Great picnic spot to eat my quinoa salad!
It’s now Week 3 of Dr. Fuhrman’s Holiday Challenge , how is everybody doing? Although I’m not losing very much weight (1.5 pounds so far), the Challenge has been helpful so far in re-focusing me on eating more vegetables and thinking about the emotional aspects of eating. If you’re like me and have had an unhealthy relationship with food or your body, then it takes a lot of work to re-build those connections.
My blog friend Wendy of Healthy Girl’s Kitchen wrote a great post here for people just starting out on Dr. Fuhrman’s plan. In this post, she lists some of her favorite books to help along the way.
I’ve also been watching Kirk Hamilton’s new cooking videos on YouTube, “ The Sloppy Vegan .” Kirk does a great job of making quick and easy healthy meals. I was inspired by his video on quinoa salad to make my own. As you can see from the picture above, the salad is a great dish to take on the road. I headed to the beach this weekend, although it was too cold to eat outside so I enjoyed the view from my car.
The salad is enormous depending on how many vegetables you add. I wanted to eat it all week so I kept adding more and more ingredients. Check out the size of the bowl compared with a medium-sized apple (which I also ended up chopping up and adding to the mix):
Print This!
Get Your Veggies Quinoa Salad – Makes 6-8 Servings
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 can cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 carrots, shredded
1 cucumber, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 medium apple, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped dried fruit (I used cranberries and cherries)
1/8 cup each sunflower seeds and toasted pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon each dried cumin and paprika
ground pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried garlic
juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup each chopped fresh mint and parsley
1/4 cup chopped olives, rinsed well
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a very large bowl and stir to combine. Serve cold or at room temperature. Can also be served on top of a green salad. Top with sliced avocado, if desired.
Phew! That’s a lot of vegetables, don’t you think? The beauty of this salad is that you can throw in whatever is taking up space in your refrigerator drawer.
Speaking of veggies, I found another delicious way to add them into meals and that is as a topping for soups. In this case, I cup up some fresh basil, onions and yellow bell pepper:
Stirred them into my soup :
The vegetables added great crunch and flavor!
I’m working on my last Microbiology lab where I’ve swabbed surfaces around the house. I’ll post my results in a few days. Be afraid, be very afraid. I’m so looking forward to having time off from school later this month although I’ve just registered for an independent study course that I can start at any time. Doh! In the spring I’ll be taking two courses for my master’s in public health nutrition that should be fairly interesting: Nutrition in the Developing World and Introduction to the U.S. Healthcare System. Do you have time off for the holidays and do you have any exciting plans?
It’s now Week 3 of Dr. Fuhrman’s Holiday Challenge , how is everybody doing? Although I’m not losing very much weight (1.5 pounds so far), the Challenge has been helpful so far in re-focusing me on eating more vegetables and thinking about the emotional aspects of eating. If you’re like me and have had an unhealthy relationship with food or your body, then it takes a lot of work to re-build those connections.
My blog friend Wendy of Healthy Girl’s Kitchen wrote a great post here for people just starting out on Dr. Fuhrman’s plan. In this post, she lists some of her favorite books to help along the way.
I’ve also been watching Kirk Hamilton’s new cooking videos on YouTube, “ The Sloppy Vegan .” Kirk does a great job of making quick and easy healthy meals. I was inspired by his video on quinoa salad to make my own. As you can see from the picture above, the salad is a great dish to take on the road. I headed to the beach this weekend, although it was too cold to eat outside so I enjoyed the view from my car.
The salad is enormous depending on how many vegetables you add. I wanted to eat it all week so I kept adding more and more ingredients. Check out the size of the bowl compared with a medium-sized apple (which I also ended up chopping up and adding to the mix):
Get Your Veggies Quinoa Salad – Makes 6-8 Servings
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 can cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 carrots, shredded
1 cucumber, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 medium apple, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped dried fruit (I used cranberries and cherries)
1/8 cup each sunflower seeds and toasted pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon each dried cumin and paprika
ground pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried garlic
juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup each chopped fresh mint and parsley
1/4 cup chopped olives, rinsed well
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a very large bowl and stir to combine. Serve cold or at room temperature. Can also be served on top of a green salad. Top with sliced avocado, if desired.
Phew! That’s a lot of vegetables, don’t you think? The beauty of this salad is that you can throw in whatever is taking up space in your refrigerator drawer.
Speaking of veggies, I found another delicious way to add them into meals and that is as a topping for soups. In this case, I cup up some fresh basil, onions and yellow bell pepper:
I’m working on my last Microbiology lab where I’ve swabbed surfaces around the house. I’ll post my results in a few days. Be afraid, be very afraid. I’m so looking forward to having time off from school later this month although I’ve just registered for an independent study course that I can start at any time. Doh! In the spring I’ll be taking two courses for my master’s in public health nutrition that should be fairly interesting: Nutrition in the Developing World and Introduction to the U.S. Healthcare System. Do you have time off for the holidays and do you have any exciting plans?