Summer is finally here in Toronto!
We had an abundant amount of sunshine today and that called for one thing: an abundance of healthy food for lunch. My go-to ingredients are pretty basic: organic quinoa, steamed kale, baby spinach and some sort of seeds or nuts. They’re nutritious, delicious and always leaves my insides satisfied. I always have these goods stocked in my kitchen, so when I’m not in the mood to make a meal creative or if I’m just pressed for time, I can always count on a super clean warm quinoa green salad to feed my soul. I’m always so grateful to see the beautiful colours in my food when I make this. You can say it’s pretty hearty.
The dish I made today is simple. Nothing fancy and pretty much anyone can make it. I’ve posted similar quinoa dishes before so I thought I’d make this one a tiny bit more interestingespecially since I’m celebrating the new season. So to add life to my basic quinoa bowl, I paired it with a tasty effortless dressing that pretty much goes with anything. It’s easy to blend up with very simple ingredients, yet elevates the rather fundamental quality of the meal into something more appeasing. Plus, who doesn’t love to drench their food with yummy sauce?
Like I prefer most of my meals, this one is about 50% – 70% raw. The raw portion adds full enzymes to the dish that aids with digestion and gives dish a appetizing crunch. The only thing cooked here is the organic quinoa and the massaged kale is lightly steamed.
Light, flavourful, earthy and colorful – perfect for a summer lunch!
Toss all of these ingredients in a bowl or plate:
Half a cup of cooked organic white quinoa (pre washed and soaked)
1 cup of steamed chopped kale
2 cups of raw baby spinach
1/2 cup of diced raw red bell peppers
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro (get the real thing because it makes a difference with the taste!)
For the dressing:
Half a cup of raw shelled sunflower or pumpkin seeds (preferably soaked for 8 hours or overnight)
1.5 cloves of garlic
Knob of fresh ginger
1.5 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp of unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar or coconut nectar vinegar
2 teaspoons of lemon juice (squeezed)
1/2 cup of filtered water
Cracked black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
Optional: a pinch of stevia if you want it to be a little sweet
In a food processor or high power blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse on high for a minute or so. Depending how “thick” you want it, slowly add the water and adjust to your desire. Season to taste. And enjoy with your awesome summer salad dish!
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