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Today I have for you a very colourful recipe packed with proteins and flavour which is ideal for lunch boxes, pic-nics, buffet parties and so many other occasions: a Rich and Refreshing Quinoa Salad.

Questa ricetta è disponibile anche in italiano.

The Queen ingredient we are going to be using today is the special quinoa.

Considered as superfood, this fantastic, versatile grain has a lot of healthy benefits:

It's gluten free: which makes it perfect for people with intolerances or that just want to avoid/cut out the gluten in their diet.
It's high in proteins: 100 gr of uncooked quinoa contains 14g of protein which consists on 8.4g per serving (considering 60 gr uncooked quinoa per person).
It's high in fibers: as much as 3.5g of fibers per 100 gr of uncooked quinoa, amount that is higher compared to other grains (2.1g per serving).
Being rich on both proteins and fibers may help you lose weight: that's because proteins speed up our metabolism and reduce our appetite; on the other hand fibers help us feeling full for longer which induce our body to eat less calories overall.
it's rich in antioxidants: which have been shown to lower our risk of infections and to prevent some forms of cancer.

In this recipe I used the three colours quinoa that has an even nuttier and interesting flavour compared to the white one.

I paired the quinoa with some mixed beans and sweetcorn (specifically Red Kidney, Black Eye, Borlotti Beans, Pea Navy, Baby Green Lima) for extra proteins and fibers, and a mix of both raw and sautéed veggies seasoned with a lemon&chili vinaigrette.

This dish indeed covers up all the colours of the food rainbow; one portion contains less that 500 kcal, 21g of proteins and it's also rich on Vitamin C and A.

Overall this Rich Quinoa Salad is a well balanced recipe that I highly suggest you to try especially when the weather gets hotter either at room temperature or chilled.

If you like recipes like this one you might also like this Summer Couscous, or this Couscous Stuffed Peppers (both can be easily made gluten free using quinoa or rice instead of the couscous), or even this easy and classic Vegan Fried Rice.

If you decide make this recipe and decide to share it on Instagram or Facebook, don’t forget to tag me for a shoutout
-> @avegtastefromatoz or #aVegTasteFromAtoZ and because I’d love to see your personal takes on my recipes 🙂

Rich and Refreshing Quinoa Salad pintrest

Rich and Refreshing Quinoa Salad Recipe

Ingredients:
120 g Three Colours Quinoa
½ can Mixed Beans
2 tablespoon Sweetcorn
1 cup Spinach
1 cup Green Beans
1 cup Cucumber
2 Salad Tomatoes
1 Yellow Pepper
1 Large Spring Onion
1 Garlic Clove
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Lemon (Juice)
½ Chili Pepper
Salt
Pepper

ingredients for Rich and Refreshing Quinoa Salad

Method:
1. Cook quinoa according to the instructions written on its pack.
2. Prep all the veggies by chopping them into cubes/small bites.

3. Sauté the veggies in a little vegetable oil and garlic (grated or finely chopped), adding each different vegetable at 2-3 minutes intervals in this order: yellow pepper, green beans, spring onion, beans (drained) and sweetcorn. Lastly we add roughly chopped spinachs that will be heated just for less than one minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Combine cooked quinoa, and the raw veggies: tomatoes and cucumber.
5. For the vinaigrette simply whisk together the olive oil and the lemon juice until they are emulsified. Stir in the chili pepper and pour the sauce over the quinoa.