Quick and Filling Quinoa Salad

When I was at my friend's house the other day she was making a quinoa salad and to to my surprise it was quite tasty, the only thing it was missing was a seasoning blend. I decided to try her recipe and add some ingredients to it. After adding the additional ingredients the salad was perfected to my liking. In fact my whole family liked it!

There are all sorts of ingredients in this salad combination that can liven up your taste buds and help you maintain healthy eating. Why not try making it yourself?

Main ingredients:

2 cups of water for cooking
4 cups of water for cleaning quinoa
½ cup of uncooked quinoa
2 tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped (I prefer Roma)
½ cups of shredded fresh spinach
1 small red onion finely chopped
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
½ teaspoon of salt
8-10 cups of spinach leaves
2 ripe avocados, cut int half, seeded, peeled and sliced
½ cup crumbled feta cheese

Seasoning Blend:

2 teaspoons of salt
3 teaspoons of dried basil
2 teaspoons of garlic powder
3 teaspoons of Greek oregano
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of black pepper
2 teaspoons of dried parsley
2 teaspoons of rosemary (minced)
1 teaspoon of cornstarch
1 teaspoon of dried marjoram
1 teaspoon of dried dill weed
Directions:

Step 1: In a large bowl, fill with the 4 cups of water and add in the quinoa. Use a wire wisk to swish the quinoa around until you see the soapy residue come out of the quinoa. Once the residue is off, strain the quinoa and then rinse under cold water and set aside.

Step 2: In a large sauce pan, combine quinoa and the 2 cups of cooking water bringing to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for about 15-20 minutes or until liquid has absorbed.

Step 3: Place quinoa in a medium mixing bowl and add the tomato, spinach and onion. Stir to combine.

Step 4: In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, oil and salt together.

Step 5: In a large mixing bowl, make the seasoning blend. Combine all ingredients and mix well together. Then pour the lemon juice mixture from the smaller bowl into the seasoning bowl. Add in the quinoa and toss to coat and set aside.

Step 6: Arrange spinach leaves onto 4 salad plates. Add the avocado slices on top of the spinach leaves.
Next, spoon the quinoa mixture over the avocado slices. Top with the feta cheese.

Recipe Station