Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

Whenever I go to Cyma, a Greek restaurant in Manila, I always order their Paidakia, the chargrilled lamb ribs, and I always have it with the Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers. The peppers are divine, but they are very oily. Plus the white rice is not that healthy too. So I've refashioned this tasty dish into a healthier one by swapping the oily rice stuffing with quinoa in tomato sauce and pine nuts. It's now a healthy, vegetarian dish which can be a meal in itself (we eat this for breakfast at home), or a side to a dry main dish, like grilled pork chops, chicken or steak.

Twice Roasted Vegetables with Quinoa

Roasted fresh vegetables with quinoa, topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

On weekdays, I follow the VB6 Diet by Mark Bittman of The New York Times. VB6 stands for "Vegetarian Before 6 pm," and this is what I try to do from Mondays till Fridays. Weekends are my cheat days when I eat almost anything, but in moderation.

One of the best vegetarian dishes I ever tasted was at the Pump Room at the city of Bath, on a recent visit to the United Kingdom.  It was very simple but delicious! I ordered this dish as a main course and here, I've tried to replicate it at home.

It's a very healthy dish, what with the vegetables, as well as the quinoa, which can substitute for rice. Thus, with this dish, you don't need to eat rice at all, because it's very healthy and filling. You can also make it a tasty side dish for meat.

This recipe also includes how to cook quinoa.