Low carbs high protein recipes: Grilled Tilapia With Quinoa
grilled tilapia with quinoa is one of the low carbs high protein recipes you should consider adding to your low carbs diet recipes list. it is a tasty meal, balanced, and loaded with natural nutrients.
Grilled tilapia with quinoa for 2 people
2 medium whole tilapia or 4 filets of tilapia
1 cup of quinoa
½ cup of onion
1/2 cup of string beans
½ cup of carrots
¼ cup of green pepper
1 teaspoon of parsley
1 teaspoon of scallion
1 teaspoon of cilantro
½ teaspoon of paprika
½ teaspoon of turmeric
½ teaspoon of black pepper
2 lemons
Salt
2 tablespoons of olive or coconut oil or butter or avocado oil
Option 1: cream sauce
½ cup of heavy cream
½ cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon of butter
1 clove of garlic
1 pinch of black pepper
Option 2: hot pepper sauce
4 to 6 medium hot pepper or red chili pepper
1 clove of garlic
1 medium tomato
½ cup of onion
½ teaspoon of white pepper
1 teaspoon of olive oil
Preparation
Quinoa: Wash quinoa. The ratio of water to quinoa for cooking is 1&¾ : 1 ( 1 and ¾ cups of water for 1 cup of quinoa). in a medium to high heat bring quinoa to boil, add salt to taste, reduce the heat and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes. Remove quinoa from the heat and let it cool down completely, then fluff it up and set apart
Heat a cooking pot on a medium heat, and add a tablespoon of cooking oil ( olive or coconut oil or butter), add onion, string beans, carrots, green pepper, ground black pepper, salt to taste, stir and saute for 1 to 2 minutes, then add parsley. Stir and add quinoa, stir perfectly and cook for another minute or so and set apart in a serving plate
Fish : If using whole fish as it is the case here, wash thoroughly with lemon and rinse out with plenty of running water, let it sit in a strainer for a few minutes or use a paper towel to remove the extra water. Rub the fish with lemon and do not rinse it out this time.. Mix paprika, turmeric, black pepper and salt in a small bowl . season the fish with the mix thoroughly. You can let it sit overnight or a few hours before cooking. Heat a heavy metal pan on a medium heat, spray some oil and add the fish. Grill for 2 to 5 minutes per side. Use a cooking thermometer if needed to make sure the fish is cooked at 145 degree F at least. Add it to the quinoa
Cream sauce: heat a small pot on low heat and melt butter, add garlic and stir, cook for 30 seconds to a minute, add heavy cream and let it simmer, add grated cheese and let it milt perfectly, add black pepper and stir. Serve in a small bowl
Hot pepper sauce: Combine pepper, garlic, tomato, onion and white peppercorns in a blender and blend. Pour the mix to a small cooking pot and add salt to taste. On a low to medium heat, cook until water dries. Serve in a small bowl and add a teaspoon of olive oil
Macronutrients nutrition facts (approximate) per serving (without cream sauce)
Protein: 50 g
Total Carbs: 25 g
Net carbs: 20 g
Fat: 20g
Calories: 505
If you are on a keto diet, quinoa is the ingredient with a lot of carbohydrate here. I would say use only half of the quinoa I used or less to meet your diet requirement.
If using cream sauce with the ingredient I used in this recipe, you are adding much more fat to your meal. Be aware of that.
Cream sauce macro nutrients:
Protein: 8 g
carbs: 5 g
Fat: 40 g
Calories: 412
You can use light cream instead of heavy cream as heavy cream is very fatty. Or just use less cream sauce for this meal