Quinoa Vegetable Salad with Lemon-Basil Dressing

“Keen-Wah!” I can’t say the word without giving a karate kick after. Quinoa is a very popular food right now that is ‘trending’ all over the food world, probably as much as the gluten-free fad. Anyways, I never had experienced quinoa before this recipe.  For some reason I always compared it to wheat berries.  I’m not sure where this comparison arose from because they could not be more different. I highly dislike wheat berries and their hard texture that you have to bite into. Quinoa on the other hand is soft and has a delicate grain texture similar to couscous. The grain is also high in fiber with lots of protein, vitamins, and minerals. So coming to you now, a beautiful karate chopping healthy salad!

Ingredients

• 1 box of quinoa (4.9 oz.)
• 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 bell pepper (you pick the color- I used red), diced
• 1 ½ cups frozen corn
• 4 green onions, chopped

Dressing

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 ½ tsp. basil

Mix ingredients for the salad dressing together and set aside in the fridge.

Next cook the quinoa according to the package directions and let cool. Place beans, tomatoes, pepper, and green onion in a salad bowl.

Boil water and cook the frozen corn 5-10 minutes. Add corn and cooled quinoa to salad bowl.

Pour dressing over top and chill before serving.

I have been taking this salad to work the past couple of days and its been the perfect healthy snack.  Next time I want to make a quinoa salad with mozzarella, tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocados. The quinoa possibilities are unlimited! Hey Callee, maybe you could even make a Mexican Quinoa salad! Enjoy and please share any ways yall have cooked with quinoa!