Caper-Walnut Quinoa with Sautéed Swiss Chard, Chickpeas and Scallions
Caper-Walnut Quinoa with Sautéed Swiss Chard, Chickpeas and Scallions

Hello everybody, I hope you’re having an amazing day today. Today, I will show you a way to make a distinctive dish, caper-walnut quinoa with sautéed swiss chard, chickpeas and scallions. One of my favorites. This time, I will make it a bit tasty. This is gonna smell and look delicious.

Caper-Walnut Quinoa with Sautéed Swiss Chard, Chickpeas and Scallions is one of the most favored of recent trending meals in the world. It is simple, it’s fast, it tastes yummy. It’s enjoyed by millions daily. They are nice and they look fantastic. Caper-Walnut Quinoa with Sautéed Swiss Chard, Chickpeas and Scallions is something that I’ve loved my whole life.

To begin with this particular recipe, we have to prepare a few components. You can cook caper-walnut quinoa with sautéed swiss chard, chickpeas and scallions using 14 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you cook it.

The ingredients needed to make Caper-Walnut Quinoa with Sautéed Swiss Chard, Chickpeas and Scallions:
  1. Get Caper-Walnut Quinoa
  2. Take 1 1/4 cup water
  3. Take 1 cup quinoa
  4. Prepare 1/2 cup walnut pieces
  5. Prepare 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  6. Prepare 2 tbsp capers
  7. Make ready 2 tsp caper liquid
  8. Prepare 1 Kosher salt, to taste
  9. Prepare 1 Black pepper, to taste
  10. Make ready Swiss Chard, Chickpeas and Scallions
  11. Prepare 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
  12. Make ready 4 scallions, roots removed, whites and greens separated, chopped
  13. Prepare 6 leaves of swiss chard, leaves and stalks separated, both cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  14. Get 1 1/2 cup chickpeas, cooked
Steps to make Caper-Walnut Quinoa with Sautéed Swiss Chard, Chickpeas and Scallions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degress F. Heat a small-medium saucepot over low heat. Add quinoa and toast for 4-5 minutes while stirring. Add 1 1/4 cups of water to pot. Bring water to a boil, cover, and lower heat to medium-low. Simmer until quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid. Leave covered, remove from heat, and set aside.
  2. Scatter walnuts on a large cookie sheet or baking pan. Toast in oven for 6-8 minutes or until fragrant. Remove from oven, and reserve.
  3. Once the quinoa has cooled for 6-8 minutes, stir in the butter, capers, walnuts, salt and pepper.
  4. Place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add half of the olive oil, then add the white part of the scallions. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add chard greens and stems and chickpeas, and cook for another 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Divide the quinoa on two plates. Top with the chard-chickpea mixture. Drizzle the remaining olive oil, caper liquid and scallion greens around the plate and on the quinoa, chard, and chickpeas. Enjoy!

Try Using Food to Improve Your Mood

A lot of us believe that comfort foods are bad for us and that we must avoid them. At times, if the comfort food is a sugary food or another junk food, this is true. Otherwise, comfort foods could be really healthy and good for you. Some foods really do improve your mood when you consume them. When you are feeling a little down and are in need of an emotional pick-me-up, test out a couple of these.

Eggs, you may be astonished to discover, are great at fighting depression. Just be sure that you don’t throw away the yolk. Every time you would like to cheer yourself up, the egg yolk is the most essential part of the egg. Eggs, the yolk particularly, are stuffed full of B vitamins. These B vitamins are great for helping to boost your mood. This is because these vitamins increase the function of your brain’s neural transmitters (the parts of the brain that dictate how you feel). Consume an egg and be happy!

Make several trail mix of nuts or seeds. Peanuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, almonds, pumpkin seeds, etcetera are all great for helping to elevate your mood. This is because seeds and nuts have lots of magnesium which increases your brain’s serotonin levels. Serotonin is known as the “feel good” substance that our body produces and it tells your brain how you should be feeling at all times. The more of it in your brain, the more pleasant you’ll feel. Not just that but nuts, in particular, are a great source of protein.

Cold water fish are excellent for eating if you want to battle depression. Cold water fish such as tuna, trout and wild salmon are high in DHA and omega-3s. These are two substances that increase the quality and function of the gray matter in your brain. It’s true: eating a tuna fish sandwich can actually help you fight back depression.

Grains can be excellent for driving away a terrible mood. Quinoa, millet, teff and barley are all actually excellent for helping boost your happiness levels. These foods fill you up better and that can help elevate your moods as well. Feeling famished can be awful! The reason these grains can improve your mood is that they are not difficult for your body to digest. They are simpler to digest than other foods which helps raise your blood sugar levels and that, in turn, improves your mood.

Green tea is excellent for moods. You were simply waiting to read that here, weren’t you? Green tea has been found to be packed full of an amino acid known as L-theanine. Studies have shown that this amino acid actually induces brain waves. This will better your brain’s concentration while simultaneously relaxing the rest of your body. You already knew green tea could help you be better. Now you are aware that it helps you to lift your moods as well!

Now you can see that junk food isn’t necessarily what you should eat when you want to help your moods get better. Go with these suggestions instead!