Meatless Monday Zesty Arugula-Quinoa Salad with Parmesan Cheese

The concept of eating healthy is akin to married men remaining faithful to one woman. Everyone knows that it is the right thing to do but secretly covets another woman. Think about it.. and you will find evidence everywhere..

That's my rant for the day. Let's now  get back to eating healthy. On July 4 th, we went over to my friend's place to watch fireworks from her terrace. I wanted to make a salad for her as she too wants to "eat healthy".
So that afternoon when I went to the farmer's market, I bought some arugula, fresh radish and some fruits. Being that it was Friday, it was laundry day and I had to get that done before leaving to their house. By the time I got that done and gave the kids their dinner , I had just enough time to wash an dry the arugula leaves. Back it went into the fridge. I just packed the washed fruits in a nice little box and took it for her. Guess what we had for dinner??? Chinese!!!! Luckily her thoughtful husband ordered some Chow fun with lots of vegetables for me with some eggplant dish. Funnily, we thoroughly enjoyed the rice noodles!

So there was the arugula sitting in my fridge, which I decided had to be demolished tonight or else it was going to go bad. I hate to waste good food! I sliced up red radish, diced some cucumber, chopped a few apricots,added leftover quinoa, made a lime dressing and topped it with some toasted almonds, cranberries and Parmesan cheese. Voila! A wholesome dinner was ready!

Now the recipe in detail:

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Arugula: 1 small bunch, washed & ,leaves separated.
Cooked Quinoa: 1 cup
Red radish: 3 medium sized, cleaned,sliced thin.
Cucumber: 1 medium, peeled and diced.
Apricots: 4, sliced lengthwise
Lime juice: 3/4tbsp, from one small lime.
Rice vinegar: 1/2 tbsp
Olive oil: 4 tbsp( I used extra virgin)
Sea Salt: 1/8 tsp
Black pepper powder: 1/4 tsp, freshly ground.
Parmesan cheese: 2 tbsp, grated/ powdered.
Almonds: 2 tbsp,toasted and slivered.
Craisins: 2 tbsp.

Method:

In a salad bowl, take arugula leaves, cooked quinoa, diced cucumber, sliced radish and apricots.

In a small jar, take  lime juice, rice vinegar,olive oil, salt & pepper . Close the jar and shake well.Add this to the salad and mix well.

Top it with Parmesan cheese, slivered almonds and cranberries.

Serve immediately.

Cooking made easy:

This salad can be served by layering the ingredients: make a bed of arugula, place the quinoa on top, then the cucumbers and radish , pour the dressing and  top it with apricot, almond, cranberries and Parmesan cheese.

If the marinade is mixed in the salad, it is best to serve the salad immediately for this kind of salads. The other option is to serve the dressing on the side.

You could substitute strawberries for the apricots ,walnuts for the almonds and feta cheese /blue cheese instead of Parmesan cheese.

Tip for healthy living:

Salads are healthy only as long as the dressing is healthy. Eating a salad defeats the purpose if you top it with calorie-rich dressings like ranch, Caesar, blue cheese etc. Opt for a simple low calorie dressing like some kind of vinaigrette or basic lemon juice-olive oil dressing.
References:
http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/food/salad-dressing
http://calorielab.com/brands/salad-dressing/132

Food for thought:

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. Eleanor Roosevelt

Meatless Monday Quinoa Avocado Salad

With the temperatures getting warmer, I find myself back to making salads for dinner. I like to eat salads for dinner as they are filling without being too rich with too many calories.Truthfully, I am not a great fan of garden salads. I eat them occasionally.I eat plenty of greens. They form a staple part of my everyday diet. But, I like my greens cooked. I enjoy other varieties of salads. I make quinoa black- bean salad, chickpea salad, cucumber salad, carrot salad, cabbage slaws; all of which I enjoy. Tonight I was in a rush. I had some leftover cooked quinoa in my fridge. I decided to make quinoa-avocado salad. It's refreshing, wholesome, filling, quick and easy as you will see in the recipe below.

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Quinoa: 1 cup
Avocado : 1 large, peeled, pit removed and chopped into medium sized cubes.
Cucumber: 1 small, diced
Tomato: 1 medium, diced
Raisins: 1 tsp
Parsley : 1 tbsp, chopped
Olive oil: 3 tbsp
Lemon juice: 1 tbsp
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Pepper: 1/8 tsp

Method:

Boil 2 cups water in a saucepan with 1/2 tsp salt. When the water comes to a boil, add the washed quinoa, reduce the flame to low, cover the saucepan and let it cook for 15-20 mins. When done all the water should be gone and you should see small curly strands on the quinoa. Fluff it with a fork/ spoon and keep aside to cool.

Toss the chopped avocado with lemon juice and keep aside.

In a salad bowl, add the diced cucumber, tomato, cooled quinoa, raisins, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix well. Now add the avocados and lightly toss it.

Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:

Avocados discolor upon exposure to air. One way to prevent this is to toss it with lemon juice.

A great way to store leftover avocado slices is to wrap it in cling film in such a manner that the entire surface of the avocado is in contact with the cling film. This will also prevent it from getting discolored.

Tip for healthy living:

Avocados and quinoa both belong to the food category known as " super foods". Superfoods are foods that are nutrient-rich and are beneficial to one's health and well-being. Apart from being  gluten free and a good substitute for grain, quinoa is a great source of protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. Avocados are rich in healthy fats, protein, vitamins, protein and dietary fiber.

Remember, while all the above benefits are true,the term "superfood" has no scientific meaning and also seems to have been coined more with the idea of promoting a more healthy and plant-based diet. 

References:
http://www.livescience.com/34693-superfoods.html
http://www.doctoroz.com/slideshow/dr-ozs-10-favorite-superfoods
http://www.quinoasuperfood.com/is-quinoa-a-superfood

Food for thought:

Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. Mother Teresa