Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

This weekend I finally went to the Italian Market, which is practically outside my front door. There are dozens of street vendors selling fresh produce, dairy, meat, and the deals are incredible. I am so fortunate to be living in such a wonderful area that supports local businesses as well as my personal dietary needs. I got all of these veggies for $8 (yes, 3 lbs of tomatoes for $2)!!!

I had no intention on making stuffed peppers, but I couldn’t pass up buying 5 peppers for $2! This recipe allows for flexibility with veggies. I just used what I bought at the market, so feel free to substitute for whatever is in your fridge! So alas, here is my recipe for quinoa stuffed peppers. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 5 medium bell peppers
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 2 roma tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup black beens
• 1/2 cup chick peas
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp sea salt

I decided to add some avocado. Delicious!

Directions:

• Boil 2 cups of water. As water begins to boil, add 1 cup of dry quinoa. Set to low. Quinoa takes around 20 minutes to cook.
• While the quinoa is boiling, chop all veggies and begin to sauté them on the oven (substitute coconut oil for olive oil!)
• Stir in garlic, pepper flakes, and salt.
• When the quinoa is done, add beans and chick peas.
• Combine quinoa and veggies.
• Cut top off of green peppers. Remove seeds and rinse peppers.
• Stuff quinoa/veggie mix.
• To bake, you can put them on a cookie sheet and bake until the pepper becomes soft. Or, you can place all peppers in a crockpot on a low setting for 2 hours.
• Optional: top with cheese when ready to serve!
• Wrap each individual pepper in tinfoil or plastic wrap. Freeze peppers up to 2 weeks!

Nutrition Facts: 

Servings: 5, Calories: 238

Total Fat 6g, Sodium 119mg, Total Carbs 41g, Dietary Fiber 7g, Sugar 6g, Protein 9g

Looking for a recipe nutrition calculator? MyFitnessPal has a very user friendly website just for that!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator