Quinoa and Black Beans

Quinoa: "Very flavorful alternative to black beans and rice. Quinoa is a nutty grain from South America." Get in in the health food section of your supermarket

PREP TIME : 15 Min
COOK TIME: 35 Min
READY IN : 50 Min


Servings : 4

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
2 ml vegetable oil
3/8 onion, chopped
1-1/4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
50 g uncooked quinoa
140 ml vegetable broth
0.8 g ground cumin
0.2 g cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
65 g frozen corn kernels
3/4 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
9 g chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

It's very hard to eat a healthy meal in Forbes, NSW...unless you make it yourself. Everthing is battered!!!

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The new wonder-brekkie for weight-loss!

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Everyone seems to be making a fuss over this new super-grain that has been created in Australia that is set to revolutionise breakfasts.

It's actually very tasty, keeps you full for longer, great for your intestines as it has loads of fibre and best thing is it doesn't go soggy in your milk!
The GI association endorse it competely.

So when you don't feel like your super-shake, just have a bowl of the new grain....coming to a store near you soon!

It's a beautiful day in Sydney...28 degrees in the middle of winter! Time to go for a walk on the beach...

If you finding it really hard to motivate yourself to exercise, try using a personal trainer. It's not a luxery, because a GOOD personal trainer gives you focus, and will also gives you great food tips and will push you harder than you will yourself! Go for it!

Is a Mediterranean Diet Good For You?

According to this study, eating a 'Mediterranean diet' as opposed to a 'Western diet' will help you to maintain your weight and your overall health.

People who live in the Mediterranean eat more fish, unsaturated fat, nuts, legumes, fruit and vegetables. In the Western world, we eat more potatoes, white rice, cereals, white bread.

I have just come back from Italy and I have mixed views on the Mediterranean diet. Italians certainly do not believe in breakfast. My experience was white bread, maybe some fruit, and even cake, but mostly they would just have a coffee and a type of danish. So how do they recover from this? Here is what I think:

1. As mentioned above, for lunch and dinner the Mediterranean population do eat plenty of salad, fish and vegetables, and of course pasta which is low GI (I know I was surprised when I heard this first too...doesn't every diet tell you to avoid pasta!)

2. What I believe the Italians get right is their portion size. They have small portions...a little bit of antipasti, small bowls of pasta, a little dessert. We tend to overindulge on every course. We really do not need that much food to fill us up!

3. Lifestyle!!! Yes people, it's all about having something other than work to fill your life. Mediterraneans are big into family, socialising, siestas...ah yes siestas. I remember complaining to my friend because the local shop was not open at 2pm in the day. How dare they! I soon grew to love and embrace this and learned to RELAX a bit when I realised having a nap in the middle of a hot day is pretty nice :)

So the conclusion is ...
- eat more fish, nuts, legumes, vegetables;
- take time out for yourself your friends and family;
- and try eating smaller portions.