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Salad #42 – Kale, Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

by 4 Comments


Kale, Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

This salad is packed so full of nutrition that you just can’t help but feel good about eating it. It will keeps well in the fridge for a couple days which is good because this makes a ton. If you like your food on the spicy side you’ll probably want to increase the amount of chili powder – the recipe is pretty mild as it’s written. You could easily turn this into a great lunch by having some chicken or a hard boiled egg on the side – or even throwing a fried egg right on top.

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Kale, Quinoa and Black Bean Salad
Author: 
Recipe type: Salad
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa
  • 2 fresh squeezed limes
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 4 TBSP olive oil
  • 2 TBSP white wine vinegar
  • ½ tsp salt and pepper to taste
  • 2-3 handfuls of fresh kale or other greens
  • 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained (about 1½ cups)
  • 2 large chopped carrots
  • 1-2 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 avocado, sliced or cubed (optional)
Instructions
  1. Mix up the dressing by whisking the lime juice, chili powder, olive oil, white vinegar and salt and pepper together in a small bowl.
  2. Separate the leaves of the kale from the stems and cut them into tiny pieces. I ran mine through my food processor which worked really well.
  3. Chop the carrots (also great in the food processor) and the bell peppers (less awesome) into small pieces.
  4. Add all the ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well.
Notes
Adapted from http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2013/06/kale-and-quinoa-salad-with-black-beans.html

Did They Eat It?

Nicky (2 years old): “no.”

Stephen: Good.

Anne: Great. Tangy but not too spicy.

Dana: I liked it. It was easy to put together and it makes a ton.

Kale, Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

 

Salad #33 – Mexican Street Corn Inspired Quinoa and Corn Salad

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Mexican Street Corn Inspired Quinoa and Corn Salad

I’ve been seeing recipes for Mexican street corn popping up on pinterest lately. I ended up with some extra roasted corn after making this salad so I decided to try to make a salad version. This recipe probably does not have much in common with the kind of corn you might actually get on the street, but it is super good nonetheless. Even my relatives who are not keen on spicy food liked this recipe although I did try to keep it pretty mild.

Mexican Street Corn Inspired Quinoa and Corn Salad Recipe

(inspired by this Mexican Street Corn recipe and this Mexican Corn and Quinoa salad recipe)

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Salad #33 - Mexican Street Corn Inspired Quinoa and Corn Salad
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups cooked red or white quinoa
  • 2  ears grilled corn cut from the cob (or you could just use frozen kernel corn or roast the corn in the oven)
  • squirt of sriracha sauce (or other hot sauce)
  • 1 lime, juiced (optional)
  • 1-2 tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
  • chili powder to taste
  • 1 TBSP of mayo
  • drizzle of olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 handful cilantro, chopped (optional)
Instructions
  1. Mix up the mayo, olive oil, chili powder, salt and pepper (and lime if using).
  2. Mix the dressing with the quinoa, corn, a squirt of sriracha sauce (and the feta and cilantro if using).
  3. Adjust the heat as you like with the chili powder and sriracha sauce.
  4. Best served at room temperature, but generally just delicious.

Mexican Street Corn Inspired Quinoa and Corn Salad

Did They Eat It?

Stephen: Really good. Mint might be good in it too.

Richard – I liked that and I’m not into spicy foods. Enough to liven it up.

Deb – Nice side dish. Healthy and spicy.

Nicky (1.5 years) – liked the salad and didn’t mind the heat.

Gordie (4.5 years) – refused to try it. Was upset that the corn looked burnt so wouldn’t try that either.

Dana – This was even better than I had expected.

Mexican Street Corn Inspired Quinoa and Corn Salad

 

Salad #7 Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

by 2 Comments

I’m trying to make a different interesting, seasonal salad each week so I’m paying attention to ingredients that I normally wouldn’t. I saw the fenugreek by the herbs when I was picking up some parsley and bought it home to figure out how I could make a salad out of it. 

I thought it would replace parsley nicely in a Tabbouleh like Salad so this is what I came up with. But if you don’t have Fenugreek, just use the more traditional parsley.

Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

Quinoa Tabouleh Salad

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Salad #7 Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup Quinoa
  • 2 small or 1 large tomato
  • 1 bunch of fenugreek leaves (or parsley)
  • half a cucumber (or two baby cucumbers)
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Cook Quinoa according to package instructions and let cool.
  2. Mix with chopped tomato, cucumber and fenugreek.
  3. Mix the remaining ingredients together either in a small bowl and whisk or in a small container with a lid and then shake until the dressing looks uniform and creamy.
  4. Add the dressing to the Quinoa mixture.

Variations

  • Use rice, barley or bulger instead of the Quinoa
  • Use parsley or a mixture of green herbs (dill, basil etc) instead of the fenugreek

 Did they eat it?

Nicole (12 months): liked it but had a hard time picking it up

Gordie (3.5 years): I bribed him to try two pieces of Quinoa. Said it was good but wouldn’t try any more.

Deb: Nice and fresh.

Stephen: Good. The fenugreek flavor isn’t too over powering.

Dana: This salad felt nice and light. It was a nice break from some heavier winter salads. The fenugreek has a bit of a bitter taste but you can counteract that with a bit of salt.