Mediterranean Gourmet Power Bowl

Mediterranean cuisine is one of my favorites. It feels so fresh and clean and tastes like spring. I created this after spotting a great advertisement by Udi's for their sundried tomato artichoke pizza.

If you're looking to increase the vegetables in way that tastes great, reduce the wheat, have a "perfect protein", and leave feeling clean and full of energy, this is for you!

One thing we are working hard on doing is identifying foods that can be used in small amounts to deliver a big taste. Goat cheese is one of those foods. It is also a food that is a staple of "gourmet" cuisine. Of course we are here to help give you recipes to lose weight and get more energy.

But if we also teach you some great "gourmet" skills, that will be an added benefit!

Luckily my mother in law is one of the world's best cooks, and she has taught me over the years how to make healthy food dishes that not only taste great, but that impress your friends. Who among us does not want to make something for friends or guests and have them say "what is this, I HAVE to get this recipe."

That is a pretty tall order, but that is our new goal with our recipes! Seems like fun at least.

• 1 can of fresh artichoke hearts
• 15 sun dried tomatoes (quartered)
• 1 Quart of cooked quinoa
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves chopped garlic (if you'd like to get fancy and have an extra 25 minutes, 8 cloves of roasted garlic, slice off the top and roast at 400 for 25 min. Or buy pre roasted))
• 1/2 cup of basil leaves
• Few shakes of crushed red pepper
• Salt to taste
• Optional: 1 ounce of crumbled goat cheese
• Optional: Finely chop spinach, Kale, Bok Choy in the Cuisinart, and add it to help reach your 1/2 pound green goal for the day. Maybe you don't want to do this for company or friends. But it fits in very easily.

Prepare quinoa according to pkg. It's usually 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water. I highly recommend preparing in the rice cooker.

If you don't have a rice cooker just bring the water to a boil, add the quinoa, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15-17 minutes until it is fluffy.

While quinoa is cooking, place artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, chopped spinach/kale, olive oil, garlic, few shakes of red pepper flakes in mixing bowl. When quinoa is finished, add to bowl. Then add a pinch of salt and goat cheese! It is DELICIOUS!

http://blog.peertrainer.com/recipes/2011/03/mediterranean-gourmet-power-bowl-recipe.html