Quinoa Veggie Salad

I made this recipe when I was doing the Ultimate Reset (a 21 day cleanse). I LOVE this recipe. Eat it hot or cold, bring it to a picnic or summer potluck. The flavor was fresh because of the mint and parsley, but had a tang from the olives and lemon juice. It was one of the delicious recipes that got me through the Reset.

Ingredients

½ cup cooked quinoa (I used a quinoa-brown rice blend)
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Himalayan salt (to taste; optional)
½ medium tomato, diced
½ medium cucumber, peeled, diced
2 Tbsp. pitted, chopped Kalamata olives
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh mint leaves

Preparation

Combine quinoa, oil, and lemon juice, plus salt, in a medium bowl; mix well.
Add tomato, cucumber, and olives; toss gently to blend.
Gently fold in parsley and mint.
Let salad marinate, covered, in refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 308
Total Fat: 21 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 761 mg
Carbohydrate: 27 g
Fiber: 5 g
Sugar: 3 g
Protein: 6 g

If you are interested in the Ultimate Reset, or would like more recipes like this and support in your health and fitness journey, or to be considered for one of my accountability groups, fill out the form below.

Fill out my online form.

HTML Forms powered by Wufoo.

0

Quinoa Pizza Crust

So, a Facebook friend posted this video (below) for Quinoa pizza crust from Cooking Light Magazine. I thought it was a great idea, but of course, tweaked it for my own palate! It was crunchy, flavorful, and a perfect healthy, gluten free, delicious vessel for my pizza toppings.
Here is my recipe, and the Cooking Light recipe video below.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 clove of garlic chopped, or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. salt
cooking spray

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place the quinoa in a small bowl and cover it with water. Let the quinoa soak overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
3. Drain and thoroughly rinse the quinoa (this will prevent any bitterness in the crust).
4. Place the quinoa, water baking powder, garlic, basil, and salt in a food processor (I used a Vitamix blender).
5. Process until a smooth batter is formed, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the food processor as necessary.
6. Line an 8 or 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. (It may help to spray the pan with cooking spray first, so that the parchment sticks), and then spray the parchment paper with cooking spray.
7. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth with a rubber spatula.
8. Bake the crust for 15 minutes at 425.
9. Remove the parchment paper from under the crust. Flip the crust over and return to the oven for 5-10 more minutes, or until golden and the edges are crispy.
10. Remove from the oven and add sauce, cheese, and topings of your choice. Return to oven until cheese is melted.

Tips:

• When spreading batter, spread in thin even layer. 
• Cook well, or center will be mushy.

1