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Garden-Fresh Lemon Quinoa Salad

Prep 10 min
Total 15 min
Servings 4

A super salad with a fabulous combination of flavor and textures! MORE + LESS -

Daring Gourmet

September 20, 2016

Ingredients

cups cooked quinoa (a little less than 1 cup uncooked—be sure to thoroughly rinse and drain the quinoa before cooking or it will taste very bitter)

(14 oz.) can white beans, drained and rinsed

1/2

cup diced cucumber, seeds removed

1/2

cup diced red bell pepper

1/2

cup diced tomatoes

tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

For the Lemon Vinaigrette:

1/4

cup extra virgin olive oil

tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

tablespoons white wine vinegar

teaspoon fresh lemon zest

clove garlic, finely minced

teaspoon sugar

teaspoon salt

1/4

teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

Steps

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1

Combine ingredients in a large salad bowl. Add vinaigrette and toss, or allow each person to add their own dressing.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories: 410
Calories from Fat: 150

% Daily Value

Total Fat: 17g; 26%
Saturated Fat 2 1/2g 11% Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg; 0%
Sodium: 1330mg; 55%
Potassium: 780mg; 22%
Total Carbohydrate: 51g; 17%
Dietary Fiber 8g 34% Sugars 6g
Protein: 13g

% Daily Value*:

Vitamin A: 20%; 20%
Vitamin C: 60%; 60%
Calcium: 10%; 10%
Iron: 30%; 30%

Exchanges:

1/2 Starch; 0 Fruit; 2 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 3 Fat;

Carbohydrate Choice

3 1/2

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

More About This Recipe

We’ve all heard it before: Quinoa is crazy healthy.

Still, here’s the thing. As inanely healthy as quinoa is, it’s not my favorite thing to eat. There, I said it. Try not to be mortally offended. And give me a chance to finish!

That said… there are ways of preparing quinoa that not only make eating it tolerable, but actually enjoyable.

This Garden-Fresh Lemon Quinoa Salad is a great example. It has a lot of great textures happening with the chewy quinoa, crunchy vegetables and soft white beans. Laced with the tangy flavor of lemon in an olive oil and garlic vinaigrette, this is not only an insanely healthy salad, it’s really yummy!

So what are we waiting for? Let’s get started!

Combine all the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl or container and either whisk or shake until it’s emulsified.

Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.

Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and stir to combine. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably longer, before serving. It tastes better the longer the flavors have time to meld.

Serve for lunch, as a light dinner with some crusty bread or a leafy green salad, or as a side dish for a larger meal.

Enjoy!

For more insanely healthy grain salads, visit Kimberly’s food blog, The Daring Gourmet.