Quinoa Apple Walnut Recipe

VeryKatie
VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
edited November 7 in Recipes
Hello!

I found the below recipe on Allrecipes.com and it's called "Cranberry Apple Pecan Quinoa Salad" - sorry, I lost the link.

I'm definitely going to make this for a group of people (8 to be exact) so I'm going to 1.5 times the recipe. As yummy as it sounds, it's not exactly low in calories... do any of you guys have any ideas for reducing them? So far the only ideas I have is to reduce the amount of pecans, cheese and cranberries by about 25% and to use 1.5 times the quinoa and broth part but leave the sauce with the single portion. Not too worried about the protein as I'm serving it with lean pork tenderloin (and either green beans or asparagus).

Do you see anywhere that I could make any substitutions to help reduce a few calories (like a sub for part of the oil or a lighter calorie nut or something)? I'll make it either way, but just checking for ideas since I'm not too experienced of a cook.

1.5 cups chicken broth (low sodium/fat free)
1 cup quinoa
Cook in sauce pan until liquid is absorbed and fluff with a fork

Sauce:
3 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp maple syrup (using pancake syrup since it's what I have available)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
1 large crisp apple chopped (I will use granny smith)
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Whisk the oil, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, salt, pepper, and cinnamon together. Drizzle it on the quinoa and stir. Then add the apples, pecans, cranberries, and Parmesan cheese and stir. Return to the pot/sauce pan, cover and let the mixture steam until the sauce warms and the apples soften slightly (5 - 10 mins).

EDIT: WHOOPS called the recipe "walnut" in the topic title. Definitely meant pecan. Pecan. Haha.

Replies

  • MindyG150
    MindyG150 Posts: 1,296 Member
    You could change the syrup to honey if that would help, the rest of it looks pretty good.

    Try a fresh fruit, dried ones are full of calories and sugars.

    Everything in moderation :)
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    Honey! Smart! I might even actually own about a tsp already (since I have no syrup at all)... which means I could pre-make the sauce. Also awesome.

    I'll see if I can get a small quantity of fresh cranberries :) they are not in season though. Any other fruits that would go well with the apple and pork theme that you could think of?
  • MindyG150
    MindyG150 Posts: 1,296 Member
    Blueberries for sure! Anything sweet, you could even do grapes.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    Blueberries it is! I have those in my fridge already! Woo!
  • Dhellia
    Dhellia Posts: 84 Member
    Sounds yummy! Let me know how it turns out. I have some leftover quinoa in my cabinet I'm not sure what to do with.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    By the way - this dish was delightful! I would have it again any day!
  • jenniemariehebert
    jenniemariehebert Posts: 8 Member
    edited January 2015
    You can cook the Quinoa in water instead of broth. I would use fresh berries rather than dried to drastically lower calories, maybe strawberries or even pomegranate arils if you like the tart taste. You could also bulk this out with crunchy celery to substitute for some of the calorie dense pecans, I find it has a pretty neutral taste. Either way, it sounds delish!
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    Oh those sound like great substitutions! I think I used only 1/4 cup of cheese too which helped. Fresh berries would be quite good too I think. Perhaps even chopped grapes.
  • momswanson
    momswanson Posts: 76 Member
    Seriously, 1 cup of pecans! You can definitely reduce that and you will drastically reduce the amount of calories and fat. Additionally, if you buy good parmesan cheese and grate it yourself, it will have more flavor so you can reduce the amount of cheese, as well!0
  • Unknown
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  • slider728
    slider728 Posts: 1,494 Member
    I just tried it. While not terrible, I didn't love it. I think the concept is good, I just did not care for how the mustard and cinnamon tasted together. To me, the taste was predominantly mustard and apple with a hint of cinnamon. I did not put the cheese in it though.

    Again, not terrible, but I would not make it again.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    slider728 wrote: »
    I just tried it. While not terrible, I didn't love it. I think the concept is good, I just did not care for how the mustard and cinnamon tasted together. To me, the taste was predominantly mustard and apple with a hint of cinnamon. I did not put the cheese in it though.

    Again, not terrible, but I would not make it again.

    Oh, sorry about that. Thanks for trying it though :) I did like it with the cheese, I must admit.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    momswanson wrote: »
    Seriously, 1 cup of pecans! You can definitely reduce that and you will drastically reduce the amount of calories and fat. Additionally, if you buy good parmesan cheese and grate it yourself, it will have more flavor so you can reduce the amount of cheese, as well!0

    Haha good point, I think I only used 1/4 cup here too.
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