Quinoa Salad with Fruits & Citrus ~ Quinoa Salad with Crisp Summer Veggies {Sundays with Shelby}

A family tradition seems to be forming here. Sunday’s with Shelby. I like it. It’s a chance for me to dabble with recipes that will entice my kid to get out of bed and head my way. She is becoming a wonderful cook herself and now brings us samples of her latest culinary creations. Today we exchanged Quinoa Salad recipes.

She was met with forks as she came through the door, her dish almost missed the photo shoot.

Her version was bursting with fresh summer veggies dressed with a lemon maple vinaigrette…..crisp and delicious. She combined quinoa with lightly steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and green beans. Then added red pepper, cucumber, grape tomatoes, celery, onion, cilantro, and scallions. Her dressing was a combination of maple syrup, lemon juice, a touch of Dijon mustard, garlic, olive oil, cayenne, salt & pepper. This colorful dish had really great flavor combinations.

My salad combined quinoa with strawberries, pineapple, roasted butternut squash, scallions, red onion, cilantro, lemony thyme, mint, toasted almonds, coconut, sunflower seeds, and oats. The dressing was key lime juice, olive oil, cilantro, lemony thyme, sea salt & fresh cracked pepper. I love quinoa. I haven’t always, but now I do. It begs you to add flavor and never complains about what you choose. It’s a fantastic source of protein, fiber, and antioxidants.