To learn is to grow

Hello everyone! I hope you're Tuesday is shaping up to some thing wonderful! Thank you for the wonderful responses to the other day's post, they are magical to me.

I knew this journey was going to be a learning experience for me, but I never knew how much I would learn about myself, about others, and from others.  I am learning how to be more forgiving, more respectful and more expressive of myself. Empowering my inner voice of compassion has given me the strength to do such things. I am also learning how to identify things that I wouldn't have had I not written them down, read them and had you all acknowledge them. But there is one thing that I did not expect to learn that I am, learning to talk about this honestly and truthfully with the Train.

For those of you who do not know, an ED creates an immeasurable about of shame and embarrassment - even more so for those of us who specialize in health and nutrition as I do. This remorse makes the ED extremely challenging to talk about with anyone, especially and particularly those we love. But being so honest with all of you, it struck me that I need to be as honest with the Z man. I'm going to push myself to let go of the shame, release myself of the guilt, fully open my heart and be forthright and sincere with the man I love.

So today I wanted to share with everyone a wonderful recipe that I was inspire to make - and put my own mark on - after reading some of my fellow vegan foodie blogs. Angela, a vegan food enthusiast and baker like myself, from Oh She Glows had made Red Quinoa and Black Bean Vegetable Salad that sounded like something that could hit the spot, but after pouring over the recipe something wasn't working for me. Don't get me wrong, it sounded great, but it wasn't doing that thing for me. After gather all the ingredients and perusing through the cupboards, pantry, fridge, and freezer, I found what I was looking for. Mexican stewed tomatoes with green chilies. Yes, Mexican food is where I was headed and this is what I came up with.

Mexican Vegetable and Quinoa Salad:

1 cup Red Quinoa
2 tbsp olive oil
1 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper - chopped
2 cups diced mushrooms
1 package frozen corn - thawed
1 12oz can Stewed Mexican tomatoes with chilies - I went with medium, but you can choose your own heat level
1 cup cherry tomatoes - halved
1 avocado
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
 
Prepare the quinoa according to package. While the quinoa is cooking, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Place mushrooms and bell pepper in the skillet and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Next add the corn, stewed tomatoes, and black beans, allowing them to cook down slightly, about another 7 minutes. Add the spices to the skillet, mixing well to allow them to become fulling incorporated. Lastly, off the heat, add the tomatoes and the avocado allowing them to warm through.

Once the quinoa is cooked, it takes about 30 minutes, add the remaining olive oil and fluff it with a fork gently. Combine the vegetable mixture to the quinoa and incorporate with a fork to ensure a light fluffy consistency. Add a heaping cup to some mixed greens and enjoy!

This salad is perfect by itself, added to mixed greens or romaine, or atop toasted bread. It is packed full of protein and essential nutrients thanks to the quinoa, vegetables, and healthy fats creating a light and yet satisfying meal.

With that said, I'm off to go spend the evening with the Train. I feel I have some ground to make up.