Quinoa Veggie Salad - Recipe

On Sunday we celebrated my Grandma's 79th birthday with a big family pot luck.  I wanted to make something new and something healthy, so I headed to my Pinterest boards to find some inspiration.  I found this recipe for Quinoa Veggie Salad from Pinch of Yum.  The salad looked delicious and I had most of the ingredients at home already, so I decided to make it.  I changed the recipe a little bit to accommodate things I did/didn't have on hand.  You can find the original version HERE, but here is the way I made it:

Ingredients

For the Dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons warm water

3 cloves garlic, chopped

juice of one lemon

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of parsley

For the Salad:

1 cup cooked quinoa

12 leaves romaine lettuce

1 large carrot, peeled

1 cup cherry tomaotoes, halved

1 cucumber, chopped in to bit size pieces

Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1.  Cook the quinoa according to package directions.  When finished cooking, chill in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.  The texture of the salad is better when the quinoa is cool and crumbles a little more easily (instead of hot and sticky).

2.  Puree the dressing ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Store in fridge until ready to use.

3.  Shred/chop the lettuce in to bit size pieces (whatever size you like it). Cut the carrots in to a few big chunks and mince them in the food processor.  Toss the tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers together.  Toss the cooled quinoa with the dressing; then add the carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

4.  When you are ready to serve, toss with the lettuce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

I LOVED the way the salad turned out and would make it again in a heartbeat.  I had enough left to take for lunch the next day, and it was still fresh the next day.  It was super easy and it made a good sized bowl that was perfect to take as my dish to pass.  And it was healthy which made it even better!

Linking up with Katie Did What for Healthy Habits!