Quinoa Salad

By Guest Blogger: Jena Demarco



Quinoa has become a favorite food to my family. You will not find our refrigerator without a bowl of cooked quinoa. In fact my husband just ordered us about 50 pounds for our food storage! I really don’t know how we will get through it all, but I think the way we are consuming our quinoa, it’s probably a good possibility that we will.

Some of the benefits of eating quinoa, besides the fact that we love the taste of it, is that it is a complete protein. Meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids! It is also a very good source of manganese, iron, copper and phosphorus. It is also low in gluten content, so it is one of the least allergenic grains.

There are many other benefits of this simple grain, for more information go to this site. They will give you the history and some other recipe ideas.

Here are some of the things we do with this grain that are simple and tasty.

First we cook the quinoa according to package directions so that we have it on hand for making these recipes. Like I said we usually keep a bowl of cooked quinoa for lunches and quick dinner preparations.

To cook the quinoa, add one part of the grain (make sure to rinse it well before cooking) to two parts liquid in a saucepan. After the mixture is brought to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer and cover. One cup of quinoa cooked in this method usually takes 15 minutes to prepare. We have enjoyed it warm and cold with the following recipe.

Quinoa Salad (pictured above)

We just eyeball the amounts, if you like lots of veggies do more, and if you want more grain do fewer veggies. All veggies are cut up. This is just what we had put in and found we like, so by all means add your favorite vegetables and take out what you don’t like.)

Cooked Quinoa
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Avocado
Basil or any other favorite fresh herb you have
Mung bean sprouts or Alfalfa sprouts
Juice of a Lemon (to taste)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (just enough to coat the grain)
Salt to taste

Quinoa Patties

Cooked Quinoa
Milled Flax seed
Egg
Shredded: carrots, zucchini, cucumber
Fresh cilantro and parsley
Salt and other seasonings you like

Make into patties and grill with a small amount of olive oil. We like putting avocado on the top.