Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Summer Quinoa Salad

Tina posted a comment about quinoa on Facebook last week and it inspired a huge response. That reminded me that I had done this post about a summer quinoa salad on the Healthy Writer blog about four years ago. Since it's the first week of summer, I thought I'd share it here.

Have you ever had Taboulleh? I think it's currently out of favor because of wheat's bad rep. Enter the Quinoa version.

I absolutely love the videos from Chef MD so today I bring you Chef MD’s Easy Gluten-Free Quinoa Taboulleh.
 Here he is showing you how to make it. It's well worth watching the video because he is so entertaining.



His website has the complete recipe if following the video is too confusing.
Ingredients –
1 cup quinoa, uncooked
1 cup frozen baby lima beans, thawed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1 cup packaged julienned (matchstick) carrots
1/4 cup each: chopped fresh parsley and mint
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Doesn’t this sound like a lovely summer lunch or dinner?


One comment on the website suggests substituting cilantro for the parsley. That sounds good too!
An added benefit is the claim that quinoa helps combat migraines!

Do you have any go-to summer recipes?



13 comments:

  1. Feta? Did you say feta?? I am so up for anything with feta in it. Thank you for this. You are most accommodating.

    Seriously I was so upset when I saw the big box I would have to buy. Tomorrow I am at the store again, will look for the bulk aisle as Kav suggested.

    Not only did I get a huge unexpected response on FB but a friend offered to bring some over. People apparently really love this stuff. WHO KNEW???

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  2. I HAD NO IDEA THAT WAS HOW YOU PRONOUNCE IT, EITHER.

    QUINOA. LIKE TINA.

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  3. lolol. Well like Teenwa.

    Qweenwa.

    It's late. I should sleep.

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  4. The first quinoa I tried was overcooked mush like grits.

    I can't handle grits.

    I didn't like quinoa.

    And I don't know if I'm brave enough to give it a second chance, so I'm eyeing this recipe with great suspicion!!!

    Have you noticed that about every 24 months, a new wonder food hits the American magazine world, and all of a sudden we're all on board?

    This is similar to the 70's magazine pushes, except: THEY FEATURED CAKES!!!! AND DESSERTS!!!! AND HOTS AND HAMBURGS ON THE GRILL!!!!

    The seventies' clothes were horrible... but the food was great!

    So quinoa salad, hmm???? And feta????? And limas....

    Okay, I'm going to skip the quinoa, substitute cheddar for the feta because I love extra sharp cheddar and no beans.

    I have just singlehandedly defeated your wonderful salad.

    I am a wicked, wicked person.

    Forgive me, please, I'm sure it's because my beloved computer died and was stripped clean.

    Let's pray that back-up does what it's supposed to do when I pick it up later today... and then.... maybe then... I'll try quinoa!!!!

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    1. I will forgive you most anything because of your computer woes. Fingers crossed for you (and for your reading public!)

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  5. Oh, this looks yummy. I do love tabbouleh and if I made it with quinoa my daughter could eat it! Why didn't I think of that? And the video was fun to watch with lots of nutrish info to boot.

    As for my summer favourites -- chickpea salad is at the top of the list now! And fresh veggies with hummus. I could live on those two all summer long.

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    1. I love tabbouleh, though I'd never even heard of it until a few years ago. I was looking for something to add red cabbage to and this seemed to be a good idea.

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  6. I love tebouleh, so I know I'll love this salad.

    And I could use either wheat or quinoa. I happen to have quinoa in the pantry, so I'll use that. :)

    Wheat doesn't have to have a bad rap, by the way. There is a lot of conflicting research, but it looks like if you don't have celiac disease, you really do need to have gluten in your diet. So forget the fads - just enjoy the food! :)

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    1. Jan, I read an interesting article not too long ago that the problem is less the gluten itself, but that commercial bakeries are using a forced rising method that doesn't allow the gluten to develop properly. Supposedly that is causing a lot of the problems.

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    2. I've heard that too. It makes me wonder if someone who is gluten sensitive would do better with home baked products. Hmmm.

      Of course, that wouldn't help someone who has already developed celiac. :(

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  7. Quinoa is wonderful, warm or cold. I like to combine it with whatever veggies are on hand. When I was didn't have feta in the fridge, I splashed some low-sodium soy sauce on the concoction and it was great. I never thought about adding shredded cabbage. That would add such a nice crunch. Thanks for the recipe!
    Nancy C

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    1. Yes, Nancy. That's what I was looking for - something I could add red cabbage to for that crunch.

      I bed the quinoa absorbed the soy sauce well. That's one good quality it has - adopting the flavors it's mixed with.

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