Quinoa is ideal for vegetarians, vegans or anyone who simply wants to eat less meat and meat products. Adding chickpeas, almonds, greens and oranges, provide not only color, flavor and texture, these “super foods” supply nutrients to support a “Healthy Brain.”
Recipe adapted from Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2017/05/recipe-quinoa-orange-and-pistachio-salad/
Ingredients:
- 2 15 oz cans mandarin oranges, in its own juice, all but ¼ cup juice drained and discarded
- 1 cup quinoa
- ¼ cup fresh mint, loosely chopped
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 15 oz canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained thoroughly
- 1/3 cup chopped almonds
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 1 tsp minced garlic (about 1 clove)
- 4 cups kale or greens, chopped
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Directions:
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup quinoa, cover, and let simmer over low heat for about 15-20 minutes. Let cool.
- Add the mandarin oranges, mint, chickpeas, nuts, dried cranberries, and greens.
- In a separate dish, combine the vinegar, garlic, pepper, olive oil and the reserved ¼ cup juice from the mandarin oranges. Pour dressing over the quinoa mixture. Toss lightly. Serve chilled.
Nutrition information:
Makes 6 servings
Each serving contains about 1.5 cups
- Calories 310
- Total fat 11g
- Saturated fat 1g
- Trans fat 0g
- Cholesterol 0mg
- Sodium 140mg
- Total carbohydrate 46g
- Fiber 4g
- Sugars 7g
- Protein 11g
