Nutty Quinoa Slad
Serve with kimchi for a little spice....
This is my version of a delicious M&S salad. I loved this salad for years and decided enough was enough, I needed the recipe!! So of course here it is, healthy, delicious and shared with you for free!
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I have served this great dish with a side salad and good dollop of kimchi, a fermented Korean cabbage dish, which means it is hitting your 5-a-day and about half your your weekly 30 plant points, you can't say fairer than that for healthy meal! Except oh yes you can, it might be a veggie dish but with quinoa, edamame and nuts the protein levels are pretty good and quinoa and edamame are some of the few veggie with complete proteins.
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Did you know when serving plant proteins it is a good idea to serve a secondary protein? It is not only good for us to get varied sources of plant protein, but it is especially important during menopause, to help stabilise blood sugars, and as we age, we absorb less protein from our foods. You can do this by complementing beans with nuts, or wholegrains, peanut butter with wholemeal toast or oats, cheese with nuts or wholegrains, and mix and match to taste.
Ingredients
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2 large Broccoli florets, shredded
1 Handful of peas
100 g French beans, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large carrot, finely chopped
100g soya/edamame beans
200g cooked black eye beans (or another type of bean – haricot, cannellini)
100g quinoa
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 handful each of pumpkin seeds, peanuts, pistachios & almonds
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For the dressing:
2 tbsp. soy
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp sesame
1 tsp honey
Juice ½ lime
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Optional extras:
Kimchi to taste
Side salad
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Instructions:
1. Place quinoa in a pan of boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.
2. Add broccoli, carrot, peas, edamame and French beans. Cook until quinoa is cooked through, and vegetables softened but not mushy, around 5-7 minutes. Drain well.
3. Combine with rest of the salad ingredients.
4. Mix the dressing ingredients together and serve with dressing drizzled over.
5. Any extra portions can be frozen with dressing separate.
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