Recipes

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

A protein packed salad with Mediterranean flavors – quinoa, cucumbers, tomatoes, kalamata olives, red onion, extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon and a little feta cheese combined makes a healthy salad with fresh clean ingredients.

I had dinner at my friend Julia's house last week, and she made a similar salad as a side dish which she served with fish although hers didn't have tomatoes or feta (I recall she mentioned she was out). I posted a picture of it on Instagram the other day and got so many requests, most of you mentioning the feta was a must! So I made this for dinner last night, with the feta as you requested.

Have lots of leftovers so I am having a big bowl of this for lunch today! This also makes a great side dish for chicken or fish, perfect for backyard parties and BBQ's (can't wait for the warmer weather!) You can totally adapt this to your taste, leave out what you don't like, add more of what you do like. Easy!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 6 • Size: 1 generous cup • Old Points: 3 • Weight Watcher Points+: 5 pt
Calories: 145.5 • Fat: 8 g • Carb: 15.5  g • Fiber: 2.5 g • Protein: 4.3 g • Sugar: 0 g
Sodium: 137 mg (without the salt) • Cholest: 7.4 mg  

Ingredients: 

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups water 

1/4 cup red onion, diced

1/2 - 3/4 lemon, squeezed

1/4 cup (about 10) kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

2 cups cucumber, peeled and diced (from 1 English) 

1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/3 cup crumbled feta

salt and fresh pepper, to taste

Directions:

Rinse quinoa for about 2 minutes, using your hands to make sure all the saponins are removed.Fill a medium pot with water, add quinoa and salt to taste and bring to a boil. When the water boils, reduce heat to low and cover; simmer covered 15 minutes. Remove from heat and keep covered an additional 5 minutes without lifting the lid; then fluff with a fork and set aside in a large mixing bowl to cool.While the quinoa cools, dice all the vegetables. Add the red onion, olives, cucumber, tomatoes to the cooled quinoa, and squeeze 1/2 lemon over it.  Drizzle the olive oil over the quinoa, then add feta, salt and pepper to taste and toss well. Taste for salt and adjust as needed, add more lemon juice if needed.

Makes over 6 1/4 cups. 

Summer Tomato, Onion & Cucumber Salad 

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/tomato_onion_cucumber_salad.html

From EatingWell:  July/August 2011 

Fresh wedges of tomato, thinly sliced onion and sliced cucumber dressed simply with vinegar and oil makes the most simple salad possible—think of it as the Southern counterpart to the classic Italian tomato-and-mozzarella salad. It is best enjoyed at the height of summer, when tomatoes and cucumbers are fresh from the garden.

6 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each | Active Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes (including 30 minutes marinating time) 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or more to taste

2 medium cucumbers

4 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch wedges

1 Vidalia or other sweet onion, halved and very thinly sliced

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh herbs, such as flat-leaf parsley, chives and/or tarragon

Preparation

Whisk vinegar, oil, honey, salt and pepper in a large shallow bowl.

Remove alternating stripes of peel from the cucumbers. Slice the cucumbers into thin rounds. Add the cucumber slices, tomatoes and onion to the dressing; gently toss to combine. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Just before serving, add herbs and toss again.

Nutrition

Per serving : 58 Calories; 3 g Fat; 0 g Sat; 2 g Mono; 0 mg Cholesterol; 8 g Carbohydrates; 1 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 202 mg Sodium; 264 mg Potassium

1/2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 2 vegetable, 1/2 fat

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 2 up to 1 hour ahead.

RAINBOW SALAD

This is excellent as a side salad, or wrapped in a tortilla for lunch. 

  Preparation Time: 15 minutes (cooked rice needed)
Chilling Time: 2 hours
Servings: 6-8

3 cups cooked brown rice
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
¼ cup chopped red onion
¼ cup chopped pimiento
2 tablespoons chopped black olives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
¾ cup oil-free honey-mustard salad dressing
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
salt to taste