Healthy Tex-Mex Quinoa Salad

By Sarah Ann –

I started a life changing journey in January of this year. I wanted to better my health, increase my energy level and lose weight. I have done all three! I’m excited to be experiencing changes that I never imagined I could. I had become very discouraged and even somewhat depressed prior to starting the program due to my health issues.

I have 3 children that I gave birth to back-to-back, in my mid 30’s.  They were all high risk pregnancies with Gestational Diabetes. Needless to say, I experienced some physical damage to my body. I’ve come to the conclusion, I have to change my life style if I want to be healthy.

I started a new program called the 21 Day Fix. Given my love for cooking and my new healthy program I decided to create some yummy and healthy recipes that I would like to share with you – I hope you enjoy them.

Tex-Mex Quinoa Salad

Quinoa has become one of my favorite foods. There are so many ways to prepare and enjoy this dish. Quinoa has a wonderful nutty flavor. It’s also very good for you, being high in protein, fiber, magnesium, calcium and iron.

This quinoa salad is tossed together with Dark red Kidney beans, fresh vine ripened tomatoes, corn, red onions, cilantro and lime. This will last for days and get better as time goes by. This is a great salad to make for a busy week, for picnics and gatherings. Enjoy!

I like to prep all the ingredients while the quinoa is cooking. Great time saver…

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cup red quinoa, well rinsed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 cups water
• 1 small red onion
• 2 limes
• 1 15- ounce can red kidney beans drained and rinsed ( I prefer fresh beans, canned is faster) (any bean would be great as well)
• 1 cup frozen corn, defrosted, OR 1 cup fresh corn, parboiled, drained and cooled
• 3 medium tomatoes cut into chunks
• 1 bunch of cilantro, including stems
• 1/4 cup red, green and orange bell pepper
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put the rinsed quinoa, salt and water into a pot and bring it to a boil. Cover and simmer gently until the quinoa absorbs all the water, about 10 to 15 minutes, remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Place in a large bowl and fluff up with a fork to help it cool.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the rest of the salad, mix the prepped beans, corn kernels, tomatoes, bell pepper and cilantro in the bowl.
3. When the quinoa has cooled, mix it into the bean mixture. Add the lime juice and spices with the onion. Serve at room temperature.

Here’s what the finished dish should look like – Buen provecho!

Sarah Ann lives in the Beautiful State of Oregon, where she’s a proud wife and Mother of 4. Life is busy for her, like most. She started a life changing journey to better her health, increase her energy level and lose weight so she’s come up with some yummy and healthy recipes that satisfies everyone’s taste buds. If you would like to join her journey, she would love to share…. You can contact her via email Otisfamily@live.com.