Day 7 of our 7 day Spring Salad Series its here with a colorful bang!
While it’s well known that nearly everyone needs to eat more veggies, something that often isn’t stressed is the importance of eating a VARIETY. If this salad doesn’t look like variety then I don’t know what does!
The nutrient combo in each veggie is different and by “eating the rainbow” we won’t miss out on vitamins, phytochemicals (these guys are the good guys) and other healthy components. A good rule-of-thumb when building a salad: make sure to end up with a plate full of color!
In the United States nearly half of all veggie servings come from potatoes, and half of the potatoes are fries or chips. The other most popular veggies are canned tomatoes and iceberg lettuce. Out of the hundreds of options, we pick three that are not even the most nutritious! When you remove potatoes from the veggies category, a mere 5% of calories consumed in the U.S. are from veggies, fruits and legumes.
This salad salad will quickly up your percentage. It’s full of color and the lemon and avocado will help your body absorb more of the nutrients.
When avoiding dairy and oil, salad dressings can seem a little impossible. Almost all dressings at the grocery store or at restaurants are oil or cream based. Don’t let this psych you out.
Here’s a great reminder that you don’t need a fancy dressing to round out a tasty salad. This salad has a three ingredient dressing: fresh squeezed lemon juice, salt, pepper. And that’s all it takes folks! We don’t always go quite this simple for salad dressings, but why over complicate a recipe when simplicity tastes so good? These simple flavors give this salad a light, citrus flavor that pairs so well with all the veggies.
Next time you’re at a loss or in a pickle when choosing a salad dressing, just squeeze some lemon juice, lime juice, or orange juice and a couple shakes of salt & pepper.
Quinoa Avocado Garden Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup tomatoes chopped
- 1/2 cup cucumbers chopped
- 1 cup red cabbage shredded
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1 avocado cubed
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 2 Tbsp onion diced
- 1 lemon juiced
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse quinoa. In a small saucepan, combine the quinoa and water
- Bring to a boil, cover and turn down to a simmer until all water has been absorbed. Approximately 10 minutes.
- Let quinoa cool.
- Combine all ingredients to a bowl and toss well.
Notes
