CHEESY Quinoa Cauliflower Bake
I’m not a vegetarian, but I tend to not buy that much meat to cook at home. When I do enjoy meat, it’s usually out at a restaurant or straight from my parents’ cattle back home (I’m lucky enough to get fresh farm eggs, fresh farm raised meat, and vegetables from my mom’s garden whenever we meet up). Because of this, I’ve slowly accumulated a set of high protein vegetarian dinner recipes that I actually like. Most of them (like this one) are quick and easy enough to cook on a weeknight.
I didn’t develop this recipe myself, so I won’t copy the instructions word for word - I think my time is better spent developing new things, not copying recipes that have already been written out for us all to enjoy. I just want to emphasize how easy it is! All you have to do is roast the cauliflower in olive oil and spices, top with a quinoa/marinara/cheese mixture, and place back in the oven till the cheese melts. If you buy pre chopped cauliflower florets (which they sell at places like Trader Joe’s) , there is zero chopping involved.
Nutrition highlight: each serving is under 500 calories (and each serving is a full 1/4 of the baking dish - so, not small) and has 24 grams of protein.
Fun nutrition fact: vegetarian proteins tend to be less bioavailable, meaning you body cannot digest them as efficiently. This means the average vegetarian needs to consume about 10% more protein than their meat eating counterparts to fuel their body adequately.
I’ll include some pics of my own version to give you an idea, but find the recipe (with helpful graphics and a video) here!
