Enjoying Quinoa

This week’s guest blogger is Carmen. Carmen hails from an island off of western Canada and recently had her son, who is allergic to wheat, dairy, eggs, oats and soy. Her family is now adapting to foods (and life) without these allergens. As she gains confidence in her recipes, she shares with others on her blog at Eagle Loft Kitchen.

Allergies entered our lives one year ago when our son turned one. At first, it was very difficult for our family to avoid all of the eight top allergens in our foods. Once we discovered Enjoy Life, we were finally able to eat some foods that we didn’t have to prepare from scratch. Breakfast became easy with Crunchy Rice and Crunchy Flax cereals. When heading out the door, I always packed Enjoy Life® Snack Bars for an energy boost late morning or mid-afternoon. Dessert became delicious again once I discovered Enjoy Life® Chocolate Chips (I confess to writing to Enjoy Life after tasting my first chocolate in many months, a cross between a thank you note and a love letter.)

At first I found lunch to be a somewhat tricky meal to manage with allergies, as I do not always have the time to prepare a meal from scratch. I wanted something I could make ahead of time and have on hand; a dish that could provide protein and pack in a lot of nutrients. Something that could be a side dish to last night’s leftovers, a meal of its own, or a dish I could serve to friends at brunch. One dish fits all these parameters— quinoa salad. I make quite a few variations of this salad, but over time, this version has become my favorite.  I eat it daily!

Eagle Loft Quinoa Salad
(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:
-1 cup quinoa, rinsed thoroughly
-2 cups water
-Pinch of salt
-1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
-1 can artichoke hearts, rinsed and sliced (remove any thick outer leaves)
-3/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted, rinsed and halved
-4 slices bacon (check for allergens), cooked and chopped
-2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
-1/2 of a sweet red pepper, seeded and chopped
-1/2 of a sweet yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
-1/8 of a red or sweet onion, chopped small
-Small handful of chopped parsley

Dressing:

-3 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
-2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
-Zest and juice of one lemon
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-1/2 tsp dried rosemary
-1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1) Combine quinoa, water and pinch of salt in medium saucepan with lid.
2) Bring to boil, then turn to low simmer and cook 20 minutes.
3) Remove from heat, remove lid and let cool.
4) Place all other salad ingredients in a large bowl.  Add cooled quinoa.
5) Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad.  Stir well to combine.

~Carmen