Sometimes it’s nice to make dinner and lunch at the same time, which is exactly what I did last night. I was in the mood for something lighter and healthier (after a ton of heavy eating in cottage country) so the first thing that came to mind was, of course, quinoa.
However, I am starting to get real sick of quinoa salads where quinoa is used as the base, so I decided to use spinach as the base instead and use quinoa as one of the many lovely toppings.
Everything I put into this salad was quite easy to prepare. First I roasted a couple sweet potatoes.
Because I didn’t have much patience to roast the potatoes for a long time, I chopped them up quite small and roasted them at 475° F for 20 minutes. They turned out quite nicely, aside from a couple burnt pieces, they were crispy and tender.
I prepared two cups of quinoa and spread it across a tray when it was done so it would cool down quickly. As the potatoes were roasting and the quinoa was simmering, I halved cherry tomatoes, and chopped up avocado and herbed goat cheese.
In my vinaigrette was olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, and honey — easy peasy.
I ate this meal for dinner and I plan to eat it for lunch today 🙂
Oh and I also made some for my sisters and boyfriend — they are quite excited for their lunches.
Here is the recipe, enjoy!
Quinoa-Spinach Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
Makes 5-6 Servings
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp basil leaves
- 1/2 tsp oregano leaves
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups of dry quinoa
- 6 cups baby spinach leaves
- 2 avocados, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup crumbled goat cheese (I used herbed)
For the vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp mustard
- 1 1/2 tsp honey
Method:
- Preheat oven to 475 ° F. Line baking sheet with tin foil.
- Mix cubed sweet potatoes with olive oil, basil, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Spread across baking sheet and roast about 20-25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place 2 cups of quinoa and four cups of water in medium pot. Bring to a boil then down to a simmer until all the water is absorbed.
- Once quinoa and sweet potatoes have cooled, place spinach leaves, then quinoa, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, avocado, and goat cheese in serving dish.
- Whisk together ingredients for vinaigrette and drizzle over salad. Serve cold.
Yours edibly,
Elana
Yours Edibly 