Last month, Arielle Kroser, Squirrel Hill Food Pantry’s Program Assistant, went to the Howard Levin Clubhouse to conduct a nutrition education workshop for its members. They had expressed interest in learning more about easy one-pot meals. We get it; sometimes it’s hard to think about dinner after getting home from a busy day.
One-pot meals can be flexible, easy to pull together, and nutritious. When you think about one pot meals, think of a lean protein source, plus a healthy grain and lots of vegetables. Use a big enough pot, and perhaps substitute water instead of broth or stock that is often very high in sodium.
At the nutrition education workshop, we put our own advice to the test and made Mexican quinoa with avocado dressing. Black beans and quinoa for protein and healthy grain, and salsa and corn for vegetables (you can add more). It was a pleasure working in the brand new kitchen, and we had lots of space for everyone to help out. While one person opened cans, another stirred the quinoa and someone else measured out spices.
We all did our part and together created this delicious and super easy dish. Almost every ingredient that we used can be found at the food pantry, so this dish is accessible for everyone!
For their participation in the workshop, each person received a meal kit that included everything needed to recreate the dish at home on their own. Thanks to all of the participants at the clubhouse!
You can make it too – here’s the recipe!