Healthy Dinner Idea - Baked Sweet Potato & Quinoa Salad

Orange-fleshed baked sweet potato with a cucumber quinoa salad

White-fleshed baked sweet potato with a peas & sweetcorn quinoa salad

I always find dinner the most difficult meal of the day even though I probably enjoy dinner more than any other meal. Trying to think of dinner ideas is one thing but trying to think of healthy dinner ideas makes it that little bit harder. However, one of my favourite meals to have for dinner is sweet potato with quinoa salad and it's my go-to meal on days where I have no idea what to eat. It's simple, delicious, and so good for you. Also suitable for vegetarians and vegans. So, following on from my healthy breakfast idea post, I'm bringing you a healthy dinner post today.

You'll need one sweet potato, I tend to go for the orange-fleshed variety where possible as they contain more nutrients and they're also sweeter. You'll also need some quinoa, and a choice of vegetables to mix in with it.

I purchase my quinoa from Morrison's Wholefoods section but you can get it from a number of supermarkets and health stores. Quinoa has fast become one of my favourite things to eat because it tastes good, it's filling, it's a complete protein, and it's good for you.

Step one. Set your oven to 200 degrees. Wash and scrub your sweet potato under a running tap and, using a knife, pierce holes all over the sweet potato. Place it on a baking tray that has been covered with a sheet of foil.

Step two. Place your sweet potato into the oven to bake. This needs to bake for approximately 40-45 minutes but you'll need to head back into the kitchen before that time is up to cook your quinoa. Time it right and you'll get the sweet satisfaction of all parts of your dinner being ready at the same time.... ahhh.... bliss...

Step three. Once your sweet potato has been in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, it's time to make your quinoa. Boil a kettle of water and measure out your quinoa. I usually use an amount equating to about half a cup (about one handful) but you may want to experiment with this a bit to see what suits you. More is better than less as you can keep it in the fridge for the next day. Half a cup may not seem like much but quinoa expands when cooked. 

Step four. Boil your quinoa in a pot over the stove. The amount of water you use should be approximately double the amount of quinoa you've used but you may need a bit more water if your pot is wide. Put the lid on and let it simmer. Leave it to simmer for approximately 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop it from sticking. Feel free to add pepper or any other flavours at this point. Cooked quinoa should be light and fluffy, you should also see that the "tails" have come off too.

TIP: If it looks like it's burning and drying out before it's cooked, add more water. If it looks like it's almost cooked but there's still too much water left, turn up the heat and take off the lid so that the water can escape via steam. It'll be gone in no time. 

Step five. Pour out your quinoa onto a bowl or plate and fluff it up using a fork. At this point, you may want to cut up some vegetables to mix in with it. My favourite choice has got to be peas and sweetcorn, but I often add cucumber instead as I always have some in the fridge!

Step six. At this point, your sweet potato should be done! Take it out of the oven and cut it up into slices. I do this so that it's not boiling hot when I cut into it to eat. 

TIP: You can also cut this up into chunks and mix it in with the quinoa salad. 

So, there you have it! A delicious and healthy dinner idea. Make sure you let me know if you try this out. You can tweet me @IAmLinderella.

Happy cooking!

I Have A Mini Cactus

I went to some beautiful gardens the other month and spent a good few hours admiring how beautiful all the plants and flowers were. It's possibly one of the few things that does make me miss summer a little. Technically, it's still summer but the sun seems to have made an early escape this year. 

I saw some amazing giant cactuses and whilst I'd love to have a garden full of beautiful plants, it's not really practical at the moment so. upon leaving the gardens, I decided to explore their garden shop and I picked up a mini cactus. There were so many but this was definitely the cutest. The spines are actually more fluffy than spiky too.

It's amazing how a little plant in my bedroom can cheer me up in the mornings. It's taken pride of place on my windowsill and it's such a welcome addition to my room.

Review: MeMeMe - Coral Blossom Cheek & Lip Tint

I was first introduced to MeMeMe many years ago when I had a voucher which offered a discount for the MeMeMe Cherub's Blush Tint, although it may have been called something else back then. It was the one that looked similar to Benefit's Benetint but was much more affordable! By the looks of things, MeMeMe has grown so much since then and their packaging has changed a bit too

One of their newest additions is the Coral Blossom Cheek & Lip Tint*, kindly sent to me from MeMeMe. Ideal for adding some colour to your cheeks and lips, this is easy to blend and use.

When I first opened the product, I thought that the colour would be quite strong and that the formula would be thick but it's actually the complete opposite. The colour is quite sheer and would best suit those with pale skin tones to give a natural flush of colour. The lightness of the colour may be down to the fact that the formula is also really light, it almost feels watery.

This tint looks completely natural and gives a nice peachy flush of colour to the cheeks and looks a little like a gel blush. However, if your skin isn't fair/pale, you may be better off going for their Cherub's Blush Tint instead.

You can also use this on your lips but I prefer not to because I don't feel like this fomula sinks into the lips as well as their Cherub's Blush Tint does. All the tints at MeMeMe are among their best-selling products and you can get yours from their website for £5.50.

Are you a fan of MeMeMe cheek tints?

Autumn Is Coming

I am so excited that Autumn is almost upon us. It's been getting chillier lately and it's put a huge smile on my face. Sorry to anyone out there who worships the warm heat of the summer sun but I'm very much a jumpers and scarves kind of girl. I've spent most of summer trying to battle with my sensitivity to the heat and to find clothes to wear that cover me up without heating me up. I'm most happy when I'm snuggled in layers of soft fabric. Plus, there's something really relaxing about wrapping up in the evening and taking a long walk through the pretty streets that are lit up with lights, even the lights from apartment and office windows can look magical. The above photo was taken in London last Autumn. You can actually still see the clouds too which I think is pretty cool.

Autumn. Bring it on.