Quinoa Tabbouleh + Picking It Up

Hi guys!  Last night my Mom and I finally decided to stop our four hour nap silent book reading and went to the grocery store and made this great dinner!!  We made Quinoa Tabbouleh with roasted potatoes and cherries.  It was perfect and everyone, whether gluten free, soy free, or vegan, enjoyed it (even when eaten at 9 o'clock :)

Quinoa Tabbouleh:
Adapted from: The UnDiet, by Meagan Telpner
This is an amazing side dish that is healthy and easily adaptable.  You can use any color pepper or experiment with different herbs, oils, nuts, or dried fruits to change it up.  You can also try adding cucumber for an extra cool crunch.  Don't be afraid to wander from this recipe!
  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 bunch cilantro, washed and stemmed
  • 1 bunch parsley, washed and stemmed
  • 1/4 cup mint, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 5 dried apricots, chopped
  • 2 lemons, seeded
  • 2 limes, seeded
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2-4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 cup honey roasted sunflower seeds
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:  Rinse and cook quinoa according to package directions.  Let cool for 10-15 minutes.  Mince herbs and chop pepper, tomato, and dried apricots and mix in a large bowl.  Add juice of the lemons and limes, olive oil, and vinegar to the herb mixture, then add quinoa.  Mix well and add sunflower seeds, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.  Serves: 6-8.

This is possibly the best way I've ever used quinoa.  This dish is tangy and crunchy and it's not difficult to prepare at all.  On the side we roasted potatoes with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper for 35-40 minutes at 375 F, stirring occasionally.  Cherries were dessert :D
Yesterday I went on a "leisurely run."  I ran six miles on Friday, but I had my LuluLemon running pants on and my head phones in, so I got pumped and set off.  I decided I'd run a three mile route, only I had to cover a little more distance than my original plan (I use the Map My Run iPhone app to record my distance) and I figured "Why not do a 5k?"  I beat my official 5k time!  By three minutes!  My goal for the summer is to run a 5k in less than 30 minutes, and if I give myself a little rest and keep that goal in mind, I think I'll be able to do that easily!
I was very proud that I had naturally kept a <10:00 min/mile pace the entire run.  I attribute this to my music- I listened to a playlist my friend Letty made on my phone.  It was great!
^Ads XD

 Some of my awesome tunes included:
  • Love Shack, by the B-52's
  • Float On, by Modest Mouse
  • I Heard Ramona Sing and Ramona, from the Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Sountrack
  • Blister in the Sun, by Violent Femmes
  • Skinny Love, by Bon Iver
  • Norwegian Wood, by the Beatles
  • Fix You, by Coldplay
  • Basic Space, by XX
  • Imagine, by John Lennon
  • Anyone Else But You, from the Juno Soundtrack
All great songs!  I love my friend Letty because she's the only other friend I have that has the same taste in music that I do (as in, that of a 40 year old man).  She's a big music fan- she even has a tab for music on her blog.  She's smart, funny, and unlike any other person ever, and I'm going to miss her to the Ritz cracker aisle in Kroger and back when she leaves Paideia to go to an all girls school.  I love you Letty!

What are some of your favorite running tunes? 

Have a great day guys!  

Comments

  1. I love you so much Adair. Like crazy much. You are one of my best friends and I'm so glad you came to Paideia and I'm keeping in touch with you forever. LOVE YOU ADAIR!

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  2. This was a great post and tribute to Letty and everything, so I hope it's not rude to say that when, at the bottom, you wrote, "an all girls school," my weird little brain jumped around and read that as "anal girls school". I was really confused until I decided to reread that sentence. ANYWAY, the recipe sounded almost as awesome as you :) . See you Tuesday!

    -Alli

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