Monday, March 30, 2009

Greek-Style Quinoa Salad

Prep/Total Time: 30 minutes + chilling
Yield: 10 servings

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1 cup chopped tomatoes
3/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1/2 cup sliced pepperoncinis
1/2 cup Greek olives, pitted and halved
3/4 cup reduced-fat Greek or Italian salad dressing, divided

In a small saucepan, bring quinoa and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from the heat; fluff with a fork. Let stand for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, spinach, cheese, tomatoes, beans, cucumber, pepperoncinis and olives. Pour 1/2 cup dressing over quinoa mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Just before serving, drizzle remaining dressing over salad; toss to coat.

Tips and Tricks
I took a lot of liberties with this recipe because I realized at the last minute I was missing some ingredients. I omitted the spinach and pepperoncini, and used garbanzo beans in place of black beans. Try this recipe for Italian dressing.
Make It Healthier
Reduce amount of cheese. Use trans-fat free salad dressing.
How Kids Can Help
Rinse quinoa. Measure ingredients. Mix to coat.
Recipe Source
adapted from Healthy Cooking magazine

Nutrition Facts
One serving (3/4 cup) equals
calories:
184
Fat:
8 g
Saturated Fat:
2 g
Cholesterol:
9 mg
Sodium:
472 mg
Carbohydrate:
19 g
Fiber:
4 g
Protein:
7 g

Diabetic Exchanges
1-1/2 fat, 1 starch, 1 lean meat.

2 comments:

A said...

Hi there. I loved finding this blog and went through and read every last one. I just wish that there was a picture of every dish with each entry--I love being able to see the result--it's inspiring to fix it myself!

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