Lose Weight With Quinoa + stuffed pepper recipe

Today's guest blogger, Kimberly Olson,  will tell you why quinoa is a great food for weight loss.
As soon as I heard this, I knew I would want to incorporate more of quinoa into my family's diet.

 Kimberly is sharing some valuable information about quinoa and a really easy and delicious quinoa stuffed red pepper recipe to help you get started.
For additional quinoa recipe here are my 10 Best Quinoa recipes

Kimberly authors a health and fitness blog called Fitkim and quite an impressive bio. Her blog has great articles and tips for living a healthier lifestyle. Personally, I really find her blog supportive for weight loss and weight management ideas! Definitely can help to get back in balance after all the holiday food..

Here is Kim's post:

Kimberly Olson from  Fitkim   

Whether or not someone is on a gluten-free diet, I find people are more and more interested in incorporating quinoa into their cooking. Although it is generally categorized as a whole grain, quinoa is actually a gluten-free super seed. It is extremely versatile and easy to prepare as you will see in the recipe below.

Before we dive into my favorite quinoa recipe, let’s first take a look at its health benefits so you understand why you would want to start using more quinoa in your diet.  I think my favorite thing about quinoa is that it supports overall health, weight management, and is just super easy to cook with.

 These are my favorite things about quinoa:

It’s a Complete Protein
I know you’ve heard of amino acids, but there are actually nine we have to get from our food.  These nine do not have to be in one meal, but quinoa naturally contains all of them.  The number of people trying to eat more vegetarian or vegan meals is growing dramatically, as well as those diagnosed with gluten intolerance or Celiac Disease.  With this change in diet, many of my clients come to me wondering how they could possibly still get adequate protein in their diet.  To satisfy everyone, my number one go-to staple is quinoa.

Whole Grain without Gluten
According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, "three or more servings of whole grain foods everyday could reduce the chances of developing metabolic syndrome - a condition marked by a combination of abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, poor blood sugar control, low HDL 'good' cholesterol and high blood fats."  We see this and instantly think we need to start eating more whole-grain cereals and granola bars.  This is so unnecessary.  Remember, there are millions of dollars tied into the grain industry, so this message is purely marketing.  You can meet your whole grain need with a gluten-free super seed, and get even better results.

Health Benefits
Not only is quinoa a complete protein, but it offers a non-dairy source of calcium. This calcium is easily absorbed by the body, allowing for an increase in bone and teeth strength. I love that! Also, it has been shown to reduce cholesterol and help improve the transport of oxygen to our cells. This is super important to all of our bodily functions. Not only does magnesium support heart health, but it impacts everything from sleep to anxiety to stress. Quinoa is loaded with magnesium, with one cup contributing to 14% of our DV.  This little seed is truly a powerhouse of nutrition!

Now remember, quinoa is something you can easily incorporate into many of your recipes, but I wanted to share with you my favorite quinoa recipe. My Stuffed Red Peppers are healthy, loaded with nutrients and a crowd favorite. Give them a try and let me know what you think!

FitKim’s Stuffed Red Pepper recipe and instruction video

Looking for a way to sneak more veggies into your diet? Try my Stuffed Peppers recipe that is loaded with nutrition!

I
Ingredients:
½ cup Quinoa, dry
1 cup Vegetable Broth
4 Peppers (Red, Green, Yellow or Orange!)
½ cup Black Beans
1 Tomato, seeded and diced
1 Jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 Garlic clove, minced
1 stalk Green Onion, chopped
1 Tsp. Black Pepper
½ Tsp. Sea Salt
Directions:
1.Place quinoa and vegetable broth in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed (about 10 minutes).
2.Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3.Cut tops of peppers similar to how you would carve a pumpkin. Use a spoon and scoop out the insides.
4.Combine the beans, tomato, jalapeno, garlic, green onion and quinoa in a medium sized bowl. Season with black pepper and sea salt.
5.Spoon mixture evenly into the red peppers. Place peppers in a greased baking dish and bake for 25 minutes.
Nutritional Content
Servings: 4 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes
Nutritional Content per serving:
Calories: 156 Protein: 7g Carbs: 30g Fats: 1.5g Sugar: 7g Fiber: 6g

Stuffed Pepper Video Watch Video

Thank you Kimberly for this highly informative guest post and delicious recipe that is naturally gluten free and packed with nutrition. I love your healthy weight loss approach. If you would like to know more about Kimberly, her blog, and her books, read on: 

Bonus: my 10 Best Quinoa recipes

Kimberly's bio: 

Nationally renowned nutrition and fitness expert Kimberly Olson, CNC, CPT is the creator of FitKim, a nutrition and fitness blog that teaches people how easy it is to be healthy.  She has completed her Master’s Degree in Holistic Nutrition, become a Certified Nutritional Consultant & ACE Personal Trainer, and travels nationally public speaking. She has been consulting clients for over ten years, and has developed a passion for combining nutrition and fitness.

Kimberly is the author of The FitKim Lifestyle: Food & Fitness to Get YOU Fit!, a complete guide to teach readers everything they need to know to live healthier, become more active and learn how to finally lose those stubborn pounds.  She has been featured on Fox San Antonio, CBS Minnesota, ABC West Michigan, Yahoo!,YouTube, Houston Woman Magazine, O’Fallon Nutrition Radio and has reached Expert Author status onEzine Articles.

She is currently working on two PhDs in Natural Health and Holistic Nutrition, as well as her next book,Cooking with FitKim.  Kimberly resides in Austin, Texas with her husband, Scott, who is her official taste-tester.  He continues to give her five stars for her recipes.  She can be contacted at Kim@FitKim.com for freelance and consulting inquiries.

May be shared on a few of the following blog carnivals
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