A Little Lesson In Engine 2 Diet Portion Control

Quinoa - looking all innocent likeOkay. First I just want to say that it's not my fault.

The recipe I made last night from the Engine 2 Diet book for Red Beans Over Quinoa with Kale said it served 2-4 people. Blair and I are not shy eaters and typically we find that a recipe that says it serves 4 generally gives each of us a healthy portion plus one small meal leftover. So it's NOT MY FAULT that there is now enough Red Beans and Quinoa in my refrigerator to feed a mid-sized middle Eastern village for a week.

Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa" and not "key-no-ah" as Blair and I have been calling it) is a psuedo-grain, super healthy and quite popular in all the vegan recipe books I've been reading. Surprisingly, not one book has mentioned the rapid expansion properties of this tasty morsel. I put two cups of quinoa in a pot of water as instructed and watched it magically transformed into about 10 servings. Who knew?

I keep forgetting the Engine 2 Diet is written by a tri-athlete / fireman. Fireman's portions are apparently much larger than the average human beings. Check out the monster skillet I had to use to make this "2 to 4 serving" meal. (And look at the cute salt pig behind it. Hi salt pig!)

This all wouldn't be so off-putting except for the fact that earlier in the week I made a huge batch of brown rice and a huge pot of pinto beans in anticipation of a recipe I'm supposed to make tonight. At this point, there are grains and beans literally spilling out of my fridge. Anyone in the area Red Beans Over Quinoa with Kale - Leftoversin need of some fiber and protein, please stop by my house. I will hook you up.