Fiesta Quinoa Salad

Some of you may know I recently decided to try Quinoa.

 I have seen and heard of it before, but never tried it. 

So what better place to try something new than a restaurant!

I ordered an amazing roasted veg and greens salad, topped with goat cheese and quinoa. 

I fell in love.

Now my goal was to see if I could make something that I had never made before

 (and only eaten once)

 taste okay?

Not a problem. If you're concerned about screwing it up, not likely. It's pretty fool-proof!

I know there are SO many health benefits to Quinoa. A big one for me is that it's gluten free (I'm trying to cut as much gluten as I can, because I don't think it's good for our bodies), but this as well

It's stacked with: 

• phytonutrients
• antioxidants
• can even help balance your blood sugar
• complete protein
• magnesium
• fibre
• manganese and copper

Plus...YUM!

So there are many ways to enjoy it I"m sure 

(and as I create or find new recipes I'll post them) 

but here's one I created today. I really enjoyed this, and so did my little one :)

No one can deny how good it is when they see this cute lil' face diving RIGHT in!

Fiesta Quinoa Salad
2/3 cup of cooked Quinoa (see label for directions)
1 cup of coloured pepper (red/orange/yellow) chopped
1/2 avacado, sliced
1/2 medium-sized zuchinni (or 1/2 cup), shredded on cheese grater
1/2 onion, diced
1 Tbsp minced parsley
(add any veg you like, and try a new one too!)
Dressing: 
1 lemon (juiced) 
1 lime (juiced)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 - 1 1/2 tsp concentrated chicken broth 
1 tsp balsalmic vinegar
1 tsp fig-balsalmic dressing (if you have it on hand)
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2-3 Tbsp EVOO (extra.virgin.olive.oil) -this is my abbreviation, keep it in mind :)\
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 clove garlic, minced


Once the Qunioa is cooled in the fridge, add the dressing, toss and serve cold. Mmmm....


Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!