Recipe to Reality: Andean Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is one of my new favorite grains.

This fresh, light, healthy salad could double as a main dish or a side!

This recipe is adapted from Food & Wine Fast Magazine and is a great choice for a light dinner on a warm day.





Here's What You'll Need!

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbs. lime juice
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• 1 minced chile pepper
• 1 scallion, minced

Put It All Together!

1) Rinse quinoa in running water and drain. Transfer to a medium saucepan and add 1 and a 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp. of salt. Bring quinoa to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and cover until all the water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender but not mushy (about 17 minutes).

2) In a medium-large bowl, mix the oil with the lime juice. Add the bell peppers, cucumber, cilantro, chile, scallion, and quinoa. Toss and season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature or chilled. 

My husband was pleasantly surprised by the amount of flavor this salad packs. He was expecting it to taste like health food, but instead he really enjoyed the fresh flavors of the veggies with the nutty quinoa.

It was also much easier to go to the gym after eating this...as opposed to chili...lol!

Stay Savory,

Recipe to Reality: Zesty Shrimp with Quinoa

I'm constantly on a mission to improve my husband's opinion on seafood.

While he still won't go near a filet of fish (of any kind) I'm working on the shrimp front!

I found this shrimp recipe from Greatist.com. Since my first experience with quinoa went so swimmingly, I decided to make it again with this Asian-inspired dish.

Serves: 3

Here's What You'll Need! (Adapted from Greatist.com)

• 1 1/2 cups of raw, frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 cups quinoa, rinsed
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 balsamic vinegar
• 4-5 dashes of hot sauce (optional)

Put it All Together!

1) Start by making the sauce. Combine the the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, pepper, garlic, and hot sauce in a medium sized bowl.

2) Make the quinoa according to directions on package. Or view my instructions from my Monster Taco Salad with Chimichurri Quinoa.

3) While quinoa is cooking, heat 1 tbs. of oil (I used sesame) in a skillet and add shrimp and onions.

4) When the shrimp starts to turn pink, add the sauce and continue cooking until the shrimp are completely cooked through (completely pink and opaque). 

5) To serve, make a bed of quinoa and add the shrimp on top! Enjoy!

I would make a few changes the next time I prepare this, one being to use less soy sauce. I followed the recipe and used 1/2 cup of soy and it was way too salty for me and my husband.

Also, the recipe says to add the quinoa straight into the shrimp/sauce mixture (which I did) and the quinoa totally soaked up all that salty sauce... I would prefer to serve them separately next time.

The great thing about this meal was that I had all the ingredients in my house already!

I think this dish could be really successful with a few changes that I included in my recipe! It was quick, easy, and full of protein! 

Stay Savory,