Eating more plant-based foods is healthy and can be quite satisfying when you find a good recipe.

If you are wanting some vegetarian protein sources, quinoa is a great choice. It is also packed with fiber for healthy digestion and blood, B vitamins for energy, and minerals for muscles and proper pH.

Here is a nice recipe for an aromatic quinoa pilaf:

Ingredients:
*One chopped medium size Onion
*One chopped small Garlic Clove
*2-3 chopped medium size roma tomatoes
*Handful of chopped parsley/cilantro (whatever you have on hand)
*Half teaspoon of cumin seeds
*Half cup of Olive oil or coconut oil or butter
*One levelled teaspoon of sea salt
*half teaspoon of Red chilli powder
*Half teaspoon of Coriander powder
*Half teaspoon of Cumin Powder
*Quarter teaspoon of Turmeric Powder
*One chopped green chili (Serrano, jalapeño) (its optional, if you don’t like spicy then omit it)
*one packet of 12oz Quinoa or 1.5 cups of dry Quinoa

Sauté onions in your choice of oil/fat until they turn slight pink then add cumin seeds and cook for a minute or two, add garlic  & tomatoes and let it cook for a minute more.  Add all the dry powder spices like salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric powder and dry herbs such as parsley/ cilantro (Only put dry herbs at this point, if you’re using fresh cilantro/parsley then add it along with green chillies towards the end of cooking process).   Add quinoa and mix it well with all the other ingredients and add about a cup of water or until all the quinoa is at the water level.  Let it all boil, once it starts boiling, cover the pot with lid and turn the heat down to medium to low for about 5 minutes.  Add fresh herbs (if you like) and fresh green chilies (skip if you don’t like spicy food), mix and lower the heat down to simmer for 5 more minutes.  After 5 more minutes, turn the heat off and DO NOT OPEN THE LID at this point, otherwise all the beautiful steam and aroma will escape from the pot, leave the pot alone for 5-10 minutes and then open and serve.

(Rinsing and soaking the Quinoa is optional, its always better to rinse and soak as it maximizes its nutrients but when in a pinch I skip this process