Healthy Dinner: Easy Kale Pilaf

On busy weeknights when I come home late from work and don’t have a lot of time on my hands to prepare an elaborate dish, I usually go for this simple one-pot meal idea that is easy, fast and packed with nutrition!

I originally found this recipe online a month ago when I was searching for dinners featuring kale. I changed it a little bit to make it vegan and since making it (at least once a week now), I constantly find myself adding in new spices and changing up the ingredients slightly. This recipe is so versatile that it can easily fit with anything you’ve got in the fridge or cupboard at that moment, so no need to worry about fancy ingredients!

I definitely stick to the main ingredient of kale, but either quinoa or millet work out just fine for this (maybe even brown rice). For herbs, I usually add in flat leaf parsley, but feel free to experiment with fresh basil or thyme. I always add nuts and found raw walnuts or cashews complement the meal nicely. Sometimes I will top off the dish with half an avocado for extra omega-3, but sometimes the meal feels rich enough without it!

Easy Kale Pilaf

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa or millet

2 cups water

Half a bunch of kale leaves, cut into thick pieces

1/4 cup of raw walnuts or cashews

3 gloves of minced garlic

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley, basil or thyme

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Pinch of salt

Instructions:

Boil 2 cups water with 1 cup of quinoa or millet.

Once boiling, cover and turn down heat to simmer for about 10 minutes.

In a bowl combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, chopped herbs, garlic and nuts together.

Once quinoa or millet gets close to being done (it should take about 15-20 minutes total to fully cook), add in kale to the pot and cover.

When water has fully absorbed and kale is steamed, mix kale and grains together, and pour about half of the pot into the separate bowl.

Toss ingredients together adding two tablespoons olive oil, one tablespoon lemon juice, cayenne pepper and salt; take another bowl and repeat with the rest of the pot.

Optionally add in half an avocado.

Enjoy!