Quinoa Salad – With a bit of a kick.

Quick & easy!

• 3 C cooked Quinoa
• 3 Carrots (peeled & diced)
• 1 Zucchini (diced)
• 1 Red Pepper (diced)
• 1 can Black Beans (rinsed well)
• 1/2 – 1 C chopped fresh Parsley
• 2 – 4 tbsp minced Jalapeño ( I used ones out of a Jar)
• juice of 2 Lemons.
• 1/4C (or slightly less) Olive Oil
• Salt (to taste)
• 4 tsp Cajun Spice

First combine all the ingredients listed above into a large bowl and stir well (apart from the Quinoa, Olive Oil & Salt) .

Lastly add the Quinoa & Olive Oil into the same bowl, stir in well and then season to taste with Salt.

I’ve found this keeps OK in the fridge for up to 2 days without drying out too much as the Olive Oil helps keep things moist.

Salad Jars

Jars will keep for 4-5 days, just keep them upright and only shake in the dressing when you’re ready to eat them. The idea is the ingredients at the bottom (Sugar Snap Peas & Red Peppers) will sit ok in the dressing for several days.

Dressing. Amount of dressing used per jar is down to personal preference, below was enough for me for 2 jars (I used 1L Mason Jars.) I think you could easily sub in any vinaigrette based dressing here instead.

• 2tbsp Olive Oil
• 3tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 tbsp honey
• dash sesame oil

Salad. Put the dressing in first. Ingredients are then layered in, in the order shown from the bottom up. I think the ingredients used here are pretty flexible based on personal preference; just be sure to use ingredients in the bottom that can sit ok in the dressing for a few days.

• Sugar Snap Peas
• Sliced Red Pepper
• Edamame (shelled)
• Carrot Ribbons
• Vermicelli Noodles
• Red Kidney Beans
• Tofu Slices (lightly fried in canola & sesame oil, then doused in a mix of sweet chilli & soy sauce)
• Diced Cucumber
• Spinach

Shake jars when ready to eat! (you may want to add additional dressing on top like sweet chilli just before you eat it)

Recipe adapted from one originally by Lynda Diamond in Impact magazine.