Quinoa Salad

"Clean Eating", this is what I am currently aiming for 90% of the time. There will always be room for treats of course - still a baker at heart. Clean Eating is about trying to eat foods only in thier natural state, nothing processed or modified by us! No ready meals, nothing in packets with preservatives and ingredients you cant pronounce. No white sugar, white flour. etc

I made this vegan, super healthy, clean eat salad for dinner and it was DEElish :) Quinoa can be tricky but the lemon and coriander give it a kick up the arse and make it into a dish i actually wanted to eat!

Shopping Basket:

1/3 cup of quinoa

1/2 avocado

1/2 small white onion

1/2 red pepper

1/2 tin of black eyed beans (or any other bean)

lemon juice

coriander (fresh)
Olive oil

Kitchen Activities:

1. Sort your quinoa!You can follow the instructions on your box of quinoa. Generally, start with quinoa in a pan and add double the volume of water. Simmer on a low heat until most of the water has been absorbed. Remove from heat, cover and let the remaining water absorb into the grains. It should double in size and come up all nice and fluffy.

2. Vegetables! Whilst your quinoa is cooking, chop your pepper and half the onion and fry in a pan with some olive oil. Add your beans to heat through. (if starting with dry beans you should obviously leave to soak overnight prior to cooking).

3. Go ROAR! Next, chop your avocado into chunks and rip up your coriander leaves. Chuck these into the pan with your pepper/bean mix. Add in the rest of your onion which should be raw. I cut mine into half rings. Add a splash of lemon juice and some pepper. Mix. Adding raw onion is optional. It does make the salad "hotter". I love raw onion, but its up to your personal taste :)

4. MIX! Tip your pepper/avocado/bean mix into the quinoa pan (all the water should have been absorbed by now). Mix through.
5. EAT

The Science Bit ;)

Quinoa has a range of health benefits. Firstly it is gluten free so perfect as a replacement for pasta for those who have an allergy. Its full of phytonutrients (nutrients that are only found in plant based foods and grains), antioxidants and can balance blood sugar levels, perfect for those with diabetes or those at risk.

It is a seed, closely related to members of the spinach family. Super high in protein and fibre. Fibre has been shown to lower the risk of heart disease as soluble fibre in the blood binds to fat and can prevent clogging of the arteries.

The protein content is great for loosing weight and building muscle. It is known as a complete protein as it contains all the 9 essential amino acids that make up proteins vital to the human body.

Quinoa has also been shown to help lower the risk of breast cancer.

Forget your expensive prebiotic products in the supermarket, quinoa is a natural prebiotic, helping feed good bacteria in your digestive system.

I could go on....but this would turn into an essay!

Red peppers - high in vitamin C and can also reduce the risk of heart disease.

Avocado - Yes, this does tend to be high in calories, but it has GOOD fats. You need these fats to say healthy and strong. These fats include Oleic Acid - which aids our digestive tract transport molecules for fat that can increase our absorption of fat-soluble nutrients like carotenoids.

I hope you enjoy this salad :)