QUINOA GARDEN SALAD- Vegan, Gluten-Free & Oil-Free

I love salads. And I can eat a whole heck of a lot of salad too! Normally I would say this isn’t a big deal, but when I’m trying to pack a salad to bring to work for lunch it can become a problem…I never have a container big enough for all the salad I want to eat! In order to make my salad smaller but still satisfying I started adding quinoa to the mix. Quinoa is technically a seed but it’s used as a grain. It’s full of vitamins, minerals and yes, protein. Quinoa has all of the essential amino acids and is therefore considered a “complete protein”. The more I learn about protein, the more I realize it doesn’t matter if a food has all the amino acids or not. As long as you eat a wide enough variety of plant-based foods you’ll get all of the amino acids you need. With that said, quinoa is delicious and satisfying so I enjoy it and consider it a bonus that it’s got all the essential amino acids.

Oil-Free Quinoa Garden Salad

Raw crunchy veggies are paired with tahini smothered quinoa for a quick and satisfying salad.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup water or vegetable broth
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 english cucumber, chopped
1/2 avocado, cubed
6 romaine lettuce leaves, sliced into thin strips
2 tbsp tahini
1 tsp Braggs Liquid Aminos (or other gluten-free soy sauce substitute)
sriracha, to taste

Instructions:

Add quinoa and water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let cook for 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy.
Stir the tahini, Braggs and sriracha into the cooked quinoa.
Add the chopped veggies and mix the salad well.
Enjoy right away or let chill in the fridge.