Sunday, 31 January 2016

Sunday, 31 January 2016

Quinoa Salad!




Can you believe, its already a month since you wrote all those Resolutions for the year!! Weight loss and ‘being all healthy’is on top of my ‘goals-supremo’ this year!! Apart from the occasional caving into sugary creamy things,lets call it rewarding myself;) I am trying my best to keep our meals rich in vegetable content!


With  much research and  experimentation,I have managed to nail down some weekly staples!Will surely share all my best finds in coming blog posts! One current favourite of mine is this featured  Quinoa salad!

Quinoa is the most ‘vouched for’ miracle ingredient and I bet you always see it time and again as one that will yield amazing results in your weight loss program. With twice the protein Rice yields and three times that of couscous -it makes you feel full quicker and for a longer period !! Its also said to be a rich source of Phosphorous,Iron and Vitamins and the best part is its low in its calorie value!!


I first had this salad when I was out for lunch with friends at a great restaurant here in Qatar, they served it with some Lobster Bisque (was delissh!!), I Have adapted the recipe slightly and serve it with some grilled chicken breast and its grown to be one of my easy lazy go-to weekday recipes!

Ultimate Quinoa Salad- Serves 2
Cooking time -15-20 mins approx

Ingredients: 
Carrot  1/2
Capsicum  1/2
Cucumber  1/2
Tomato   1/2
Chicken Stock 1 stock cube  
Garlic Salt a pinch
Olive Oil   1 tsp
Avocado   1
Coriander for garnish
Salt to taste

Dressing:
Juice of half a lime
Chopped Parsley
Olive Oil


Make sure to wash the quinoa grains thoroughly a few times until the water is all clean!  
As for the cooking time I would strongly recommend following the packaging instructions to the T, as I have found that different brands of quinoa vary in cooking time. I used  chicken broth to cook the grains instead of water, this rendered a lot of flavour to the dish.
As the stock cubes are usually salty, I did not add any more salt.

Once the quinoa grain is boiling away you can get into chopping action! Chop half a carrot, cucumber, capsicum and tomato into tiny cubes! You can let your imagination go wild here and work with what best suits your time in hand!  I usually prefer tiny cubes as it looks really pretty!  You can even chop up some extra and store in in the fridge for a second meal which would totally save time!

Pour the olive oil in some pan and sauté  all the vegetables except cucumber, add the tomato last to make sure it doesn’t go all soggy! Sprinkle the garlic salt and stir away till the vegetables are cooked.

Once the quinoa is done, Blend in the sautéed vegetables and the cucumber. I usually have the salad sans any dressing as the quinoa is really moist, but if you  fancy some, you can whisk some lime juice, olive oil and  finely chopped parsley and add it to the salad.

Serve it up with some gorgeous chopped avocado and coriander!

Isn’t this super  easy!!

Have you tried Quinoa before? We would love to hear about how your weightless journey  is progressing  so far!

Have you discovered any epic healthy recipes?

Until Next time!

Take care and stay healthy!




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