Anyone who wants good results in the gym, knows 70% of it comes from what you do in your kitchen. I tell my husband this about once a week it seems, figuring someday he’ll get the hang of it. Until then, he gets at least one meal that I know is good for him. I try to get a lot of my carbs, protein, etc… from food sources and supplement as little as I possibly can. This usually means I have to get pretty creative with smoothies and meals. Sometimes they taste like crap and make me gag, other times, it’s absolute heaven for my taste buds. Tonight was one of those “heaven” moments.

I was in the local market today, just down the road from my house, and found myself staring longingly at the fresh cut steaks in their deli. I quickly did a tally of the other things I had in my basket, shiitake mushrooms, fresh tomatoes and a few handfuls of fresh baby spinach. I remembered grabbing about a pound of undyed quinoa over the weekend from our co-op and knew that a protein filled dinner was in the making. I just needed a slab of steak.

What you’ll need…

1 lb of steak (most cuts will do)

1 cup of undyed quinoa

4 medium tomatoes

1 package shiitake mushrooms

1 handful baby spinach

2 tbs roasted red pepper flakes

1/2 cup organic white wine vinegar

What to do with all of it…

Add the white wine vinegar to a large skillet, set on medium-high heat. Slice the tomatoes and toss them in. While the tomatoes and vinegar are “mingling”, slice up the shiitakes and add them in too. Then, cut the steak into inch wide strips (the long way), then cut them in half. Toss the steak in, and mix well. After about four minutes, stir again and turn the heat to medium.

Quinoa is usually a 2-parts deal. Put 2 cups of water in a pot, bring to a boil. Add in one cup of quinoa. Stir well. Once it’s up to a boil again, turn it back to a simmer. You’ll know when the quinoa is done (usually about 10-15 minutes) by the sprouts that form, and the water will be absorbed.

Sprinkle the red pepper flakes over the steak, mushrooms and tomatoes. Turn the heat back to a low heat. Mix well.

Once the quinoa is done, mix it in with the streak. Here’s where you’ll add the handful of spinach. Once the spinach is a little “wilty”, it’s done!