Rainbow Quinoa and Apples Salad with Roasted Tomato-Cumin Vinaigrette

Name: Rainbow Quinoa and Apples Salad with Roasted Tomato-Cumin Vinaigrette
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 2 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, or sweet grape tomatoes, halved; 2 tbsp Olive Oil, prefer extra virgin; Salt and Black Pepper, adjust per taste; 1.5 tsp Cumin Powder, dry-toasted and ground cumin seeds; 3 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar; 1/2 Cup Quinoa, I used 1/4 cup red and 1/4 cup white uncooked quinoa; 2 Apple, gala apple or red sweet apples, small diced; 1 Cup Edamame, pre-cooked and shelled; 1 Cup Green Peas, frozen

Posted By Savita

Healthy Holidays Dinner Parties

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Sharing with you a nutty, hearty, wholesome, and delicious rainbow quinoa and apples salad dressed in roasted tomatoes and cumin vinaigrette!

This flavorful salad is from my first Cookbook, and is one of my every day lunch salad! I'm really excited for release of my cookbook, and have hold-on for long to share this recipe with you! Finally! Today, I'm glad to get the chance!

Every one (including me) stresses so much on starting day right with a good breakfast... but, what I often see no one talking about - is the lunch! Lunch is yet important meal of the day and keeping it thoughtful can help us:

1) Avoid mid-day salty-fried snack cravings (hence control our calorie intake)!
2) Meet goal of our daily recommended fruit and veggie servings! (a must for balanced nutrition!)

A flavorful, balanced, not boring, and tongue-tantalizing salad for lunch will not only help you meet above goals, but will make you look forward to enjoy your lunch! Trust me, it is very important to enjoy your meal! Enjoying a meal sends calming signals to our brain that we are satisfied with food. Hence, we think less about food and therefore eat less junk! This is how companies like Nutri System or Weight Watchers develop their recipes and weight-loss menus. Keeping every meal balanced, flavorful, so we crave less and are satisfied with what we eat!

I did lot of research on this subject when we Vishal and I started - Salad for Lunch regime and really felt a great change in our life-style. This is the reason why I wanted my first cookbook to be all about our every day salads! Trust me! Eating just carrots and celery for lunch is not right way of diet-control if it follows a mid-day bag of salted potato chips :) Instead, eat a flavorful, filling meal for lunch like a salad with grains, veggies, lean-protein, with some punch-on-the-face dressings AND never crave a salty snack again!!!

What is so special about this salad?

Well, the best part about this salad is - Roasted Tomato-Cumin Vinaigrette, to-die-for tasty! Make this vinaigrette once and you will be adding it to many more salads!! I bet!

Also, this salad is vegan and gluten-free.

One serving of this Quinoa and Apples Salad has -

1) one daily recommend serving of vegetable
2) one daily recommend serving of fruit
3) 2 servings of whole grain and fiber
4) anti-oxidants, vitamins, and lean veggie protein
5) only a moderate amount of olive oil as added fat.
BONUS!!
6) Ton of flavor and scrumptious taste with 311 Calories per serving!

All salads in my cookbook are made keeping same nutrition goals in mind! So check out this awesome cookbook and eat one healthy lunch every day of the month! Plus learn a lot of dressings/vinaigrettes to make many flavorful new salads.

Follow this link to check out the cookbook and get a copy today!!

Cheers!

~Savita

Rainbow Quinoa and Apples Salad with Roasted Tomato-Cumin Vinaigrette

Total Time: 25 mins Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Cuisine: Mediterranean Category: Salad Difficulty: Easy

Yields: 4 Servings Serves: 4

Nutrition: 311 calories per serving

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Ingredients

Roasted Tomato-Cumin Vinaigrette
2 Cup Cherry Tomatoes (or sweet grape tomatoes, halved)
2 tbsp Olive Oil (prefer extra virgin)
Salt and Black Pepper (adjust per taste)
1.5 tsp Cumin Powder (dry-toasted and ground cumin seeds)
3 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
Qunioa and Apple Salad
1/2 Cup Quinoa (I used 1/4 cup red and 1/4 cup white uncooked quinoa)
2 Apple (gala apple or red sweet apples, small diced)
1 Cup Edamame (pre-cooked and shelled )
1 Cup Green Peas (frozen)

Directions

1. To roast tomatoes for vinaigrette, preheat the oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. On a sheet tray, spread halved cherry tomatoes. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil, generous pinch of salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Roast in preheated oven for 15-17 minutes or until skin of tomatoes has started to wrinkle.
2. To cook quinoa and peas, while tomatoes are roasting, ready a bowl with ice cold water. Bring 1 cup of water to rolling boil in a pot. Cook frozen peas in boiling water for 2 minutes, then transfer to cold water to stop cooking. Once completely cool, drain and set aside. Season same boiling water with salt, add rinsed quinoa and cook for 5-7 minutes or until quinoa is cooked to your liking and water has been mostly absorbed. Remove from heat, cover and set aside to cool down.
3. To assemble salad, in a salad bowl, add roasted tomatoes, cumin powder, remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, vinegar, 1/4 tsp of each salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
4. Mix in cooked quinoa, peas, edamame, diced apples. Gently toss to combine everything. Taste and adjust salt. Refrigerate until ready to use. Taste best when served after 30 minutes of mixing ingredients and perfect for making ahead.