Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Best Quinoa Salad Ever

I recently tasted one of the most amazing salads, EVER. It was created by our neighbor, Katie, and when I asked her for the recipe she basically just gave me the list of ingredients and told me she just adds everything together, without measuring. Well, as strange at that sounds, it works! This is a "must-try".


Ingredients

Quinoa

Olive Oil

Carrot

Cherry tomato (halved)

Feta cheese

Cucumber

Dill


Nutritional Highlights


- Contains whole grains (quinoa is a whole grain, and it's gluten free)

- Good source of protein (from the feta cheese and quinoa, both of which are complete proteins)

- The olive oil contains monounsaturated fats, which may help reduce inflammation and increase good cholesterol

- Contains lycopene (from the tomatoes), which promotes skin, heart and prostate health

- Contains beta carotene (from the carrots), which promotes skin and heart health, and may play a role in cancer prevention

- Contains healthy fats, which help you absorb both the lycopene and beta carotene.
Do you ever eat tomatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc. by themselves? You should always include a bit of healthy fats to help promote the bioavailability (absorption) of their disease-fighting nutrients! Another way to promote bioavailability is to cook these foods.


And did I mention this salad tastes AMAZING???


QUESTION: What's your favorite grain? Have you ever tried quinoa?

23 comments :

  1. I love quinoa! My favorite grain is probably wheat, but probably the worst one for me, lol.

    Feta in quinoa salad sounds amazing! Yum!

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  2. Quinoa is by far my favorite grain! YUMMM!

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  3. I make something similar to this and I've gotta say it's the quinoa and feta combo I like the best.

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  4. This salad looks so pretty! I tried quinoa few times but never liked it mich, maybe I need to try this recipe.

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  5. Yes! I LOVE quinoa! My favorite combo is quinoa with black beans, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, cilantro and some spices. :-)

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  6. I usually make a quinoa salad with roasted veggies, but I love the cucumbers, feta, and dill in this salad! I think I'm making this today with some grilled salmon! Thanks for sharing!!!

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  7. Oh! I bet the dill, feta and cucumber make the dish! My fave grain is probably barley, but really, I love them all....

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  8. Ooooh, yum! It sounds a little bit like a tabouleh salad...but even better!

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  9. your house looks GORGEOUS! and the big screen is going to make for an epic superbowl party haha or even more epicker if osu makes it to the national championship then you could have a seriiiiiiiiiiiiiious party with that!

    i didn't know feta was a complete protein! that's such a fun fact haha. i've missed you and now i'm glad i'm all updated :)

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  10. Quinoa is definitely one of my favorites! Especially mixed with vegetables, tofu and spices! Yum!

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  11. I love quinoa! Except for the fact that before it's cooked, it tends to get all over the kitchen! haha! This salad sounds delicious. I usually just throw things together and hope it turns out well. Quinoa is definitely at the top of my faves list.

    Thanks for sharing this! And thanks to Katie for coming up with it!

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  12. This sounds so good! I'm always on the lookout for new quinoa recipes :)

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  13. That recipe looks and sounds delicious!!! Cory isn't a huge fan of dill but I love it.

    PS- I love all the decorating you have done in the house!

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  14. quinoa is definitely a fave for me, too! :) i'm posting a recipe for moroccan quinoa salad later this week...soooo good.

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  15. Oh man I love quinoa so I really should try this. I don't do cheese or dill though... so I might need to make a few changes, but I was thinking about how I miss quinoa lately!

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  16. oh gina this salad does look so good. i think i like couscous better though :)

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  17. must be the dill/feta in this, I think dill is so under rated. I love rices (black, wild, brown) and oats. There is one place in the city that makes a great quinoa salad but I haven't made anything that knocked my socks off. Maybe this will be it.

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  18. I love quinoa - such a great starter to a salad.

    I make a similar salad in the summer - tastes even better with fresh veggies!

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  19. NOW I like quinoa, but it took some experimentation! I made quinor stuffed peppers not too long ago and now I'm a lover of it! My favorite recently are wheat berries!

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  20. I do eat Quinoa but I do prefer Farro, barley or brown rice. Just like the flavors of the other grains better as well as the texture.

    I do make Quinoa burgers that are good though.

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  21. Quinoa is handsdown my favorite grain, I love it since it hits the spot when I am craving white rice.

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  22. What a beautiful salad! I would definitely love it, and yes...I sure do enjoy recipes that can be easily thrown together without measuring them. I do that with most of the salads I make.

    My favorite whole grain? Well...I love quinoa, but I also really enjoy bulgar wheat. We have tabbouleh about once a week. Yum!! :)

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