Mexican Inspired Millet with Goat Cheese, Corn and Avocado

Hi guys!

I hope you’re having a great start to your week. I just found out that it’s Presidents Day on Monday (I live in a hole sometimes) and hope you guys have it off from work. 4 day weeks rock.

Speaking of work, I get asked ALL the time for more work lunch ideas. People want things that are quick, easy and satisfying to make to bring to work, so here is an idea for you. I made this in about 20 minutes from start to finish and it made a huge batch that is now chillin’ in my fridge for the entire week.

I used a grain called Millet which I have never used before. I decided I wanted to expand my whole grain carbohydrate horizons and try something other than brown rice, quinoa and oats, and Millet caught my eye in the grocery store.

Good things about millet:

– it falls into the completely unprocessed, whole grain carbohydrate category, meaning it comes straight from the earth and is super healthy!

– it is SOOO cheap

– it cooks in 15 minutes flat

– it has kind of a pasta/nutty texture to it and you can use it in anything

– it’s gluten free (not that I avoid gluten, but if you do, it’s another option)

– like most whole grain carbs, it offers a lot of vitamins and nutrients, most notably it’s a really high source of Magnesium which supports heart health. Read more about the nutrients in millet here

I started by cooking the millet in a sauce pan using the simplest method I could find on the internet. 1 cup millet, 2 cups water. I brought the water to a boil, added the millet, then simmered it, covered for 15 minutes.

While it was cooking, I got the rest of my Mexican themed ingredients ready. I love tacos and taco salads, so this is kind of a spoof off of that. We’ve got some beans (lentils), cheese, avocado, and corn. Sounds taco-salad-ish to me!

I chopped a red pepper, rinsed my lentils and corn, and got out the cheese and avocado.

When the millet was done cooking, it looked like this. I thought the tiny holes were cute:

Then it was time to just add everything in! I fluffed the millet with a fork, added it to a large bowl and started creating my Mexican fiesta.

One reason why this is so easy is because I used a can of black lentils that I bought at the store, already cooked, and a can of corn. Using canned vegetables and beans can cut down on cooking time big time! I try to always go for low sodium or no salt added cans, and then I rinse everything off in a strainer before I use it to remove some of the additional sodium.

I chopped an entire avocado, and added goat cheese at the end.

I would pack this for lunch, add it to a bed of greens for a salad, top it with salsa, or heat it up for dinner. And did I mention how CHEAP this is? I didn’t do the exact calculations because I didn’t save my receipts, but I would say that this entire batch, including all of the ingredients listed, only costs about $7.00, if that. Which means that per serving, you’re looking at around $2.00. Not too shabby, huh?

Anyway, enjoy this Mexican inspired dish. And if millet just doesn’t strike your fancy, you can do the same sort of thing with couscous, quinoa, brown rice, or pasta. And if you’re looking for some more protein, add some cold diced chicken to this… yum!

Mexican Inspired Millet

(makes 3-4 servings)

• 1 cup millet, dry
• 2 cups water
• 1 can corn, rinsed
• 1 can black lentils, rinsed
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 avocado
• 2 T goat cheese
• S&P

1. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a sauce pan.

2. Rinse millet and then add it to the water. Stir once, turn down the heat and cover, simmering for 15 minutes.

3. Once millet is done, fluff it with a fork and move it to a large bowl. Top with corn, lentils, pepper, chopped avocado, and goat cheese. Stir it all together. Add S&P to taste.