Quinoa with Green Beans & Teriyaki Shrimp
Teriyaki is soy sauce and honey. One tablespoon of each, heated for a minute, and the glaze practically makes itself.
The quinoa cooks while the green beans boil. A clove of garlic goes into olive oil, then the shrimp follows for two minutes. Soy sauce and honey hit the hot pan, thicken, coat the shrimp, and dinner lands: 634 kcal, 32g protein, and 15g fiber from seven ingredients in fifteen minutes.
Teriyaki is soy sauce and honey. One tablespoon of each, heated for a minute, and the glaze practically makes itself.
The quinoa cooks while the green beans boil. A clove of garlic goes into olive oil, then the shrimp follows for two minutes. Soy sauce and honey hit the hot pan, thicken, coat the shrimp, and dinner lands: 634 kcal, 32g protein, and 15g fiber from seven ingredients in fifteen minutes.
Ingredients
- shrimp (frozen) 3 ounces
- quinoa 3 ounces
- green beans (frozen) 1.75 cup
- garlic 1 clove
- olive oil 1 tablespoon
- soy sauce 1 tablespoon
- honey 1 tablespoon
Method
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Remove the shrimp from the freezer and let them thaw on a plate.
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Cook the quinoa according to the instructions on the packaging.
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Cook the green beans in a pot of water for about 8 minutes until tender.
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Press the garlic clove.
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Heat the oil in a pan. Sauté the garlic for about a minute. Add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes.
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Add soy sauce and honey to the pan and heat for another minute. Season with pepper and salt.
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Serve the quinoa with the green beans and teriyaki shrimp.
Those green beans spend 8 minutes in boiling water. Research found that destroys over half the vitamin C — but the lutein stays virtually untouched. Lutein is fat-soluble and heat-stable, and the olive oil from this meal is what helps your body absorb it (Delchier et al., 2012).
Why This Works
Behind this recipe
Are frozen green beans as nutritious as fresh?
Research shows frozen vegetables are harvested at peak ripeness and blanched within hours, locking in most nutrients. Fresh green beans can lose vitamins during days of transport and shelf time. For this recipe, frozen works just as well nutritionally — and the convenience of skipping prep makes it faster.
Read the full evidence reviewWhere does the 32g of protein come from?
Two sources split the work. The shrimp provides animal protein with all essential amino acids. The quinoa adds plant protein — unusual for a grain because it contains all nine essential amino acids. Together they deliver 32g across the full plate.
Does soy sauce affect how I absorb nutrients from quinoa?
Fermented soy sauce increased non-heme iron absorption 3.3 times in a 1990 study on rice meals (P=0.0002). Quinoa is a non-heme iron source, and the 15ml of soy sauce in this recipe is traditionally fermented — the same type that showed the absorption boost. Unfermented soy protein does not have this effect.
Read the full evidence reviewCan I use fresh green beans instead of frozen?
Yes. Trim the ends and cut to size, then reduce the boiling time to 5–6 minutes — fresh beans are less dense than frozen and cook faster. Everything else stays the same.
