I’ve been a Soylent guy for years, so this is actually my first foray into any sort of regular cooking. Still need to cut my prep time down, but so far so good.
Ingredients: Quinoa, parsley, chickpeas, yellow bell pepper, green onions, almonds, dates. The original shaker came with a citrus/vinegar/spice dressing, but I just use what I have at hand.
Qapla’! Today is a good day to dine.
Nerd!
What is a quinoa shaker? I’m curious to learn more about what I’m looking at :)
Is this ingredients for essentially like a dense salad?
Yup, It’s usually similar ingredients, plus a dressing packaged in a cup or bowl with a lid, so you can literally shake it to mix just before you eat it.
This looks like a terrible way to eat a salad. Lol
oh its the worst! you constantly get little smears of salad dressing on your knuckles if you’re me.
I think if I was going to eat salad out of a cup, I’d probably just tip it up and let it fall into my face and omit the utensils/knuckles altogether.
Also, whatever dressing it came with is getting drank straight from the cup too.
Yeah, not ideal, but pretty handy on the go.
For grain type stuff, I can’t say enough good things about farro. You can make it sweet, or savory. It boils up fast more like pasta than rice, you just drain off the water after it cooks.
Trader Joes sells bags of 10 Minute Farro for less than $2 a bag.
Does it work well In a rice maker or is it convenient to boil like pasta?
I recently had sprouted buckwheat that turned out really well in the rice maker (although it took too long - I might have had too much water). However my grocery no longer carries it so …… Farro seems like an interesting one to try
Really, you just boil it like pasta and drain the water, then season how you’d like it. I can’t say I’ve tried it in a rice maker, but it could work? 🤔
I usually make a sweet version with butter, dried cranberries and currants and Penzey’s Pie Spice.
https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/pie-spice/c-24/p-3079/pd-s
But I have made a savory version with mixed root vegetables.
That’s ambitious: I like it. I was thinking just plain, like white rice
I mean, it’s good plain too… you can make it how you like rice, or you can make it how you like oatmeal, it’s pretty versatile.
And if you get the $2 bags, it’s not like you’re risking much.
Ooh, hadn’t heard of farro before. Thanks for the tip!
I love my local rice bowl food truck, but I know damn sure there’s less than $5 of food in their $15 servings and am about to do the same as you.
Yeah! I thought it would be really tedious to prepare, but it’s actually pretty quick and I’m sure I’ll only get faster at it.
I didnt realize Soylent was still a thing.
Technically I used a brand called Jimmy Joy, but it’s pretty much the same idea.
There are a number of Soylent-clones and I think many of them are doing quite well. The buzz around it has definitely died down, but I think there are still many people who are just quietly relying on meal replacements for a good portion of their nutrition. Honestly, I would continue to do the same if I could justify the shipping and total cost, but I’m trying this out for a change.
It is! They’ve mostly moved away from the powder to premixed bottles to take on the go, and I don’t think plain is even an option any more. There are also caffeinated bottles now. It’s still just kinda fine, but it gets the job done.
I did that for a few months for 2 meals a day while I was in college and interning and had no time for anything. Idk, it’s sustenance. The mix left a nasty flavor in a thermos that I could never get out. The bottles were super convenient.
you can get the powder. i just got two orders on sunday. it’s fantastic. i’ve tried the others (jimmy joy, queal, and huel) and i just kinda hated the fact they’re all so sweet. i like that the original powder is really bland.
What’s great with this kind of meal is that the only limit is your imagination. You take whatever vegetable/nut/legume is on sell (even though chickpeas are imo the best) and the only prep is the cutting. For the dressing, there are so many easy recipes you can find online. So easy yet so satisfying and refreshing. Good job on reclaiming your culinary independance !
Quinoa Chickpeas Cucumber Tomatoes Hummus Tzatziki A splash of red wine vinegar Feta Greek seasonings of your choice
This is my go to quinoa salad… shit is delicious and I eat it weekly.
Looks good! The yellow is paprika/“bell pepper”? What’s the cut up green stuff on the quinoa? I think I got the rest, chickpeas, chives, almonds, dates. Gonna make this for lunch, thanks for sharing!
edit: sorry just saw the other comments :|
It’s parsley on the quinoa. I bought the dried type, not freshly cut. I used green onions, not chives, specifically. The original shaker came with a dressing made of grapeseed oil, rice vinegar, lemon juice, cilantro, parsley, jalapeno, garlic, lime juice, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, and salt and pepper.
But I just use some off the shelf dressing. Still looking for one that is a close match.
What is the yellow stuff and the brown stuff beneath?
Yellow bell peppers and dates
My guess is a yellow bell pepper and dates, both chopped.
