Quinoa, feta and walnut salad
Delicious and healthy salad with quinoa, feta and apple
It’s no big secret that I love quinoa as it has been featured here a couple of times, as you can see with this delicious quinoa salad with courgette, the quinoa salad with pomegranate and most recently the pumpkin stew. I was reading a couple of blogs on my Iphone this morning (don’t you just love the possibilities of wireless internet??) when I came upon this delicious recipe from Reeni of the blog Cinnamon spice and everything nice. She had this quinoa salad on and I immediately knew what I wanted to make for lunch. I had everything in house so it was perfect.
I knew I would be baking the entire day for a customer who wants to have all the recipes on their site re-shot, so I figured I could do with something NOT sweet for lunch. I’ve been pretty good too, despite being covered in flour and buttercream most of the day. I have not eaten anything of the sweet goodies!! Proud of myself…. 
I’ve lost 9 pounds so far and want to keep the momentum going. It’s not that I don’t allow myself anything “bad” but all in moderation. And if I have to choose between – for instance – a good piece of cheese or a cupcake, I would go for the cheese anytime, so I’ll stay of the sweets for a while.
And I gotta say that after having this delicious salad I did not feel the need to snack on anything so that was all good. This salad is definitely going to be on my list of favorites. I changed the dressing and the qty’s a bit from the original but I’m sure it was just as lovely!
And I can say that in terms of the Living Leaner project, this did not cost me anything, but that is not entirely fair of course as I have bought these ingredients at some point in the past. I’m pretty sure that it would fit nicely below the 10 euro budget as the most expensive ingredient in here is the feta of which I used about 1/4 of the package, so still some left for more yummy salads this week! The rocket cress we grew ourself on our window sill. Love rocketcress! So tasty and so easy to grow too (and trust me when I say I do not have green fingers at all.!)
Quinoa, apple and feta salad
Yield: 1
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
Ingredients:
- 75g quino (cooked and cooled off)
- 50g feta
- a fewwalnuts (roasted and chopped)
- 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
- 1 head apple (I used half an apple here)
Optional
- 1 tablespoon rocket cress
Dressing
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon coarse grain mustard
- salt
- pepper
- 1 teaspoon honey
Directions:
| In a small skillet over medium heat toast walnuts about 5 minutes stirring often. Remove and allow to cool. Chop the walnuts into smaller pieces. Chop the cranberries also into smaller pieces. Crumble the feta cheese and peel, core and cut the apple into bitesize chunks. In a large bowl combine quinoa, apples, cranberries, feta cheese, and the walnuts. |
|
| Make a dressing of the oliveoil, limejuice, pepper, salt, honey and mustard and taste to adjust seasoning to your liking. Pour the dressing over the bowl of quinoa and enjoy! | |
Note
This is an incredibly tasty and really healthy lunch salad that is quick to put together. You can also use another grain such as couscous or pearl barley for this.
Recipe from Cinnamon, spice and everything nice
Appetizer
Asian
Bread
Breakfast
Desserts & other sweets
Healthy
Congratulations! I need to start eating more healthy too. Too much sweets for me during holidays. I like your salad. Simple and delicious.
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Simone (junglefrog) — January 15th, 2012 at 12:24
Thanks so much Magda. I quite like eating healthy actually… Makes me feel all good about myself..
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This is a gorgeous gorgeous recipe Simone. That feta cheese looks so creamy too.
I think that the secret to salad is using what you have at home and you will always be happy
with the result. I like how you can use bulgur wheat or barley with this one too.
And we are hoping our rocket starts to show its head here any day now. Thanks so much for the
Seeds Simone. xx
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Simone (junglefrog) — January 15th, 2012 at 12:27
I do think a lot of people have a totally wrong idea about salads. They think they’re boring and rabbit food more then anything else while I agree it’s all about using whatever you have and you can literally almost create a salad out of anything! I hope your rocket starts to show so too. It took only a few days for us though.. When did you plant them?
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That salad rocks! What a healthy and tasty combination. A very balanced meal.
Cheers,
Rosa
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Simone (junglefrog) — January 15th, 2012 at 12:28
Thanks so much Rosa
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Stunning Photos! I love your salad recipes and how they look!
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Simone (junglefrog) — January 15th, 2012 at 12:28
Thanks dear..
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I’m so glad you made the salad Simone! Thank-you! I love the mustard and honey dressing you used. Next time I’ll try it your way – those sound like good flavors to add to the mix.
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Simone (junglefrog) — January 15th, 2012 at 12:29
Thank you for the recipe Reeni! The funny thing is that I planned to use your dressing but then I made the mistake of adding all the walnuts already to the quinoa so I figured I might as well make another dressing… But it was delicious!
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Yay and I am still rooting you on! What an inspiration you are not only for sticking to the diet but for concocting such delicious healthy meals. Love this salad – really almost anything with feta will do for us but you really have me hooked on cooking more with quinoa!
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Simone (junglefrog) — January 15th, 2012 at 12:30
O should really make more with quinoa Jamie. I love it. It’s such a versatile little grain (?) and easy too. And expect more delicious salads in the coming weeks..:)
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I love feta cheese in a salad. I’m really impressed you managed not to eat all the sweet treats – You’ve got more will-power than me!
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Simone (junglefrog) — January 15th, 2012 at 12:34
O but not always! I hope the willpower thing stays for a while.. it feels good!
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Call me strange, Simone, but I like this kind of food so much better than the rich food, which I can only see in small portions. Looks so green, healthy and good tasting!
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Beautiful salad! I also love quinoa. You’re lucky to be able to grow herbs. We tried one summer, but there just isn’t enough light on our balcony.
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Isn’t quinoa just great? It provides a great contrasting texture…the apple and feta are def in harmony here too! Nice one Simone!
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What a wonderful source of protein! Looks absolutely excellent – thanks for sharing!
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Congratulations on your weight loss Simone. I have a packet of quinoa in my cupboard, and now I know what to do with it…I’m printing your recipe then off to pick-up the remainder of these ingredients for this evenings dinner.
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A lovely easy yet tasty so good-for-you quinoa salad! ( pronounced: keen-wa! )
I also love Reeni’s recipes a lot!
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Those little green sprouts are making me yearn for spring! Lovely salad, thanks.
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Your salads are always so beautiful and it makes me wanna eat healthier. Hehehe. I love quinoa!
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Aaah, this is a great website for healthy food and recipes;) Love the salad, and your photos are just so amazing!:D
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Sounds really wonderful especially with the apple to give it a sweet crunch and I really love feta in my salads.
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What a great mix of flavors! I love that apple is included, and feta is so good in grain salads. This looks perfect for lunch.
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That looks wonderful.
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I am looking for healthy food and stumble with this blog I love eating salad, because of the holiday I gain some pounds and would love to try eating less, and make sure it’s healthy
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Love this! A definite must try. And the presentation looks great too! Used to make Ceasar Salad With Parmasean Twill. Loved it too but I think I just need a new great recipe. ^_^
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OHMYGOD I made this for lunch since I was going to be stuck at school all day. Amazing salad! Thank you so much!
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Simone (junglefrog) — January 25th, 2012 at 22:26
Glad you liked it!
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