Angela[dropcap]D[/dropcap]ear Spring, I love you. I love you because you give me renewed energy and bring warmth and color to my days.
I captured these elements in a lovely spicy-sweet lunch salad;
- Raspberries, figs and lemon for color
- Red pepper for warmth
- Maple syrup and red quinoa for energy
Health benefits of quinoa
Not familiar with quinoa yet? Quinoa is a grain-like seed from a leafy plant. When cooked, the texture is quite similar to couscous, but with a nutty flavor.
Quinoa is gluten free, making it suitable for coeliac patients. Quinoa also has a lower impact on your blood sugar level than grains. There’s more though: quinoa is fiber- and protein-rich and contain phosphorus, magnesium and iron, which makes it a valuable food to add to your diet.
Red quinoa
There are different kinds of colors of quinoa, like white, black and red. I chose to use red quinoa
Uses of quinoa
Make sure to wash quinoa well before use. After that, you can use it quinoa in many ways, for instance as a substitute for oats or even use it as a healthier option for rice in sushi spring rolls.
Cold fruit salad
Or use it the way I did, as a cold fruit salad! After cooking the quinoa, I’ve set it aside to cool down and than added a bunch or fruits and seeds that I had to finish. These add-ins were:
- raspberries
- lime juice
- figs
- pumpkin seeds
- red pepper
So delicious!
Ready to give it a try? Scroll down for the recipe.
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1 cup water
- 1 cm chili pepper, very finely chopped
- 1 cup raspberries (150 gr.)
- 4 fresh figs, finely chopped
- juice of 1/4 of a lime
- 0.3 teaspoon agave syrup
- pinch of sea salt
- 0.25 cup pumpkin seeds
- Wash and drain the quinoa.
- Boil the quinoa for 15 minutes and drain.
- Add the agave syrup, salt, red pepper and lime juice and set aside to cool down.
- Minutes before serving, add the pumpkin seeds and raspberries and give it a gentle stir to mix the ingredients.
- Enjoy!
Love,
Angela
