Recipe: Quinoa Rainbow Salad

quinoa rainbow salad | via vmac+cheese

I had no diet or health related New Years resolutions. But maybe if I’d even pretended to have some, I could’ve kept myself in check the last couple of weeks. What’s that you say? The holidays are over? You wouldn’t know it based on the way we’ve been eating around here. The wine has continued to flow, the chocolate is still being stuffed into my maw, and on Sunday, I’m almost embarrassed to tell you we had beef tartare and a hamburger at dinner. This may or may not have been after we ate a quiche I made for brunch. That had bacon in it. I feel gross thinking about it. Needless to say, nothing has been in moderation around here as of late.

So, this week Joe and I both are back on the wagon. Forget weight loss or any of that — eating colorful salads like this just makes you feel AWESOME. The old adage of ‘eat color’ is so true (at least, I think it is), so I took it to heart with this mixture of two types of quinoa, and every colorful veggie in the spectrum (purple cabbage! orange peppers! red radishes!). It’s easy to put together, and the ingredient list below will definitely make you enough salad to eat for lunch throughout the week (or as a side dish to a protein, like fish or roasted chicken).

The thing about recipes like this is they aren’t even really recipes. You can substitute out whatever veggies or other garnishes sound good to you (check out my notes at the bottom — I’ve left you some suggestions). I personally love Mediterranean flavors, so I stuck with a classic lemony vinaigrette and a sneaky garnish of feta cheese. But if you’re being super good (or are a practicing vegan), just omit the cheese and you’re good to go. Here’s the recipe:

recipe - quinoa rainbow salad | vmac+cheese

 

18 Comments

  1. 1.17.13

    You had me at “detox in a bowl.” !!!

  2. 1.17.13

    This is a great alternative for a lot of side dishes we make at dinner. Can’t wait to try :)

  3. 1.17.13

    Not always a fan of quinoa but i’m willing to try this one. It looks delicious enough and i’m a huge fan of all types of salads. Thanks for recipe. ;)

    Jah

    http://www.chatteringgem.com

  4. 1.17.13
    christin said:

    this looks AMAZING. omg. i’m so hungry right now.

  5. 1.17.13
    Alyssa said:

    This looks so yummy! Quinoa is on of my go-to weeknight meals and I’m always looking for ways to mix it up. Can’t wait to try this!

  6. 1.17.13
    Chelsea said:

    Ok, I will admit it. I wasn’t even eating salads till about two years ago. Mainly because I hate salad dressing. So, this recipe might be a bit of a stretch for me, but it looks beautiful and I feel like my bod could use some detoxing. Thanks, V. xo

  7. 1.17.13

    I love taking an afternoon to whip up different salads like this. I buy the clear plastic quart/pint containers like they have at Whole Foods, fill them up and then stock the fridge for the week. I’m gonna add this to my rotation. Looks delish!

  8. 1.17.13
    viv said:

    This looks so good and so pretty!

  9. 1.17.13

    i can not wait till i can introduce quinoa back into my diet- but i can make the rest – sounds and looks YUMMO

    PS – my friend is gonna be on Millionaire Matchmaker on Bravo TONIGHT come check it out on the bog :o)

  10. 1.17.13

    yes! I love when you do recipes. More please.

  11. 1.17.13
    Hannah said:
  12. 1.17.13
    Michelle said:

    I love these type of “recipes”. Works for everyone and all their likes and dislikes. Great way to get some protein in the afternoon :)
    Thanks!
    -Michelle
    Holistic Health Coach

  13. 1.17.13

    Looks delicious and wonderful!

    Don’t worry. You aren’t alone on the chocolate eating! I’m getting married in less than two months and would have thought that would make me want to tone that down a bit, but nah, it hasn’t!

    Love this salad post! We will get it together!

  14. 1.17.13
    Randilea said:

    Love recipes like this!! I’m not a huge dieter but I do try to eat healthy (TRY is the key word there). I appreciate you posting this! I’ve been trying to expand my quinoa recipes.

  15. 1.21.13

    Thanks for the delicious recipe, I’ll add some avocado to it, it’s a universal ingredient. I’ve been trying to live healthy and such blogs as this one are really very helpful.

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