Quinoa Spinach Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

Quinoa Spinach Salad

Have you gotten on the quinoa bandwagon yet?  Quinoa Spinach Salad is an excellent way to try it if you haven’t yet. This low carb, nutritious grain is a delightful change of pace to your traditional side dishes.  It’s completely versatile and the possibilities are endless. Today I’m sharing how to spruce up your salad with it, plus a super simple home made dressing.  

Springtime is upon us, and it seems like we naturally crave healthier foods after a season of comfort food.  Salads are the perfect addition to any meal, or they can stand alone.  Plus, they’re easy and quick to prepare.

Quinoa is equally quick and easy to make.  It only takes 15 minutes to cook.  I like to make up a batch and keep it in the fridge for awesome additions to any meal.  This breakfast bowl (starring quinoa), is my favorite morning meal right now.

A few words about salad dressing…  

I honestly can’t remember the last time I purchased dressing. It is so easy to make.  You can make a fabulous flavorful dressing with only a few ingredients.   And that’s true for this lemon vinaigrette too.  Home made dressing is so much better for you, no preservatives, no unrecognizable ingredients. 

The key is to keep your ratio 3 parts oil to one part acid, in this case lemon juice.  Your acid could also be balsamic vinegar or another type of vinegar.  Add a little honey or maple syrup if you need it sweetened up at all.  You can change your ratio to your preferences, but I always start there.

Ready to get cooking?

{Note from Carrie: This is TOTALLY 21 Day Fix compliant, you guys! Just use the appropriate containers when putting this together – if I were making it, it would be 2 green, 1 (or 2, depending on sie) purple, 1 yellow, and 4 teaspoons (or, 1 orange, depending on how you calculate the dressing}.

Ingredients

• fresh spinach
• prepared quinoa
• orange
• strawberries
• apple
• blackberries
• fresh squeezed lemon juice
• olive oil
• fresh basil
• salt and pepper to taste

3 easy steps

1. Make the salad~ wash the spinach and the fruit. Cut the fruit into bite size pieces. Place it all in a bowl and sprinkle with the cooked Quinoa.
2. Make the dressing~ squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into a small mason jar.  Add olive oil and sliced fresh basil, and a little salt and pepper. Put the lid on the jar and shake well until blended.
3. Put it all together~Toss the salad in the dressing and serve immediately!

This meal comes together in a snap.  It’s delicious and it’s healthy.  Enjoy!

Looking for more quinoa recipes?

Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl

Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

Korean Beef Bowl with Quinoa

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