Some weekends are spent eating too much delicious food.

This past weekend was one such occasion.

Getting back on track isn’t always that appealing and sometimes seems downright impossible.  But I find that when I eat more than I should, getting back on track isn’t about restricting your food intake but instead is about filling your plate with color and real foods.  Pack your plate with healthy fats, nourishing protein sources, and colorful carbohydrates (red peppers, orange carrots, yellow squash, green beans, purple eggplant).

Focusing on what I can eat is always more effective for me than focusing on what I can’t eat.

So a couple weeks ago, I bought nutritional yeast to make these.

I had some nutritional yeast left over and since I’m not that crazy about the powdery-yellow-substance, I really didn’t know what to do with it.

Luckily, I came across this recipe and decided to give it a try.

Results?

Simple, healthy, filling, yummy.

I topped my plate of ‘chessy’ quinoa with a fried egg for some additional protein.

I loved the runny egg yolk with the ‘cheesy’ quinoa.

This recipe makes quite a bit so you’ll have leftover to eat throughout the week.  It’s great to pack into individual container and grab for a quick, healthy lunch as you head out the door.

‘Cheesy’ Mushroom Quinoa 

serves 3 as an entree or 6 as a side dish

slightly adapted from Fannetastic Food

1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips

1 1/4 cup mushrooms, chopped

1 can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed

3 large kale leaves

1 1/2 cup cooked quinoa (3/4 cup uncooked quinoa)

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp oil (I used canola)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saute pan, heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat.  Add in red bell peppers and mushrooms and cook until softened.  Rinse kale leaves and remove from stem.  Add in the kale and minced garlic, cook until the kale is wilted (about 1 1/2 minutes).  Pour in cannelloni beans and quinoa.  Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove saute pan from heat.  Finally, add in the nutritional yeast and stir until it is completely incorporated into the quinoa.  Serve hot.  Top with a fried egg, if desired.