Today I’d like to share with you a very easy recipe, which can be prepared in advance and offers a great lunch option for when you don’t have much time, but want something nutritious that is not too heavy on your belly.

I like to batch cook on Sunday afternoon, it saves me lots of time during the week, and I always have something in the fridge that I can easily combine to make a healthy and tasty meal. One of the ingredients I normally prepare in advance is quinoa. While it takes only 20 minutes to cook, sometimes this can be a deal breaker, especially when under time pressure. Having the ready quinoa (or any other whole grain) in the fridge makes a lunch preparation much faster.

Recently I have been consuming lots of beans as well (kidney and black beans, currently being my favorite), and these foods are also a great option to always have on hand. I do soak and cook beans on a Sunday afternoon, but I also like to keep a few jars of ready beans in my pantry for, you know, rainy days. 🙂 So, it happened that I prepared this salad on a day, where I didn’t have much time, or a plan of what I wanted to eat. I literally went through the things I had in my fridge and ended up making the recipe I am about to share with you.

The point I am trying to make is this: it is important to always have healthy ingredients at hand that are ready to be consumed. This will make your life so much easier, and cooking healthy will not feel like mission impossible. In fact, it will become a quick and easy task.

Feel free to substitute the quinoa for amaranth or millet, the kidney beans for chickpeas, and the veggies for whatever you have at hand. You will still end up with a healthy lunch. 😉

Here are the ingredients I put together for this crunchy quinoa salad:

Crunchy Quinoa Salad

• Servings: 2
• Time: 20min
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients

For the salad:
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups of vegetable stock
• 160gr kidney beans
• 4 stalks celery, cubed
• 1 red bell pepper, cubed
• 1 tomato, cubed
• 1 small carrot, cubed
• 1/2 avocado, cubed

For the dressing:

• 1 heaping tsp tahini
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place the quinoa and the vegetable stock in a pan and bring to a boil. Let the quinoa simmer for about 20 minutes, until it absorbs the stock and becomes soft and fluffy. Let it cool a bit and transfer into a salad bowl.
2. Add all the chopped vegetables, kidney beans, and spices to the quinoa and mix well.
3. In a small bowl prepare the dressing. Add all dressing ingredients and mix well.
4. Pour the dressing over the salad, and toss it together.
5. Enjoy!

Do you have any tricks that help you make healthy food choices on a daily basis? Share with me in the comments below!

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