A simple easy to dish especially when meal prepping. A protein packed salad with Mediterranean flavors – quinoa, cucumbers, tomatoes, kalamata olives, red onion, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh lemon and a little feta cheese combined makes a healthy salad with fresh clean ingredients. It ‘s one of my favorites to make ahead of time and stash in the fridge for a few days of good eats!
Tip on Quinoa
Quinoa is high in fiber, plus several vitamins and minerals that are low in many people’s diets. Regularly eating quinoa can help you meet your needs for magnesium, potassium, iron, fiber, and folate, a vitamin that’s especially important during pregnancy due to its role in fetal growth and development. Quinoa is also gluten-free, may help lower blood sugar levels, and aid weight loss. If you want to increase the nutrient content of your diet, replacing other grains like rice or wheat with quinoa may be a good start
Another tip is to grill some chicken and add it directly to this dish so you have an added source of protein. We enjoy taking this with us on overnight stays at hotels or any type of travel to help us stay out of the fast food restaurants when needing a quick bite to eat!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 1/2 – 3/4 lemon, squeezed
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 cups cucumber, peeled and diced
- 1/2 Red Pepper – diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1/4 cup (about 10) kalamata olives, pitted and sliced (optional)
- Grilled Chicken
- 1/3 cup chopped spinach (optional)
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta
- salt and fresh pepper, to taste
Directions:
Rinse quinoa for about 2 minutes, using your hands to make sure all the saponins are removed. Fill a medium pot with water, add quinoa and salt to taste and bring to a boil. When the water boils, reduce heat to low and cover; simmer covered 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat and keep covered an additional 5 minutes without lifting the lid; then fluff with a fork and set aside in a large mixing bowl to cool. While the quinoa cools, dice all the vegetables. Add the red onion, olives, cucumber, red pepper, spinach, and tomatoes to the cooled quinoa, and squeeze 1/2 lemon over it. Drizzle the olive oil and balsamic over the quinoa, then add feta, salt and pepper to taste and toss well. Taste for salt and adjust as needed, add more lemon juice if needed. Refrigerate before serving.
I know we love our salads and when we see protein – we are all about it, but don’t go overboard. When meal prepping 4-6 meals a day consider the following:
Ladies – 1/3c =serving Gents: 1/2c= serving
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