Quinoa stuffed peppers

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped zucchini
• 2 cups chopped tomato
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons Parmesan cheese
• 2 large bell peppers, cut in half

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 F. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Set aside.

Heat a large saute pan to medium-high heat. Add oil, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, celery, walnuts, garlic and thyme. Reduce heat to medium after 2 minutes. Once vegetables are tender, add cooked quinoa, salt, pepper and cheese.

Place the pepper halves on a baking sheet. Place 1/2 cup of the quinoa and vegetable mixture into each pepper half. Cover with foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes until peppers are cooked to desired doneness.

Serving Information

Serves 4

Nutritional analysis per serving

Calories: 313
Total carbohydrate: 38 g
Cholesterol: 9 mg
Dietary fiber: 7 g
Monounsaturated fat: 4 g
Protein: 13 g
Saturated fat: 3 g
Serving size: 1 pepper half
Sodium: 674 mg
Total fat: 13 g

DASH Eating Plan Servings

Dairy foods (low-fat or fat-free): 1/2
Fats and oils: 1
Grains and grain products: 1
Vegetables: 3 1/2

Diabetes Meal Plan Choices

Fats: 1
Meat and meat substitutes: 1
Nonstarchy vegetables: 2
Starches: 1 1/2

Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid Servings

Carbohydrates: 1 1/2
Fats: 1
Fruits: 0
Protein and dairy: 1/2
Vegetables: 2 1/2