I cannot believe that it’s October already… how did that happen?! The summer heat has officially died down, and the cooler weather has been rolling in. And with cooler weather, comes the craving of comfort food (which more often than not is something heavy, unhealthy, and indulgent). There is absolutely nothing wrong with indulging every now and then (during any season) - but I definitely find that it’s more challenging to make daily healthy eating choices once it’s sweater weather. My desire to make / eat salads definitely declines when it’s cold out, haha.

You may or may not have noticed that the word “vegan” has shown up in my last few recipe posts (here and here). I’ve mentioned before that I’m not fully vegan (or even vegetarian), and that still remains true.. but I have definitely made conscious efforts to cut back on the animal products I do consume - and have been trying to incorporate a lot more plant based meals whenever I can.

I’m dropping in today to share my go-to quinoa recipe! It varies, depending on what I have in my fridge (it’s a great “clean out the produce drawers” meal solution). I love that it can be eaten warm or cold (although on cold days, my preference is definitely hot/warm). Growing up, quinoa was never part of my diet (I grew up on white rice, being 100% Chinese). It wasn’t until a year or so ago that I got curious about the healthier high protein / high fiber rice-like alternative that is quinoa and started experimenting with ways to cook it.