it fits my three requirements for a meal cooked at home: (1) requires just a few ingredients (2) is healthy and (3) is easy to make.

Give it a whirl, and put your own flair on it. There are tons of quinoa egg scramble variations out there.

I’m off to teach BODYATTACK a little later this morning and enjoy Saturday with Dave, who does not have to work tonight. We’re heading down to San Jose this evening for a rare outing outside our beloved 7×7 San Francisco. Yay!

Questions of the day

Have you ever eaten or cooked quinoa? Do you like breakfast for dinner?

If you try to make your own quinoa egg scramble, please come back and leave a comment, letting me know your experience.