Liven up your summer meals with this light and refreshing Quinoa Fruit Salad. Whether you are gluten free or not this salad is perfect for hot summer days, barbeques, and picnics at the park. The best thing is that this salad is healthy. It is so easy to make, tastes great, very versatile, and gluten free.
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
Pinch of salt
1 large apple diced (red delicious or gala or Johny gold)
1 cup green grapes, sliced in half
1 cup red grapes, sliced in half
½ cup Craisins or dried cranberries
¾ cup pecan halves
2 Tbsp. whole flaxseed
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1-2 Tbsp. agave or honey
Options Add fresh cut kiwi, strawberries or blueberries to add color and more variety.
Directions
In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa, water and pinch of salt. Bring to boil over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Cover with lid for at least 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Add fruit, nuts, and flax seed to cooked quinoa. Fold in yogurt and agave or honey. Transfer to serving dish. Fluff with fork. If desired, add sliced fruit on top for presentation.
Makes 10 servings.
GFM TIPS
For those of you new to the grain Quinoa, it is a whole grain and an excellent source of protein. It can be purchased as a grain or as flour. The grain is easy to prepare and looks similar to cous cous. You can substitute quinoa with most recipes that call for rice, cous cous, and sometimes even bulgar wheat. When cooking your own recipes follow these easy directions below.
Easy Steps for Cooking Quinoa
1. Thoroughly rinse Quinoa grain.
(Some Quinoa comes pre-rinsed in packaging. Thoroughly rinse one more time. For bulk grain Quinoa, soak Quinoa for 10-15 minutes, then thoroughly rinse and pick out any rocks or foreign objects.)
2. In a medium saucepan combine quinoa with water, chicken broth, or vegetable broth and a pinch of salt.
a. ½ cup quinoa with 1 cup liquid or 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups liquid
b. For more al-dente texture use 1 cup quinoa with 1 ½ cups liquid
3. Bring to boil over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
4. Remove from heat. Cover with lid for at least 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and then mix with your favorite ingredients.
5. You can cook quinoa in a rice cooker, just follow instructions for white rice.
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