A meal with loads of protein, a superfood, fresh veggies, and Mexican twist? Yes, please! Earlier this year I realized I was missing out on significant amounts of protein in my diet. This simple recipe has become a staple because of its high nutrient value, quick prep time, deliciousness, and reheatability.

What you need for 2 meal-size servings:

1/2 cup dry quinoa (5g protein)
1/2 can of black beans (12g protein)
1 bell pepper chopped (orange and yellow are my favs) (1g protein)
1/2 red onion finely chopped (1g protein)
About 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (14g protein)
Olive oil
Tortilla chips

1 skillet
2 small pots
1 baking sheet

What to do:

Preheat oven to 400.
Heat black beans over low-medium heat on stove.
Meanwhile, cook quinoa according to package instructions. Usually this is just add 1/2 cup quinoa to 1 cup of water, heat on stovetop until boiling, then cover and reduce heat for about 15 minutes until quinoa opens up and water is gone.
Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat.
Sauté onion and bell pepper until onions are translucent and peppers are soft.
Place tortilla chips on baking sheet.
Disperse cooked quinoa over chips.
Drain black beans and then pour them over quinoa.
Put sautéd onions and peppers over black beans.
Top it all off with shredded cheese.
Bake in oven until cheese is melted and lightly browned (about 10 minutes).

Let cool and then enjoy!

So in 1/2 of this recipe you’ll get about 16g of protein. You can roughly estimate your daily protein needs (in grams) by dividing your weight in pounds in half. A more accurate equation is .8-1.8 g of protein/kg of body weight.

If you want to leave out some calories, nix the chips and just start your layering with quinoa. It tastes just as good with a fork!