One of my ‘healthy eating’ work buddies brought in the most delicious salad to share.  One bite in, just one….and I was recreating this salad in my mind to share with you.  We decided to call it Quinoa & Raw Veggie Salad.

The idea of this salad is to add a good variety veggie colors and textures to the cooked quinoa.  That’s what makes it so special…..that and the lovely lemon vinaigrette.

I used carrot, celery, red onion, zucchini, fresh corn, radish, chickpeas, edamame, and kale.  My buddy Mel also added shrimp….fabulous!!  The idea is to add your favorites and make it your own.

Quinoa Tip:  Before boiling, I like to rinse my quinoa under cool running water for about a minute using a fine mesh strainer.  I then add the 1 cup of rinsed quinoa and two cups of water to a 1 1/2 quart saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low simmer.  Cook for 15 minutes, then turn off heat.  Allow to sit an additional 5 minutes without removing lid.  Perfect, fluffy quinoa every time.

For the dressing, just a nice light olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice, minced garlic, salt & pepper vinaigrette.  The addition of freshly chopped herbs would be a natural with our Quinoa & Raw Veggie Salad.

I will be making this salad on a regular basis to take to the office for lunch.  The chickpeas and edamame pack a nice protein punch to get you through the afternoon. Don’t worry that the recipe makes a generous batch, once you introduce this to your work family there will be plenty of volunteers to help you {Share the Love}.

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Quinoa & Raw Veggie Salad

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 351kcal

Ingredients

For the salad…

• 1 cup quinoa prepared according to package instructions
• 1 carrot diced
• 1 celery stalk diced
• 1 small zucchini diced
• 1 ear fresh corn kernels cut off cob
• 5 radishes fine diced
• 1/4 cup red onion fine diced
• 1 15- ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 1 bag Steamfresh edamame steamed for 3 minutes, removed from shells
• 1-2 cups fresh kale thick stems removed, chopped
• chopped fresh herbs such as cilantro, mint, or parsley, optional

For the dressing…

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 Tbl. minced garlic
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

• Prepare the quinoa according to package instructions. Allow to cool room temperature.
• Toss the cooled quinoa with the diced veggies.
• Combine dressing ingredients and gradually pour over quinoa mixture, stirring as you go. Adjust salt & pepper to taste. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

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