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I was given a free one month subscription to Weight Watchers to try their new Simple Start plan and write about my experience. Though I was compensated for my time and commitment, all views, positive and negative, are 100% my own.
Today we’re sharing a terrific recipe with you for Baked Tilapia with Quinoa and Garlicky Green Beans! It’s a really delicious meal – and you might be surprised to learn that it’s also a light and healthy recipe from Weight Watchers!
I’ve mentioned before that since the new year began, my husband Jack and I are both trying to live a healthier lifestyle – eating more vegetables and being more active – because ultimately, we both want to lose some weight! In addition to all of the health benefits of losing weight, we also have our oldest daughter’s wedding later this year and – well – we both want to look better in all of those family wedding photos! Food blogging has been tough on both of our waistlines and we need to do something about it!
In the past, I’ve had a lot of success following the Weight Watchers program – so when we were asked to try out their new Simple Start plan and write about it here on A Family Feast – it was the perfect ‘kick in the pants’ (so to speak) to get our weight loss plans underway!
Simple Start is two weeks of delicious, ‘good-for-you’ meal plans from Weight Watchers that help you get off to a great start with their program. No counting points necessary – just healthy eating made easy! They give you lots of meal ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus snacks and even desserts! (And that’s one of the things I personally love about Weight Watchers – no food is off-limits as long as you stay within your assigned points allowance!)
This Baked Tilapia with Quinoa and Garlicky Green Beans is one of the many delicious recipes you’ll find on the Simple Start plan! We’ve put our own spin on this dish by adding some fresh herbs, shallots, and sautéed vegetables (all foods on the Simple Start Food List) to the baked tilapia and the garlicky green beans. And – we also cooked the quinoa in vegetable stock and seasoned it with thyme for additional low-point flavor!
With two weeks of healthy, flavorful meals like this to choose from – we’re excited to be on the Simple Start plan! And – this Baked Tilapia with Quinoa and Garlicky Green Beans is so delicious – even if you aren’t following a Weight Watchers plan – you’ll still love this meal!
Adapted recipe reprinted with permission from Weight Watchers.
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Baked Tilapia with Quinoa and Garlicky Green Beans
There are four basic steps to this complete Simple Start meal. We’ve listed each preparation step below – and then while the quinoa and tilapia both finish cooking – we’ve listed final steps to complete the meal so that it is ready to be served all together. (Alternately you can cook the vegetable topping and green beans ahead of time and then reheat in the microwave before serving.) Please also note – we’ve written this recipe to serve a family of 4. You should adjust the recipe based on the number of portions you are looking to serve.
Ingredients
For the Tilapia
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced shallots
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dry
- Zest from one lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Few grinds black pepper
- 4 tilapia filets (about one pound)
- Juice from 1/2 fresh lemon
For the Vegetable topping (optional)
- Pan spray
- 4 ounces total of any combination of sliced red onion, red bell pepper, orange bell pepper and yellow bell pepper
- Pinch of salt
- Few grinds black pepper
For the Green beans
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon dry marjoram
- 12 ounces fresh green beans, cleaned
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Few grinds black pepper
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For the Quinoa
- 2 cups vegetable stock (or 2 cups water)
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dry
- Few grinds black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
To Prepare the Tilapia
- In a small sauté pan, over medium heat sauté shallots in olive oil until just starting to get soft (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add thyme, lemon zest, salt and pepper, stir and cook for one minute. Lay tilapia flat in a small baking pan and brush with lemon juice. Then spread shallot mixture over each filet. Set aside.
To Prepare the Vegetable Topping
- In the small sauté pan, add all ingredients for vegetable topping but do not cook yet.
To Prepare Green beans
- In a medium sauté pan, over medium heat, place olive oil and garlic and cook for two minutes. Remove from heat and add marjoram, green beans, salt and pepper and set aside. (Hold off on finishing cooking the beans – but have the wine and lemon juice ready for the final steps in this recipe.)
To Prepare the Quinoa
- In a small sauce pan, place stock, quinoa, thyme sprigs and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a low simmer and cook 12 minutes. Remove from heat but leave covered and let sit for 15 minutes untouched.
To Complete the Meal
- At the same time you start the quinoa, place tilapia in the oven, uncovered. The tilapia should take between 15 and 25 minutes to cook depending how thick the filets are.
- When there is ten minutes left for the quinoa, heat the two pans (vegetable topping and green beans) over medium heat. Cook both just until tender but still crisp. Remove topping from heat and set aside. Add wine to beans, raise heat and cook for a few minutes more. Remove from heat and squeeze the tablespoon of lemon juice over the green beans.
- Before serving, remove and discard thyme sprig from quinoa. To serve, place a tilapia portion, ¼ of the quinoa, ¼ of the beans and ¼ of the sauté vegetables onto a dinner plate for each guest.
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Notes
When cooking with quinoa, it’s important to rinse it before cooking to remove a naturally-occurring, slightly bitter taste. Or some brands, like Bob’s Red Mill organic whole grain Quinoa, which we used here, have been pre-rinsed and dried before packaging which removes that bitter taste.
You may also like the other Simple Start recipes:
Couscous with Lentils and Vegetables
Hi Martha,
I’m absolutely loving this healthy recipe and would like to include it in my weekly post, Healthy Meal Plans with your permission. Just a pic and link back to you, of course. I’ve sent a couple emails but they’re not getting through 🙁
Hope you’re having a fabulous week!
Of course Robyn – not sure why the emails didn’t get to me! Thanks for including our link in your post! Martha
Thanks so much, Martha 🙂
I made this last night and I am very thankful for the way you laid out the ingredient list and gave instructions in the proper order of preparation. I’m new in the kitchen and your way of giving instruction is perfect for my learning process. I often feel defeated when I try new recipes because I am in a constant state of chaos trying to prepare everything at once, unsure of timing, often burning things or letting dishes get cold. Your recipe allowed me, for the very first time, to serve dinner with all parts being warm and fresh. My husband, who typically rescues me when I’ve created a cooking disaster, was very impressed with last night’s dinner. Thank you!!
Hi Sarah – We’re so happy that you had success in the kitchen with our recipe!! And thank you so much for taking the time to write to us! Martha
This looks fantastic! I can’t wait to try this recipe as part of week 2 of Simple Start.
Thanks Tammilee!
That looks wonderful! And so flavorful! I love the idea of cooking the quinoa in vegetable stock; great idea!
Thank you Mel!
Oh that looks quite amazing! I love Tilapia! I definitely want to try this one out!
Thanks Amber!
Martha this looks great! Tilapia is one of my favorite fishes, super flaky and light. This would pair perfect with the quinoa and green beans. Love the twist you added to this dish! 🙂 Good luck with the weight loss, can’t wait to see the end result pictures!
Thanks Krista!
This looks amazing! I love that is is a whole meal – sides included! Adding this to my menu plan soon!
Thanks Kathy!