Tuesday, July 21, 2015

#1,563: Quinoa Avocado Spinach Power Salad

Here's another recipe that I made/tried for my friend Jaime.  This one was outstanding and I'm really looking forward to lunch tomorrow already!  The dressing is super simple to make and requires very few ingredients.  BUT I was ridiculously lazy tonight and decided to use a cranberry vinaigrette (bottled) instead.  I'm sure it lost a little of its "power" and health factor that way, but it was still SOOOOOO good.  I mean just look at it...how can that NOT be good?!?!

What else I love about this recipe is that you don't have to measure anything.  Yes the recipe below can be followed exactly, but why bother?!  I filled my bowl with spinach, used as many tomatoes that looked good enough to me, added some red onion along with the green onion, and used about 1/4 of an avocado because that's what I wanted to eat.  The photo above has about 1/2 c cooked quinoa which isn't a ton, but it sure was plenty for this salad. 


I also finally got to use my new Farberware avocado food huggers and can't wait to see if the other half of my avocado will still be fresh tomorrow.  Have you heard of these?  (See photo at right) I found a review of this in one of my magazines and couldn't wait to get it.  I waste a lot of avocados.  Yes I know you can freeze them, but mine always turn out brown still and it changes the texture.
1 cup dry quinoa
1-2 avocados
3 oz. baby spinach
8 oz. cherry tomatoes
3 green onions

For the dressing
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/8 tsp. salt

Cook the quinoa according to package directions.
Meanwhile, make the dressing: in a small bowl whisk together ingredients and set aside.

(I used baby spinach and just pulled the leaves off) Roughly chop the spinach and place in a large bowl.

Slice the green onions, halve the cherry tomatoes, and dice the avocado.

When quinoa is done cooking, add it to the large bowl with spinach and toss. The heat from the quinoa will lightly wilt the spinach.

Add the green onions, tomatoes, and dressing. Stir to combine. 
Add the avocado and lightly toss. Serve immediately or refrigerate for flavors to blend.




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