Blueberry Quinoa Salad

This is one of my favourite summer salads – the combination of  quinoa and the amazing blueberry make this dish a nutrient dense gift for your brain and your heart.

Make the quinoa the night before and keep in the fridge for the next day.

 The night before:

1 cup (250 mL) water

½ cup (125 mL)  quinoa

 Dressing:

1 tsp (5 mL) orange zest

2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh orange juice or for an extra hit of orange flavour use orange juice concentrate instead

1 tbsp (15 mL) extra virgin olive oil or cold pressed canola oil

1 tbsp (15 mL) apple cider vinegar

¼ tsp (1 ml) cinnamon

1 tsp (5 mL) freshly grated ginger, optional

Salad:

2 cups (500 mL) fresh local cultivated blueberries

1 cup (250 mL) chopped fresh parsley

¼ cup (60 mL) diced green onion

4 large stuffed green olives, diced

¼ cup (60 mL) dried blueberries, optional

1. The night before cook quinoa. Rinse quinoa in a fine wire strainer/colander under cold running water to rinse off any bitter resins. Place in a medium pot, add water, bring to the boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, remove from heat, and fluff with a fork and let sit for 10 minutes. After it is cooked, cool, place in a container with a lid and store in the fridge overnight.
2. Serving day: Scrub orange and dry. Using a microplane zest the orange. Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a large bowl: the orange zest, orange juice or orange juice concentrate, oil, vinegar, cinnamon, and ginger, if you are using it.
3. Toss in quinoa till well coated.
4. Rinse blueberries well under cold running water. Let drain. Place on a paper towel to dry. Sort through and remove any stems.
5. Wash and spin dry parsley. Blot on a paper towel or clean tea-towel. You don’t want to have wet herbs or the salad will be soggy.
6. Chop parsley into small pieces – between a dice and a mince.
7. Add parsley, onion, and green olives. Toss well.
8. Add blueberries and toss well. Add dried blueberries, if using, toss well and serve.

 

Makes approx. 4 cups (1 L)

One serving= 1 cup (250 mL) One serving contains: 174 Calories, 5.5 g Total fat, 0.6 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 63 mg Sodium, 28.7 g Carbs, 6 g Fibre, 8.6 g Sugars, 4 g Protein

Diabetes Food Choice Values Per Serving: 1 ½ Carbohydrates, 1 Fat

One serving with added dried blueberries contains:198 Calories, 5.5 g Total fat, 0.6 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 65 mg Sodium, 34.5 g Carbs, 7 g Fibre, 13.9 g Sugars, 5 g Protein

Diabetes Food Choice Values Per Serving: 2 Carbohydrates, 1 Fat

Recipe from: Healthy Starts Here!