Food For Thought

Hot summer days are the perfect time to break out those refreshing salad recipes. This quinoa salad has been a go-to of mine for years! With it’s balance of crisp veg, a tangy umami filled dressing and refreshing herbs, it’s SO crave-able. Downright addictive!

I’ve been making this salad for so long, that I don’t recall where the original inspiration came from! I do know that I swapped in coconut sugar and avocado oil as healthier alternatives in the dressing. Coconut sugar is less refined that white or brown sugar and does not have as quick an impact on blood sugar levels. Avocado oil (or olive oil) is a more stable fat than vegetable oils, like canola oil. Vegetable or seed oils are fragile fats that are damaged during processing and highly inflammatory.

Quinoa is a seed that is naturally gluten free and provides a fairly good punch of protein for a plant food. Unlike most plant based foods, it contains all 9 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. I tend to cook a whole bunch of quinoa at one time and freeze it in “salad” size portions (3 to 4 cups of cooked quinoa), so when the urge for this salad or my Curry Quinoa Salad hits, I’m one step closer to digging in!

Quinoa also is coated in saponins, a bitter tasting compound that acts as an insecticide for the plant. Rinsing your quinoa with cold water prior to cooking it will remove the saponin and prevent that bitterness from transferring to you finished product!

Feel free to mix up the veggies in this salad or omit herbs you may not be fond of (for you cilantro haters out there!). It makes a great addition to summer picnics or BBQs, as it can sit at warmer temps without spoiling.

Eat it on its own or add your favorite protein (shrimp is delicious with this) and enjoy!

Summer Quinoa Salad with Herbs

A refreshing, flavor packed salad that's great as a side or on its own!

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish

Equipment

• 1 Medium Saucepan
• 1 Strainer (fine mesh) for rinsing quinoa prior to cooking
• Knife
• Cutting board
• Whisk
• Small bowl for mixing the dressing
• Large Salad Bowl
• Tongs or utensils for mixing salad ingredients

Ingredients

  

• 1 & 1/3 cup Quinoa
• 2 & 1/3 cups Water
• 1 Red Bell Pepper diced
• 1 English Cucumber diced
• 1 cup Grated and Shedded Carrot
• 2 Scallions finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Cilantro finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Mint finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Thai Basil (or sub regular basil) finely chopped

Dressing

• 1.5 tbsp Avocado oil or Olive Oil
• 2.5 tsp Red Boat Fish Sauce
• 2 tbsp Coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

Instructions

 

Quinoa

• Rinse quinoa throughly under cold water.
• Add quinoa and water to saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
• Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered with lid, until water has been completely absorbed (15 to 20 minutes).
• Remove from heat and allow to sit with lid on for 5 minutes.
• Remove quinoa from pot. If making the salad immediately, place quinoa in fridge to cool for 20-30 minutes before assembling salad.

Dressing

• Combine fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, salt, red pepper flakes and oil in a small bowl and whisk to combine and dissolve sugar. Set aside.

Salad

• Combine cooled quinoa, red pepper, cucumber, carrots, scallion and herbs in bowl.
• Pour dressing over contents of bowl.
• Toss well to combine.
• Chill in refrigerator prior to serving.
• Keeps well in the refrigerator for several days.

Notes

Add a protein, such as grilled chicken or shrimp, to make this a main course salad.

There are a number of recommended quinoa to water ranges out there. Many recommend 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa. I’ve found that 1.75 cups of water for every cup of quinoa works well for me and provides fluffy, not soggy, quinoa. Start with the directions on your bag of quinoa and adjust from there. Experiment with what ratio works best in your kitchen!

 

Keyword dairy free, gluten free, healthy fats

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. The holiday season is winding up for most of us and I head back to the PNW tomorrow after a wonderful, soul rejuvenating, extended visit with family in the Motherland. 6 weeks away from my regular routine is a long time and I know the first thing I need to do (after an extended snuggle-fest with my fur baby), is to stock the fridge with food!! 

For many, the New Year is a time to reset and recommit to those healthy habits that may have fallen by the wayside during all the holiday fun. Gyms will be popular again, google searches for cleanses will go through the roof, but the best way to support a healthy lifestyle and get back on track is to make sure you have healthy food on hand!

I’m a weirdo. I enjoy grocery shopping, but I know for many it is a CHORE! You find it hard enough carving out time to shop, let alone figuring out what you should and shouldn’t be filling your cart with!

So here’s my TOP 5 TIPS for grocery shopping with your health in mind.

1.  Is it a WHOLE food?

Most of the food we eat should whole, single ingredient foods – foods that are unprocessed, unrefined, and still recognizable as something you would find in nature! Processing can damage or strip nutrients from the food; chemical additives, like colours, flavours or preservatives, and other ingredients, such as sugar and vegetable oils, contribute to the damaging effects of processed foods as well.

2. Think Variety

Don’t get stuck in a rut! We want to be eating a wide range of foods. Mix up the selection in your fruit and veggie selections. Be daring and try something new! In our Standard American Diets, approximately 60% of the calories come from soy, wheat and corn. That’s means we are leaving A LOT of good nutrition on the table by missing out on all the phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals in colourful fruits and vegetables. 

Try to “Eat The Rainbow”. Can you get at least one fruit or vegetable from each colour in the rainbow on your plate daily?

Eating a wide variety of plant foods is also great for supporting your microbiome (the beneficial bacteria in our guts that support overall health). The more varieties of plants consumed, the more robust and diverse the microbiome.

3. Think Seasonally

Eating with the seasons is one way to increase the diversity in your diet and allow us to consume a wide range of nutrients that changes often. Choosing seasonal produce can often mean getting more nutrient dense produce. It hasn’t been stored in a warehouse for months, slowing losing its nutrient potency. A quick google search can give you an idea of what is in season in your region, so you can add some seasonal goodies to your cart!

4. Think Locally

Depending on where you live, this is easier said than done. If you live in a temperate climate with long growing seasons, you are going to have an easier time sourcing local food than someone who lives under 4 feet of snow for 6 months of the year!

Farmers Markets, CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) memberships, your own garden are all great places to get fresh, local produce. Because it is freshly harvested, the nutrient density is going to be much higher than the same thing that was harvested, stored and transported many miles to reach your local grocery store.

Some extra bonuses of eating local are that you are supporting local farmers, eating what is in season on the farms and, because it hasn’t travelled long distances, it is better environmentally!

5. Think Quality

I know organic produce is expensive and, for the most part, looks exactly like its cheaper, conventional cousin.  So what’s the difference? 

Different countries have different regulations around the term “organic”. In the U.S., certified organic means annual audits are conducted to ensure the following standards are met: 

– No synthetic fertilizers or pesticides

– No antibiotics or hormones 

– No GMOs

In today’s world, we are exposed to a multitude of toxins on a daily basis. On top of just adding to our toxic load and stressing our detoxification system, many of these toxins are potential carcinogens and/or endocrine disruptors (meaning they affect our hormone balance). We don’t always have control over what we are exposed to, so it’s important to focus on areas where we CAN lessen our exposure. Eating organic is one way to do that. 

For more information about Organic Vs Conventional check out THIS post I wrote.

So how do you go about fitting organic into your budget? Do what you can with what you have.  I’d rather see someone chomping through a bunch of conventionally grown carrots than diving headfirst into a box of Oreos!  Follow the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen Lists and choose your organic produce from those that may have the highest pesticide residue.  

One last tip? Whenever possible, get to know your local farmers/producers!  Many smaller farms follow all the organic standards, but simply do not have the money to get “certified”.  Ask questions about their product. If they are proud of their processes, they will be happy to share!