Basic Quinoa

Its time to jump on the quinoa bandwagon. Quinoa seems to be a cooking fad that has been going around for the past couple of years. I tried it a while back and thought it was so nasty and couldn't understand why anybody would want to eat this. The health benefits were enough to try it again, still wasn't my favorite. Then when I started eating more anti-inflammatory foods, I had to learn to like it. It is definitely an acquired taste, but now I use it ALLLLL the time. I rarely use rice anymore and use this in place of it. I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. YOU HAVE TO RINSE IT!!! Who would have thought that by not rinsing it well enough it would totally change the flavor?! Well it does. So before you attempt to cook it make sure that you rinse and rinse and rinse it otherwise it will have this bitter flavor that just isn't good at all. You basically cook it exactly like rice, only it shouldn't take as long.

Hunan Style Chicken with Honey Lemon Sauce

I found this recipe in one of my moms REALLY OLD Asian cookbooks. I don't know why I had decided to give it a try but I have always been glad that I did. I have been making this recipe for years now and it has become one of my families absolute favorite dinners to have! The batter on this chicken is absolutely amazing. I think the reason I like it so much is because the batter has soy sauce in it, which helps provide some flavor and add saltiness (anybody who knows me knows that I LOVE salt).
I do feel like I need to throw a disclaimer (or two) out there though about the sauce. DON'T JUDGE IT BEFORE YOU TRY IT!
I am well aware that some of the ingredients in the sauce are a bit...odd to pair together, but I promise you JUST TRY IT.
Second disclaimer...the sauce isn't that tasty just on the tip of your finger so again don't judge it before you try it with the chicken. :)

Mediterranean Chicken Bowls

This recipe was shared with me by an amazing friend of mine, who also happens to be a fantastic cook! She knows that I love Middle Eastern food and knew I had been looking for a recipe that I could tweak a bit to turn it into an Anti-Inflammatory recipe. The flavors in this recipe are so bright and fresh but also have all of the warm spices that are classic to the food in that area. Having the fresh vegetables alongside the warm quinoa and chicken really adds that crunch that, for me, makes for the perfect texture combination in your mouth. The thing that ties this dish together so well is the sauce. I personally like to throw all the ingredients in my bowl with a big dollop of sauce and mix it like a tornado ran through so that I get a little bit of everything in one bite.
One of my favorite things that I love about this dish is that it is full of foods that are Anti-Inflammatory. I hear people say all the time that Ant-Inflammatory foods are bland or that they feel like there just aren't any good recipes out there. Well, here it is. This recipe is far from bland.