Tag: cold quinoa salad

Toasted almond and cranberry quinoa

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I’ve been on a bit of a quinoa kick however after making a double recipe of my quinoa salad a few weeks ago – which lasted over a week – I knew it was time to switch things up! I was inspired by the recipe on the back of my quinoa bag from SAMs club and made a few tweeks to make it my own – and it turned out delicious!!!

I love when I can do an entire dish in one pot! And this is no exception.

I started by toasting 1/2 cup slivered almonds over medium heat until golden. 

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Step 1: Toast the almonds until golden brown

Next I added 1 cup of quinoa and roasted about 5 minutes. While this was roasting I boiled 1 1/2 cups of water in the microwave 

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Step 2: Toast almonds and quinoa

 

Toasted almonds and quinoa

Once the quinoa and almonds are toasted add the boiling water along with 1/2 cup of dried cranberries, a dash of sea salt and 1 tsp of cinnamon

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Step 3: Add boiling water and remaining ingredients

 

Toasted almond and cranberry quinoa

Bring all contents to a boil and simmer covered until all water is absorbed, about 10-12 minutes

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Step 4: Cook until all liquid is absorbed

Serve alongside your favorite meals – my pick – grilled chicken tenders and grilled summer vegetables (squash, zucchini and onions)

Toasted almond and cranberry quinoa 7

This smelled amazing while cooking and tasted even better! Excited for the leftovers!!!

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***UPDATE***

These leftovers were great cold  added to some salmon and grilled veggies and as a topping on a salad.

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21-day fix approved! Talk about a loaded salad…spinach, grilled chicken, grape tomatoes, snap peas, peppers, avocado and blueberries to avoid a dressing with some leftover toasted almond and cranberry quinoa salad for a little twist! Best part was everything was all prepped in my fridge so it took about 3 minutes to pull together!! 2 Greens, 1 red, 1/3 purple, 1/3 yellow, 1 blue

Ingredients: (4-6 servings)

1 cup quinoa

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 1/2 cups boiling water

Dash of sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Over medium heat, stir and toast the slivered almonds until golden. Add the quinoa and toast a few more minutes until quinoa begins to darken. Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil, covered, then reduce heat to simmer for 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and serve!

NOTE: We enjoyed the leftovers the next day and left them cold – I may have actually liked that better!!! 

If you’re interested in learning more about clean eating, join one of my upcoming accountability and support groups!!

Quinoa Salad

2 Comments

I am new to the quinoa world but so far I am loving it!!! To me, it has a similar taste as rice but its better for you! Can’t complain about a little extra protein!!

My sister was visiting a few weeks ago and made the most AMAZING quinoa salad. It is served cold which is perfect for these summer days and the perfect side that can be prepped ahead and taken to picnics! Now, she’s not one to measure so I had to play around a bit and I left out the cucumbers when I made it to please my amazing hubby but its still pretty good! Oh and just as I went to finish up I realized that I had cilantro and not basil but it still turned out pretty good!!! I have a good bit of left overs and a trip to the store planned today – so I’ll be grabbing the basil to spice it up a bit. 

 

Qunioa Salad

1 pound Quinoa

20 grape tomatoes, chopped

1 medium cucumber, chopped (optional)

1/4 pound jack cheese, shredded 

2 TBS balsamic vinegar

1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Basil to taste

 

Directions:

Make quinoa according to package directions and chill in fridge for at least two hours. Combine all ingredients above and serve!

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Prepping the cold quinoa salad

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Prepping the cold quinoa salad

We’re big fans of turkey burgers so  our dinner included the quinoa salad, turkey burgers, and steamed veggies. 

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My ideal dinner

And luckily this recipe makes a lot…so we had it again the following night with some crockpot chicken and grilled veggies. This time I added in the chopped cucumbers – loved the additional crunch!

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Dinner is served

Interested in learning more about clean eating? Join one of my upcoming support and accountability groups!