This is a relatively fast & easy salad to make, and is full of colorful goodness. It can be made in the amount of time it takes for you to cook up the quinoa. Best served chilled.
Mexican Quinoa Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups stock (vegetable or chicken)
- 1 small organic red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 small organic yellow bell pepper, chopped (note: shown is a combo yellow/red -Aloha peppers – pretty fun if you can find them).
- 1 whole shallot (if you can find organic, do it), finely chopped
- 1/2 can (15 ounce) blackbeans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 can (15 ounce) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup edamame
- 1 (8.75 ounce) can organic whole kernel corn
- 1 jalapeño diced and seeded
- 1 cup chopped organic cilantro leaves or more to taste (Note: you can replace with Italian Parsley if you don’t like cilantro.)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2-3 organic limes, juiced
- zest of 1 organic lime
Directions:
- Fill a medium pot with vegetable or chicken stock (replacing water for stock) and cook quinoa according to directions (typically 15 minutes).
- Place quinoa in a large bowl and fold in all ingredients up to salt and pepper. Pour lime juice, and zest over salad and toss.
- Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.
- Garnish with a few more cilantro leaves & maybe a slice of lime and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts:
- Number of servings: 6-8
- Calories per serving: 340
- Total Fat: 4.5g
- Total Carbs: 59.8g
- Fiber: 13.2g
- Protein: 16.8g
- Calcium: 10.5%
- Iron: 23.6%
- Potassium: 377 mg
- Vitamin A: 68%
- Vitamin C: 175.9%
Health Benefits:
- Bell pepper: High in antioxidants to help fight diseases such as cardiovascular, obesity, and diseases that regulate blood sugar.
- Beans: Help make meals a complete protein source, improve heart health, reduce risk of certain cancers, and help control appetite.
- Edamame: Rich in fiber and folate, improve blood lipids profiles, and may reduce risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Cilantro: helps foods stay fresh longer, has anticancer benefits and improves skin health, and is a good source of Vitamin A.
- Lime: Packed with Vitamin C – this vitamin alone helps the development and repair of all body tissues, helps absorption of iron, boost immune system, and helps maintain bone, teeth, and cartilage.
- Shallots: Can help improve heart health, reduce cholesterol, manage blood pressure, and has anti-fungal benefits.
Uplift With Joy 