Rainbow Quinoa Salad

The 80s are suddenly cool again and I’m digging the throwbacks to Jem and the Holograms, Care Bears, My Little Pony and everything rainbow. Rainbow Bright. Reading Rainbow. Rainbow sweaters and leg warmers. Aaaaah memories. 🙂

But the food in the 80s, I have to say, was not so great. From what I remember from commercials, it was a lot of Cheez Whiz, sugary food-dyed cereal and Wonder bread. Enter my Rainbow Quinoa Salad to save yourself from processed woes.

I’ve made variations of this salad multiple times with rave reviews. It’s a great salad to bring to a potluck or picnic, or to make for a family BBQ. It feeds a crowd and is a great hearty vegan option for those that don’t eat meat. I brought this salad to our family BBQ celebrating my niece’s birthday recently and it was a hit!

It’s got the full spectrum of colours going on and you can add even more veggies if you like, like corn or another bean if you wish. The possibilities are endless with this salad and it’s so easy to customize with whatever vegetables you prefer. It makes great leftovers for lunch the next day as well.

As we all know, the more colour packed into our meals (from natural sources of course, not chemical food dyes) the more nutrition and vitamins. So you can be certain that this salad not only provides you with good dose of protein, fats and carbs, but also the phytonutrients and antioxidants you need to stay vibrant and healthy all summer!

I hope you enjoy this recipe and I’ll see you next time!

Mira

Rainbow Quinoa Salad (serves 6-8 as a side)

Ingredients:

For the salad:

1.5 cups organic quinoa
1-2 organic carrots, finely diced
3 organic green onions, finely chopped
1.5 cups red cabbage, finely chopped
1 small or half large organic red bell pepper, finely diced
1 can (or 1.5 cups) organic canned (BPA-free) chickpeas, drained
1/2 cup organic cilantro/parsley, finely chopped

For the dressing:

2/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
zest of one organic lemon
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tbsp. raw honey
pink Himalayan salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Rinse quinoa well and add to 1.5 cups boiling water. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer and let cook for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the pot to remain on the element for at least 15 minutes to finish cooking.
In the meantime, prep your vegetables by washing and chopping them.
Make the salad dressing by adding all the ingredients to a mason jar, screw on the lid and shake it up!
Allow the quinoa to cool to room temperature, add the vegetables and beans, then dress with the salad dressing and toss to mix. Cover and keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.