( ↑↑ – summer BBQ’s are right around the corner! “Pin” to save these for later!)

I just won the award for “longest blog title ever.” Long title, short post. Sound good?

I have plenty of my own dirty little health secrets.

Here’s one: Other than gluten, I sometimes cook and bake with things that my body does not tolerate. I preach about listening to your body. I know exactly what my body needs and can’t handle. Yet, I continue to cook and bake with many of the things I cannot tolerate. Why? Because I’m human. I think, “Enjoy now – pay later.” And time-and-time again I do just that – pay dearly.

You would be shocked if you found out that laundry list of items.

My recipe today contains one, if not several of those items. The main one is quinoa. TRUST ME I know how great of a food quinoa is. I would recommend it to anyone. It’s a complete protein, with no sugar. It’s the perfect grain substitue for all you gluten-free’ers. Unfortunately, my digestive system still does not process it (or really many carbs in general) very well.

Remember: Just because a food is “good” for one person, or the general population, does not make it “good” for you.

I made this recipe, and I could not resist having it for dinner with Ryan – quinoa and all.

Grilled Chicken Kabobs, Pineapple Quinoa & a Homemade Pineapple Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• cubed boneless, skinless chicken
• red onion
• green pepper
• red pepper
• quinoa
• spinach
• raw almonds
• Mini Babybel Light
• pineapple
• vinaigrette: pineapple (just a couple pieces – finely chopped), basil (a pinch), olive oil (5 tbsp), white wine vinegar (1 tbsp), unsweetened almond milk (1 tbsp) (Note: If you want more or less quantity, essentially it’s 5 parts olive oil to 1 part white wine vinegar and 1 part unsweetened almond milk.)

Directions

1. Place your chicken cubes, onion and peppers on the skewers
2. Cook your quinoa (I made 1.5 cups of quinoa to 3 cups of water)
3. While the quinoa is cooking, make up the vinaigrette by combining all ingredients and placing in a blender (if you have a small blender that will work best – i.e. Magic Bullet)
4. Grill your chicken skewers
5. Once the skewers are done, place them on a bed of quinoa (I also mixed a little fresh, chopped spinach, raw almonds, Mini Babybel Light Cheese and chopped pineapple in with the quinoa)
6. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the entire meal, adding as much or as little as you like

Like this recipe? Print it here!

Mini Babybel Light

Grilled Chicken Kabob

Grilled Chicken Kabobs, Pineapple Quinoa & a Homemade Pineapple Vinaigrette

Optional: A great white wine!

Question: Tell me your dirty little health secret!