quinoablogpic

Tex Mex Curry Quinoa With An Asian Chicken Stir Fry Recipe!

by with No Comment beautycharitycommunityfashion

Welcome to day 5 of my ‘6 courses in 6 days’ recipe plan for you! Today we have a Tex Mex inspired curry quinoa with an Asian inpired chicken stir fry combo! The quinoa is vegetarian and gluten free friendly, yayy for my child, and the chicken is spicy but not too spicy, packed with flavor, and a great compliment to the curried quinoa! I’m taking you to Texas and then Asia today! Let’s goooo!


So what was so wonderful about this dish is that you can literally toss the quinoa into anything! It makes an amazing stuffed peppers recipe, it’s great with eggs in the morning, over top some veggies, you can use it for all sorts of dishes and it’s gluten free and vegetarian for those of you who are GF or Veg! So my daughter was very happy with this quinoa dish and my boyfriend was very happy with this chicken stir fry!

So for the quinoa you’ll need: 

– 1/2 Tablespoon coconut oil
– 2 cups cooked quinoa
– 1 bay leaf
– 1/2 red onion finely chopped
– 1 clove crushed garlic
– 1 teaspoon 21 salute seasoning
– 1 teaspoon garlic powder
– 1 teaspoon ground cumin
– 1 teaspoon tumeric
– 1/4 cup chopped basil
– 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
– sea salt
– fresh cracked black pepper
– 1/2 cup coconut milk full fat
– 1 can of corn
– 1 can of black beans

Saute the onion and garlic in the coconut oil, then add in the quinoa and the required amount of water. Add in the bay leaf, spices, and basil with cilantro, and cook until done. Drain the can of corn and black beans and drop them into the pot when the quinoa is done and just let that cook over low heat until the entire mixture is warmed. Serve with some fresh cilantro on top and ENJOY!

For the Asian chicken stir fry: 

– 2 rinsed and cleaned skinless chicken breast cubed
– 1/2 diced yellow onion
– 2 Tablespoons liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
-1/4 cup diced yellow and red bell peppers
– 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
-1/4 cup diced fresh mint
– 2 Tablespoons olive oil
– 1 clove crushed fresh garlic
– 1/2 Teaspoon Himilayan sea salt (you won’t need much since the soy sauce adds salt
– fresh cracked black pepper
– 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
– 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

Saute the onion, garlic, and bell peppers in olive oil, toss in the chicken, spices, mint, and pepper flakes. Once the chicken is half way cooked, add in the soy sauce and cook until done. Top the dish off with fresh cut cilantro and over the bed of quinoa and you’re day is done! Nomnomnomers!

This entree is so yummy when you put the chicken over the quinoa, but each dish on their own is equally delicious! You could put the chicken over a bed of rice, wrap it up in a tortilla, or go carb free and wrap it in a piece of romaine lettuce. The quinoa like I said can be put over top so many side dishes to make a complete meal, so try these out, get creative, and be sure to tag me on Instagram and Twitter so I can see your creations! 😀


A delicious day to you, and I’ll see you right back here tomorrow! 

xo



scrubblogphoto

DIY Peppermint Lavender Sugar Scrub

by with No Comment beautyDIYfashionlifestyle

Sugar scrubs are an amazing way to exfoliate, hydrate, and calm your skin, but they can get pricey! Have no fear, Jess is here, and I’m gonna show you how you can make a variation of scrubs with what you already have in your kitchen! In under ten mintues, and less than ten bucks, if you have some of the ingredients already, you’re set! Today we’re making a peppermint lavender sugar scrub, oh la la. Read on! 

First, why would you want to make your own sugar scrub besides the fact that’s it’s much cheaper this way? Well I’m a huge advocate of skin care. Most of my posts will be about skin care, hair care, good food, blah blah, and exfoliating your skin is right on up there with the list of priorities you must do before bed time, beyond just washing your face. Fellas out there, I know you want to believe you just have to splash your face with water and go but there’s more to it! 

Exfoliating improves your skin’s texture by prompting the cell renewal process and thus improving your skin’s texture. It’s all about the collagen! We need it to have plump young cells! Scrubbing away dead skin cells will unclog your pores, make your pores smaller, and help with any breakouts. Still not a good enough reason? Well I bet getting old and having your skin look saggy AND agey (agey is a word) is a good reason to exfoliate! Yup, as we get older it’s just more time for layers of dead skin to accumulate. Ewwww, scrub a dub dub those nasties away is what I always say!

Sugar is a great exfoliant as it’s milled finely enough that it will scrub away the dead skin, but not harsh enough to cause scraping or scratching on your face the way an apricot scrub would. Just be gentle. The olive oil you’ll use in this recipe is packed with antioxidants, and while you’re scrubbing, you’re also moisturizing your skin and it isn’t stripping your face of it’s natural oils. 

Speaking of oils, I went with Vitamin E as it’s extra moisturizing, you can skip this step you have more oily/ acne prone skin, and it also has anti aging benefits, as it speeds up cell regeneration – which lets face it, I need – as I’ve been breaking out like crazy lately, thank you Mother Nature. 

The peppermint not only smells invigorating and relieves stress, but it also has antiseptic and antibacterial properties, and will help to cool your skin. You’ll feel a nice cooling sensation with this scrub, I happen to be obsessed with this recipe btw. 

Lastly, I chose to use lavender as my essential oil of choice though you can go with whatever your heart desires. Lavender though is the most valuable oil in treating acne, as this time of month calls for some real action! Lavender also helps to rebalance your pore’s production of oil, and it smells amazing which could be why it’s great at relieving head aches and anxiety. I pretty much just want to dip my entire body into a vat of lavender oil. 

So grab your apron and a smile and lets get to making that Peppermint Lavender Sugar Scrub!

What you’ll need: 

1/2 cup sugar ( I used coconut sugar)
1/4 cup oil ( I used organic olive oil)
10-12 drops of Vitamin E oil
1/4 teaspoon Peppermint Extract
12-15 drops of Lavender Essential oil

What you’ll do: 

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl, and what I did was then package them into those little travel containers that you put lotions in. I got them for $1.49 at Target and filled up 3 bottles with this mixture. You can make more or less of this recipe depending on if you want less for your face or double up on the recipe for your body. You can also add as much or as little of the extract and oils depending on your personal preference, I loved the smell of this using these proportions. 

Makes a great gift, smells amazing, and your skin will be glowing after! If you make this please tag me on Instagram or Twitter: jess_lizama


Have a beautiful day beautiful!


xoxo