A Healthy Dinner Recipe You Have to Try Tonight

At the end of a long work week, the dreaded question, *ahem* ‘what’s for dinner?’ is the last thing you want to hear. Instead of ordering a greasy take-out pizza, save a couple of bucks and make a warm red kale and root veggie salad packed with protein and fiber.

 

Serves: 4–6

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

 

Ingredients:

2–3 medium sized beets (washed thoroughly)

1 sweet potato

1 large red onion

2–3 tbsp. olive oil

4–5 cloves of garlic

2/3 cup quinoa

1 ½ cups low vegetable (or chicken) stock

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

4–6 oz. goat cheese

½ bunch red or green kale

1 tbsp. ground sage

Kosher salt

Ground black pepper

 

Prepare the Vegetables:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Coat each beet and the sweet potato in 1 tsp. of olive oil and wrap them in aluminum foil. (Your do not need to peel them prior to cooking).
3. Place the beets and sweet potato on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour or until they can be pierced with a steak knife with minimal effort.
4. Once roasted, take a spoon or use your hands to peel the skins of the beets and sweet potato.
5. Once peeled, chop the beets and sweet potato however you like and set aside.
6. Remove the kale leaves from the stems using a knife or your hands. Roughly chop the leaves to prepare them for your salad.

 

Prepare the Quinoa:

1. While the beets and sweet potato are in the oven, preheat a pot on the stove over medium heat.
2. Add 1 tbsp. of olive oil to the pot.
3. Chop half of the red onion and add it to the pot.
4. Mince 2 cloves of garlic and add it with the onions.
5. Cook the garlic and the onions until the onions become translucent. Once cooked, add dry quinoa and “toast” over medium heat for 2–3 minutes.
6. Then, add 1 ½ cups of stock. Let everything come to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover for 10–20 minutes. Once all the liquid has been absorbed, remove the quinoa from the heat and let it sit covered for 5–10 minutes.

 

Combine:

1. Heat a pan over medium heat and add 1 tbsp. of olive oil.
2. Thinly slice the other half of your onion and mince 2–3 cloves of garlic. Add both into the pan and cook until firm but not ‘raw.’
3. Deglaze your pan with balsamic vinegar and apple cider vinegar. Then add in beets and sweet potato. Season everything with salt, pepper and sage.
4. Add in the cooked quinoa and let everything simmer together for 10 minutes.
5. Place your chopped kale into a large salad bowl, add in the vegetable and quinoa mixture and toss to combine.
6. Season with a dash of salt and pepper to taste and top with crumbled goat cheese. Enjoy!

 

This recipe was provided by Casey Sardo, RD, LDN.

 

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