Tag: quinoa salad

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Southwestern Quinoa Salad

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Looking for something clean, healthy and full of flavor to take to your next picnic or family gathering?!? Look no further! This dish is your winner! Its loaded with black beans and quinoa to get you protein, mango for some sweetness and a little cilantro and some spices to jazz things up. And besides – it looks very pretty!

My family reunion is today and I wanted to make sure I took something that not only my own family would enjoy but everyone there and I wanted it to be a clean dish. A challenger of mine had shared her version of this recipe in one of my health and fitness accountability groups over Memorial Day weekend and  I had been waiting for a good reason to make try it for myself! Quinoa is a common side dish in my house but quite honestly, this one had a lot of chopping involved so I wanted to save it for a special occassion!

I’ll admit it wasn’t one of those “quick and easy throw together in 10 minutes” dishes but it was worth every minute in the kitchen. And thanks to my amazing hubby it really didn’t take too long with us tag teaming it!

So here goes:

Ingredients:

  • 15-ounce can black beans (rinsed very well and drained)
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa (according to package directions)
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
  • 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 cup chopped fresh mango (approximately 1 mango)
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely diced
  • juice from 1 medium lemon
  • 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp ground cumin

Directions:

Start by cooking the quinoa first (This could also be cooked in advance and refrigerated). While the quinoa was cooking, rinse the  black beans, cook the frozen corn, chop the red and jalopeno peppers, chop the mango and cilantro and dice the onion. (I like to save the onion for last because I struggle so bad with my eyes!!)

Add all items – the beans, quinoa, corn, bell pepper, mango, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño in a large mixing bowl.

Next, mix the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and turmeric in a small bowl and drizzle it over the mixture and stir well.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

(NOTE: This is best when mixed the night before so the flavors have the time to marinate!)

I’ll admit – despite wrapping this up around 11:00pm I had to taste it – it just smelled so good – and it tasted as good as I expected! Hoping the family enjoys it as well!

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Southwestern Quinoa Salad

 

And to top it all off – this flavor packed side dish is both PiYO and 21-day fix approved. (I would count this as 1 yellow and 1 tsp – olive oil – even though there’s a bit of purple, green, red!!!)  

If you are interested in  these or any other workout program and would like to get 1:1 coaching and support along with motivation and accountability, please fill out my challenge and accountability application below! I will share tips and recipes and I will help you with the one thing I always found so difficult – MEAL PLANNING!  Remember – your health and fitness success is 80% nutrition. You can get all the results and support you need right in your own home – and you don’t have to do it alone! 

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

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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!