#quinoatabouli

[starvelikeastar]

Jenna Dewan Tatum:

She is the host of World of Dance, (another show I don’t watch and a person I never heard of).  She  is another super athletic dancer who hardly eats anything.  She only eats “plant based foods, because it’s ethically right”.  Whatever. Yes, that means she is a VEGAN!  Aarrgg.

Yeah, I tried that pose in Pilates today.  I was not nearly as graceful, nor could I hold it for very long. I didn’t even come close to looking like this.  Ok.  So my attempt was an epic failure.  I couldn’t even get my knee off the ground. I didn’t even look this good in my own head.

Hydration: Eight glasses of water.

Husband wanted to know why I was grumpy this morning.  I told him to start his day without coffee and see what kind of mood he would be in.

BTW, I had to eat an adult portion of watermelon after I posted last night.  My tummy was grumbling long before bedtime.

Breakfast: Glowing Green Smoothie

This is green like the grass.  It has spinach, romaine lettuce, celery, apple, pear, banana, lemon juice, cilantro, parsley and water.

I now understand why stars freeze their fruit.  It cools the drink down, like ice. Ta-da!   I am not sure why they don’t just throw ice in their smoothies....they would get a double whammy of water and coolness.

This smoothie, however, did not have frozen fruit or ice, only tap water, so the whole drink was lukewarm. Blech.  It would have been much better if it were colder.

I was glad it contained all real food and no protein powder.

Water does not quell a grumbling tummy.  I may starve today.

Maybe she should have put protein powder, or PB2 powder in the smoothie after all.

Lunch:  Quinoa Tabouli

This tabouli is made with quinoa instead of the traditional bulgur wheat.  It tasted almost the same as traditional tabouli, so I was pleasantly surprised. In this tabouli, I have tomato, cucumber, parsley, mint, red onion, lots of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.  I like a little zing to it.

Quinoa and bulgur wheat are almost identical.  Quinoa is higher in protein and calories, but lower in fiber, so I guess you need to figure out which is more important to you.  For this starving, skinny star, I would definitely go with the higher calorie count, since she hardly eats anything.

This is served with a side salad of tomato and cucumber with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  She also has hummus as a side, which was weird to just eat with a fork.

This would have been much better and more filling if it was all stuffed into a pita and eaten like a sandwich. (Believe me, I was tempted.  I have pita in the fridge from last night).   Although it was tasty, I was still kind of hungry when I was done.  Pita could have changed my world, or at least my lunch.

Afternoon Snack:  Fruit Smoothie

Yippee, another smoothie. Why couldn’t she have just had a bowl of fruit? Seriously.

This one also has water, no ice, in it so it is lukewarm.  WTH?

This one has apple, banana, raspberries, blueberries and water.  That’s what happens when you are a vegan....no Greek yogurt for texture or to fill you up.

At least she had an afternoon snack.  I was starving!

Dinner: Southwestern Quinoa Bowl

To be honest, I was not that excited to have another quinoa bowl for dinner, but this turned out surprisingly good.  When I told Husband what was for dinner, he conveniently informed me he would not be home for dinner.  I don’t know if he had to legitimately work late, or if he was just running from the quinoa.  He hates quinoa almost as much as he hates brown rice.  But I bet he would have been as surprised as I was at how tasty this came out.

This is quinoa, (obviously), with black beans, tomato, roasted squash and zucchini, red bell pepper, avocado, corn, chipotle sauce, tortilla chips, (supposed to be strips, but they don’t sell that at the store) and a dollop of salsa.

I don’t know if you have ever used chipotle sauce, but a little goes a long way.  Seriously, you can go from flavorful to Def-con 4, blow-your-head-off spicy in less than you know. I only used a 1/4 of a teaspoon, at best, in here and that was perfect.  It looked like such a tiny amount, I almost added more, but you only make that mistake once and I have already learned my lesson from that.  The good news is, due to the high amount of acid and heat in a jar, that shit lasts forever.  It can really add some nice smoky heat to a dish, if used judiciously. 

This dinner would have been perfect with a nice cold beer.  And skinny-minny could have used the extra calories.

At least she appreciates flavor, which was evidenced in both meals today.

My verdict:  Two smoothies and two quinoa bowls on one day did not seem very imaginative, but at least they tasted different enough not to be a problem.  Just a smoothie to start the day was not enough.  I was starving by lunch time.  Dinner was surprisingly tasty and filling. 

People Magazine Verdict: Jenna does a great job of getting her daily fruits and vegetables, (Um, she’s a vegan.  Fruits and vegetables is all she eats). Jenna may need more calories to cover vigorous physical activity like dancing or a busy day on the set.(Agreed. I did not have a “vigorous” day and needed more calories.)

[hobmates]

Quinoa Tabouli

Ingredients 1 cup quinoa 1 ¼ cups of water 5 small fresh radish 2 tomatoes ¼ cup of fresh lemon 3 tbsp. apply vinegar cider 1 cup of fresh mint 1 cup of parsley Method Rinse 1 cup of quinoa and drain. Soak quinoa in water, bring it to boil, cover and simmer for about 15 mins, or until the water is absorbed. Remove from heat; let it stand for 10 min. Meanwhile cut the radish, tomatoes and fresh herbs. Place it in a large bowl, season it with salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice and 3 tbsp. of apple vinegar cider. Mix the quinoa together with all ingredients. Season the salad with extra lemon or salt if need be. Enjoy!