Clean Eating Twitter Chat This Wednesday! And my Cucumber Quinoa Salad with Mint & Oregano
Hi, all. I hope you’ve been enjoying reading my book these past few weeks. And hopefully you have it permanently sitting on your kitchen counter like I do, cooking from it and getting it dirty!
Have you had a chance to cook any of the recipes? This week I’m sharing one of my favorite salads for making a big batch of and enjoying for lunch for the week: Cucumber Quinoa Salad with Feta Cheese, Olives, Mint & Oregano. You can take it with you on days you work outside the home, or just grab a bowl in a snap while at home so you can get back to your to-do list.
Do you have any go-to hearty salad recipes that you batch-cook?
To close out the virtual clean eating book club, tomorrow I will be co-hosting a Twitter chat with Better World Books, the people who sent cooking prizes to five lucky winners.
Tune into the Twitter chat:
Wednesday, April 9 2014
10 a.m. Pacific time/1 p.m. Eastern time
Log into Twitter or an associated app and follow the hashtag #BetterWorldBookClub. Feel free to leave any further questions below. Talk with you then!
Clean Eating Cucumber Quinoa Salad with Feta Cheese, Olives, Mint & Oregano
Quinoa is an ancient Incan grain and a complete source of vegan protein, providing all of your daily essential amino acids. Just 1 cup (185 g) of cooked quinoa offers 8 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, 15 percent of your Daily Value for iron, and 6 percent of your Daily Value for potassium, a nutrient for which many people don’t reach the recommended requirement. This salad serves as a refreshing, light, yet satisfying main or side dish. Find quinoa in the natural food section of your grocery store, near the grains.
1 cup (173 g) dry quinoa, debris and discolored seeds removed
1 1/2 cups (355 ml) organic or reduced sodium vegetable broth
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped (1½ cups, or 205 g)
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped (1 cup, or 180 g)
1/3 cup (50 g) crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup (25 g) pitted kalamata olives, sliced
2 tablespoons (28 ml) red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons (28 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon (6 g) chopped mint (or 1 teaspoon [0.5 g] dried mint)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Place quinoa in a medium saucepan, cover with water, and let soak for 5 minutes to prevent stickiness. Stir, then rinse in a colander with cool water, and drain. Return quinoa to the saucepan and add broth. Bring to a boil on high heat; reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes until quinoa is tender and liquid is completely absorbed. Spread quinoa on a plate to cool it quickly.
Place quinoa in a medium bowl and mix with the remaining ingredients. Chill for at least 30 minutes, up to 3 days.
Go Green
When domestic cucumbers and tomatoes are out of season in your area, try substituting 1 1/2 cups (360 g) chickpeas, 1/4 cup (40 g) minced red onion, and 1/4 cup (45 g) sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained and chopped.
Total Prep and Cook Time: 1 hour • Yield: 11 servings, 1/2 cup (approx. 60 g) each
Per Serving: 126 calories; 5 g total fat; 1 g saturated fat; 4 g protein; 16 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber; 4 mg cholesterol.
Reprinted with permission from Clean Eating for Busy Families: Get Meals on the Table in Minutes with Simple and Satisfying Whole-Foods Recipes You and Your Kids Will Love, by Michelle Dudash, RD (Fair Winds Press, December 2012).
You might also enjoy:
Virtual Book Club Part 1: Clean Eating for Busy Families
Michelle’s Clean Eating Mother’s Day Recipe Collection
Michelle’s Clean Eating Easter Recipe Collection
I'm a chef nutritionist, not the food police. I eat cookies but make sure to eat my broccoli too.
With the Phoenix heat setting in, this will be the perfect dish to add to our meals. I have all the ingredients either in my garden or the fridge, so I’ll make it this morning to be ready for dinner tonight!