Quinoa Salad Bowl

A Quinoa Salad Bowl, loaded with Veggies in a Zesty Cilantro Lemon Dressing… Simple, Healthy & Satisfying…!!

Quinoa was never on my favourite list until recently when a friend of mine prepared this recipe, and that changed my outlook to explore this wonder food. Trust me; it was a complete satisfying meal! And what threw me off was the simplicity of the dish; raw vegetables with no fancy sauces, just a simple lemon juice based dressing and it was Yumm!!

Before I indulge into the recipe, for those of you who do not know about this superfood Quinoa… it is considered as one of the healthiest food in this planet. The nutritional benefits of quinoa are endless; it’s gluten-free, high in protein (a great option for vegetarians), anti-oxidants, iron and magnesium. Quinoa cooks pretty fast than any other grains and is very easy to incorporate into your daily diet. You can add it to your salads, stir fries, and is also a healthy substitute to rice.

I have used all my favorite veggies in this salad bowl recipe. And YES, there is raw beetroot in this dish. Do you like raw beetroot? I prefer it mostly for my smoothies; check out my Beetroot Power Smoothie (its my fav!).  Beetroot is high in fiber, low in fat and high with anti-oxidants, whether it’s cooked or not.  Having raw beetroot in salad is intimidating at times, as many do not like its earthy smell. But pickling beetroot in lemon juice and salt helps to reduce its muddy taste and smell. In this salad you can use beetroot in many different ways, be it finely chopped/grated, cooked, roasted or even pickled.

Be creative, you can customize this recipe with your choice of fruits or vegetables. Adding nuts to your salad bowl provides hearty fats to your body; Almonds, Pistachios, Cashews are low calorie nuts which you can substitute for walnuts. Just keep in mind to use raw ones.

So enjoy this delicious colorful bowl of goodness!!!!

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Quinoa Salad Bowl

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

40 mins

 

A Veggie Quinoa Bowl, loaded with Vegetables in a Zesty Cilantro Lemon Dressing… Simple, Healthy and Satisfying…!! 

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: quinoa, quinoa salad, salad

Servings: 2

Author: Akhila

Ingredients

• 1 small beetroot
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 lemon
• 2 tbsp cilantro leaves (chopped)
• Walnuts (topping)
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Peel the skin of the vegetables, thoroughly wash and rinse to clean. Chop them into small bite sized pieces.
2. Squeeze the lemons and add salt to it to prepare a pickle juice, soak the beetroot and carrots separately (to prevent mixing of color) in it for 4-5 hours.
3. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool for 15 mins. Fluff it with a fork.
4. Prepare the dressing by mixing lemon juice, cilantro leaves, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk until smooth.
5. Mix cooked quinoa with vegetables, pour the dressing, and toss to mix together. Let it stand for 30 mins.
6. Top with walnuts and serve in a bowl.

Notes

1. Make sure you buy fresh beetroots and wash them thoroughly under cold water.
2. You can use beetroot in many different ways for this recipe; finely chopped, grated, cooked, roasted, or even pickled.
3. Substitute walnuts with low calorie nuts such as almonds, cashews or pistachios.