Trying to fully recover from this flu I’ve had for over two weeks now, I am putting a bit more effort in to preparing meals that are packed full of vitamins and antioxidants to help my body fight off the bad guys.
This quinoa salad I made for lunch was super easy, delicious, and full of goodness. I love quinoa – you cook and eat it as a grain, but it has a very high protein content (unlike wheat or rice) and is also gluten-free (for those of you who are intolerant).
Any suggestions on new and inventive ways to include quinoa in my diet ?
Ingredients (makes 2-4 lunch-sized portions)
- 1 cup quinoa – rinsed if not already pre-rinsed to remove the bitter outer coating
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 cups of any vegetables you have in your fridge, diced: this time for me I had capsicum, cucumber, tomatoes, broccoli, red onions and mushrooms
- juice of 1 lemon (or to taste)
- extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- optional – add nuts for more super goodness – toast some raw almonds or pinenuts
- another option – crumble tangy salty feta cheese on top
Method
- Add the quinoa to the boiling water and cook for 15 minutes. The cooked grain should have a tiny curl that has separated from the seed, and have a nice bite to it (like al dente pasta)
- Transfer to a large salad bowl and fluff with a fork (as you would with couscous)
- Add the vegetables and mix
- Dress with the lemon juice, a good glug of the olive oil and salt and pepper
December 10th, 2011 at 1:02 pm
I love quinoa, it’s the perfect healthy “clean food” source of protein, I’m always looking for a new way to prepare it, this looks excellent. Sorry to hear you had the flu… 2 weeks must have been awful. Hope you’re better soon!!
December 11th, 2011 at 7:35 am
Looks wonderful. We had a bulgur pilaf the other day, sooo good.
December 12th, 2011 at 11:49 am
Looks great though I haven’t tried quinoa yet, I think I will buy some next week to try it out