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This Eggy Quinoa Bowl Is Loaded With Heart, Gut, and Brain Health Benefits (And It Costs $1 To Make)

Emily Laurence

March 18, 2022

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Photo: Getty Images/ Alexander Spatari

If you're on a budget, cooking nourishing, nutrient-filled meals can feel out of reach. The sticker shock of the price of avocados or oat milk can be enough to hightail your grocery cart straight to the frozen pizza aisle. While it certainly shouldn't be ignored that there are many people in the U.S. that don't have access to healthy foods, one YouTuber is on a mission to show just how affordable delicious, healthy meals can be.

Kevin Tatar—who specifies that he is not a chef, just a normal person—uses his YouTube channel and TikTok to show how to make cheap and easy healthy meals. "I like making all sorts of food. I want to show people that anyone can cook, have fun, and relax with it," he says on his channel. His YouTube channel is full of smart cooking ideas, like how to turn a can of tuna into a restaurant-quality meal or the recipe for a black bean burger he swears tastes better than fast food.

Experts In This Article

Maggie Michalczyk, RDN, registered dietitian and recipe developer

Recently, Tatar shared an egg and quinoa recipe that's full of protein and fiber—and it works for breakfast or dinner. Here's a run-down of what's in it, besides the two aforementioned starring ingredients: spring onion, bell pepper, hot pepper, sugar snaps, mushrooms, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and salt. In just a few minutes, the ingredients come together to make a delicious stir-fry dish. The grand total for this meal is $1 a serving.

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Registered dietitian Maggie Michalczyk, RD, says she's definitely into this meal. "I like that it has a good amount of vegetables in it and I like the quinoa addition because it gives the meal more plant-based protein and fiber," she says. Besides having fiber, Michalczyk says that quinoa is a good source of folate, zinc, magnesium, and iron—all of which (in addition to protein and fiber) benefit your cardiovascular system, cognitive functioning, and your gut microbiome. "The egg on top is also a great choice because it adds six grams of high-quality protein plus all nine essential amino acids to this dish," she adds. "Eggs are definitely a fridge staple I recommend always having on hand to add to breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

Watch the video below to learn more about the health perks of adding egg to your meals:

Tatar uses four types of sauces to add flavor to the eggs and quinoa and Michalczyk says this is the one part of the recipe people who are watching their sodium want to be mindful of. If you are trying to minimize your sodium intake, she recommends going for a low-sodium soy sauce. But other than that, she says this egg and quinoa recipe is a win all the way around. "Overall, I think this is a great meal to keep in your back pocket for a weeknight meal because it's inexpensive and nutritious," she says. "You can easily sub vegetables based on what you have or switch out the quinoa for rice. Definitely dietitian approved!"

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