Gluten-Free
Quinoa Salad with Baby Spinach and Grape Tomatoes

Quinoa salad with baby spinach and cherry tomatoes #vegan #glutenfree
Here is a wonderful salad for all year round, inviting, fresh and lively. The kind of salad a certain individual needs on a humid, spring day, when the sky is flannel white and the wind is whimsical. On a day like this, it’s tempting to immediately go for comfort food. Baked Mac ‘n Cheese. Or the last slice of Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas in the fridge. But what the body craves may, or may not, be what the body needs.


I’m just saying.
I’m no expert on cravings. But I know that if I got into the habit of indulging every whim and impulse that finds its way into my sun-deprived brain, I would munch on a blueberry banana muffin cake for breakfast and eat Shepherd’s Pie every noon from now until the summer solstice (a serotonin-boosting strategy not recommended, by the way, for those of us from the past a certain age where you can pile on voluptuous pounds faster than you could say blueberry pancakes on a stick).


It also doesn’t help that yours truly has three titanium screws in my left hip joint, which limits enthusiasm for some popular aerobic routines. Maybe if I turned, turned?- I would still fit mine summer fall winter jeans. As of last week there isn’t a single pair of jeans in the house that I can enjoy myself in. [And by the way, why do doctors insist on referring to hip screws as pins, conjuring sweet visions of hemming, or quilting, both petite and delicate procedures that in no way involved a couple of workbench sized clamps, traction rope and a battery operated power drill?]



All I can say is thank you goddess for black leggings. And comfortable jogging bottoms. Paired with a tunic top they hide a multitude of muffins.


And cake.

Karina xo












Quinoa + Spinach Salad Recipe with Cherry Tomatoes



This naturally gluten-free salad is delicious and dairy-free vegan. If you like dairy, a goat cheese or feta crumble would be fabulous (although, honestly, I didn’t miss the cheese). Note: Before cooking the quinoa, rinse the quinoa thoroughly in a fine mesh strainer.



Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

About 1/2 – 2/3 cup cooked quinoa per person

1 generous cup of washed organic baby spinach leaves per person

A handful of organic cherry tomatoes per person, halved

1 shallot per person, washed, sliced

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Sprinkle with fresh or dried herbs: parsley, thyme, basil or mint

A small sprinkling of nutmeg

Squeeze of fresh lemon juice or rice vinegar

Instructions:

Lightly heat a large pan (I used a wok). Pour a little extra virgin olive oil. Add garlic; mix and heat the oil for a minute.

Add the cooked quinoa and heat through. Add the spinach leaves, tomatoes and shallots. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle with nutmeg and herbs. Stir to combine.

Sprinkle with lemon juice and mix. When the spinach starts to wilt, remove it from the heat (I don’t like soggy spinach so I cook it very quickly).



Serve in a bowl.

Dig.



Recipe source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com


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Notes on the recipe:

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