Yum. I eat healthy when I cook. And, thankfully, I love to cook. When my work/life balance allows for it, I cook as much as I can. Tonight I made stuffed bell peppers with quinoa, tofu, black beans, and tomatoes.

I boiled some quinoa in a pot and while that was cooking, I washed my bell peppers. One full one and one half + a sliver — that’s all I had left in the fridge.

I rinsed some organic black beans and mixed it with lemon juice, garlic paste, salt, and pepper. I then mixed in some chopped red onions to it and let it sit a while.

I pressed dry my tofu, then cubed it and seasoned it with some cumin, salt, garlic, coriander, ginger, and olive oil.

I slowly heated this up in a saute pan with some chopped tomatoes and the black beans mix.

Meanwhile I shredded some kale leaves and basil — whatever I had left in my fridge.

Once the quinoa was done, I added this and the kale and basil in. Seasoned it all with a little more salt.

Cooked it another five minutes or so, then stuffed my peppers and placed them in an oven safe dish in the preheated 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes loosely covered with aluminum foil. I turned off the oven and let them sit several more minutes to absorb the remaining heat. I prefer my bell peppers crunchy — if you want it softer, cook for 15 minutes and then let it sit another 10.

Yum.

Since I used about 1.5 cups of quinoa and a full can of beans and a full package of tofu, I have plenty of leftovers from the stuffing. I’ll eat that as-is or in a wrap for lunches and dinners this week.

Total cook time, approximately 30 minutes plus 10 minutes to prep.

4 bell peppers
1 1/2 cups quinoa
1 can (420 g) black beans
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 red onion
1 cup tofu
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tomato
1 cup kale
1/4 cup basil

Makes 4 servings.

Calories: approx 740 per serving