Zucchini Boats stuffed with Quinoa

My skinny cooking adventure today was Stuffed Zucchini Boats.    I had a couple of leftover zucchinis that needed to be used before they went bad.     Zucchini Boats seemed easy enough.    I had a box of Quinoa Blend (Quinoa, brown rice, and seasonings).   I wanted to have some cheese in them, and as luck would have it, I had some laughing cow lite cheese wedges on hand.    The end result made me feel like quite the skinny chef!

1 Box of Quinoa Blend (I used Near East)
2 medium zucchini
2 Laughing Cow Lite cheese wedges, French Onion

Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare the quinoa blend as directed on package.    Meanwhile, cut the zucchini lengthwise.   Scoop out the  seeds.   (threw the seeds away, but I'm sure they can be used somehow!)     When the quinoa blend is prepared, stir in two laughing cow cheese wedges.     Spoon the mixture into the zucchini boats.   Place boats in oven dish with about 1/4 cup of water on the bottom.    Bake at 350 until zucchini is soft.

This recipe can easily be 'dressed up', but I used only what I had on hand in my kitchen.

Serves: 2        351 calories, 63 carbs, 7 g. fat, 13 protein

What's even better is the health benefits of the Quinoa and the brown rice.   Both are natural grains, and Quinoa is considered a 'complete' protein in that in contains all essential amino acids.  

Even though I made this dish to eat later.....I HAD to know how it tasted!   So, I cut off a small piece of one of the boats....and OMG.     The zucchini has a natural buttery flavor, which mixed perfectly with the quinoa, rice, and cheese.    The cheese kept the rice and quinoa moist.    This was a food match made in heaven.

I had about a cup of the Quinoa and cheese mixture left over, so I split it between two containers so I would have two prepared meals - all ready to eat.    The calorie count includes the entire recipe - it's just that my zucchini weren't that big.    Two days of healthy lunch - already prepared!   Now....what to do about the other three days..........