My sister Sadie introduced me to quinoa three years ago and I absolutely loathed it, it tasted super bland and the texture was new to me. Two years ago when I started my journey to eating a really wholesome diet I bought a book all about grains and was absolutely astounded by the many benefits of Quinoa, I knew i needed to try it again. I found that experimenting with dressings and sauces going through the quinoa gave it an incredible depth and a really delicious taste – i began to love it.
Now I would say quinoa is one of my favourite foods, and use it in so many of my meals. This recipe is one of my faves, it’s super simple and really delicious. It’s great for those of you who aren’t quite convinced about the taste of quinoa, I really hope this recipe will change your mind, as it did mine!
In true ‘15 minute meal’ Style – I normally make this one up as a quick meal on the fly! l either make big batches of Quinoa at the weekend as part of my sunday prep morning (where I make loads of things to last the week) or I buy lots of already cooked quinoa such as Quinola. You can make a big batch of this salad for the week, and add some along with some green salad and a dollop for a wonderfully balanced lunch on the go!
The Ingredients
2 cups cooked quinoa
A dozen cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup sweet corn
1/2 cup black beans
a bunch of parsley, minced
1 red or orange pepper, chopped
1/4 a small cucumber, pealed and chopped
Dressing:
Juice 1 lemon (you can also use 2 limes)
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon of tahini (optional)
Method
Add the quinoa to a mixing bowl with the halved cherry tomatoes, black beans, sweet corn, parsley and cucumber to a bowl.
Add in all the dressing ingredients, the lemon juice, cider vinegar, tahini and tamari and toss really well until all the flavours are totally combined and your quinoa is tasting delicious. It couldn’t be simpler!
