Healthy Meals: Black Bean Quinoa and Seasoned Chicken with Steamed Broccoli

Hello everyone and welcome to the first post in what will be called Sound Body: Healthy Meals!

It can be hard to come up with healthy and easy to prepare meals that also taste great. But I am here to help :)
I had previously posted on Nutrition and Diet (you can check it out here: Nutrition and Diet: Do's and Don'ts) and in this segment I will be posting lot of really good meals that will help you maintain a healthy and nutritious diet.

This time I will be showing you how to make one of my favorite go to meals, Black Bean Quinoa, Chicken, and Broccoli. It's extremely healthy, has great macros, and tastes amazing! What I do is cook all of this ahead of time (usually Sunday) and split it up into individual meals and store it in the fridge. That way I can just grab my pre-made lunch before I head to work and not have to worry about cooking during the week :)

Black Bean Quinoa -

(Makes around 8 servings)

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 cup uncooked quinoa (rinsed until water is clear)

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon Cajun  

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup frozen corn kernels  

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans (rinsed and drained)

Directions:

Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with chicken broth. Season it with cajun, garlic, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,

Stir frozen corn into the saucepan and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and continue to simmer until the majority of the liquid has been absorbed by the quinoa.

Oven Baked Seasoned Chicken -

Ingredients:

olive oil cooking spray

olive oil

Mrs. Dash Salt Free Fiesta Lime Seasoning

Boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line a lipped baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Brush olive over the chicken breasts. Season the chicken with Mrs Dash seasoning.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Bake the chicken breasts for 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the oven when the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit, the juices run clear and the meat does not appear pink. Test the chicken breast's temperature with a meat thermometer.

Allow the chicken to cool for 5 minutes. Serve the skinless chicken breasts immediately. Or store in a container in the fridge

Broccoli –

Ingredients:

4 cups of broccoli (frozen or fresh)

salt and pepper to taste

margerine

1 qt. of water

Directions:

Bring water to boil in a saucepan over high heat and season the water to taste with salt.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the broccoli to the saucepan. Simmer the broccoli until fork tender, approximately five minutes.

Strain the broccoli, season with pepper, and serve.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Well, that just about raps things up. Remember: Your body is an investment. What you put into it is what you will get out of it. Healthier foods are always a bit more expensive, but your body will thank you with results. Take the time to prepare your meals so you don't get stuck eating unhealthy food out.

Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do and look forward to more great recipe posts in the near future. And as always, if there are any suggestions/topics/recipes you would like to see me cover in future posts, let me know :)

Sources: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quinoa-and-black-beans/