Recipes

Colourful quinoa salad

Easy work lunch loading … Looking for a healthy and nutritious lunch to enjoy at the office? This quinoa salad with a herby dressing is so easy to make and can be ready in no time. Cook quinoa and make the dressing the night before, add your favourite fresh salad ingredients in the morning and you’re ready to go. Although quinoa is a wholegrain starch, it’s also a complete protein, making this a balanced meal to enjoy on the go.

Recipes

Colourful quinoa salad

Conversions

easy

SERVES 4

PREP TIME 40 minutes

COOK TIME 20 minutes

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Ingredients

Herby dressing

50 ml olive oil
2 Tbsp (30 ml) apple cider or white grape vinegar
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
2 tsp (10 ml) prepared mild mustard
1-2 Huletts EquiSweet sachets
2 Tbsp (30 ml) mixture of chopped fresh Italian parsley and mint pepper

Salad:

½ cup (125 ml) uncooked white quinoa
300 ml water
small pinch of salt
1 Tbsp (15 ml) avocado or olive oil
100 g baby tomatoes, quartered
2 small yellow or orange salad peppers cubed
100 g button mushrooms quartered
¼ cucumber, cubed
1-2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 x 60 g slice medium fat feta, cubed
1-2 handfuls baby spinach leaves

Method

Dressing:

Whisk all the ingredients together until combined. Set aside.

Salad

Place quinoa, water and salt in a saucepan. Bring to the boil over a medium temperature. Reduce heat and simmer with the lid, for 20 minutes or until just cooked and still fluffy. (Quinoa is cooked as soon as the white ‘tail’ is visible.)
Drain any excess water from the quinoa and place in a flat dish. Gently toss oil through, using a fork, and allow to cool.
Combine quinoa and salad ingredients and serve with the dressing.

Tips:

Red quinoa can also be used for this recipe. Don’t overcook quinoa as it will lose its fluffiness.

Serving suggestion:

For a convenient lunch, layer the salad in individual jars or airtight lunchboxes and add the dressing just before serving.

Nutritional info per serving of Quinoa salad:

One serving is equivalent to 1 portion starch, 1 portion low fat protein, 2-3 portions healthy fat and 1½ portions vegetables per person. GI (glycaemic index, calculated) = 43 (low GI). GL (glycaemic load, calculated) per serving = 8. Energy – 1124kJ; Protein – 7.0g; Carbs – 18.2g (of which lactose sugars from feta 1.0g); Fat – 17.3g; Fibre – 2.7g.

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