When we were in San Francisco this past week fellow trainer and overall bad ass Milli Bruce (millibruce.com) took us to this way cool Lunch spot. The place is called Eatsa (eatsa.com). **Shout out to EATSA, we want one in Aurora, CO** It is vegetarian quinoa bowls made by…ROBOTS! Holy cool, batman! I was a total tourist in this place taking pics! You order on an ipad, then it is sent to the back where a crew of bots put the bowls together and, yes, you can totally customize. Then, when your order is ready, it pops into this little cubby and you grab and go! It was so cool, and high tech (hello Silicon Valley, I see you). While the equipment over head is likely high, there is no staff (ok, 1 person just in case and to keep the place tidy). And the food was AWESOME! So here are some pics of the Eatsa experience.
And here is my copy cat (ish) quinoa bowl recipe!
Fiesta Mason Jar Quinoa Salad
Cook the Quinoa. (you can use any variety of Quinoa, but I love the red, white and black blend!)
- Pour the quinoa into a metal mesh strainer and rinse it well with cold water. Quinoa has a bitter tasting outer layer, so this step is very important. I rinse it for a good 60 seconds to make sure all of the bitter tasting coating on the outside washes away. Let it drain.
- Mince the garlic and chop the onion.
- Add olive oil to a pan on the stove top and heat over medium-high heat.
- Add the onions, stir occasionally, and cook until soft.
- Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.
- Add the water, salt & pepper, and rinsed quinoa to the pan, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Set the pan of quinoa aside to cool completely before adding it to the salad jars.
DRESSING INGREDIENTS (for 1 jar):
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon ground chia seeds (optional)
SALAD INGREDIENTS (for 1 jar):
- 1/4 cup corn (fresh or frozen); patted dry if wet
- 1/4 cup black beans (chick peas), rinsed, drained, and patted dry
- 4Oz shredded rotisserie chicken or diced grilled chicken (could be leftover from the night before)
- 1 teaspoon diced jalapeno (if more heat is desired)
- 6-8 small grape or cherry tomatoes, left whole (optional)
- 1 cup packed greens (optional); cut romaine lettuce, uncut arugula, uncut baby spinach, or shredded kale
- Optional: 2 TBS Salsa, 1/4 of an avocado, 2 TBS Green Chili, 2 TBS of finely diced red onion
