Colorful Quinoa Salad

  Lunch

My youngest daughter recently learned she has to avoid gluten, dairy and eggs, which gave me a new challenge in the kitchen. I put this quinoa salad together as a side we could all share. We love it for leftovers, too.

Colorful Quinoa Salad

Average Rating: 4.692307

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 30 min. + cooling
YIELD: 8 servings.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
  • 2 cups fresh baby spinach, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped
  • 1 medium sweet orange pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped
  • 2 green onions, chopped

  • DRESSING:
  • 3 tablespoons lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 teaspoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon grated lime zest
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh gingerroot
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • 1. In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add quinoa. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed, 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat; fluff with a fork. Transfer to a large bowl; cool completely.
  • 2. Stir spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers and green onions into quinoa. In a small bowl, whisk dressing ingredients until blended. Drizzle over quinoa mixture; toss to coat. Refrigerate until serving.

Nutrition Facts

3/4 cup: 143 calories, 5g fat (1g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 88mg sodium, 23g carbohydrate (6g sugars, 3g fiber), 4g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges:
1 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 fat.

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