Asian Quinoa Salad

For awhile, I have been making a Grain Greek Salad for lunches on a pretty regular basis.
Not too long ago, I decided I wanted to look for other grain salads.
I specifically set out to find quinoa recipes and quickly found one I knew I wanted to try!
Asian Quinoa Salad sounded great and I couldn't wait to make it!

The Goods:

Quinoa

Sesame Oil

Soy Sauce

Rice Vinegar

Sesame Seeds

Crushed Red Peppers

Cilantro

Ginger

Cabbage

Red Bell Pepper

Cucumber

Shredded Carrots

Edamame

Make the dressing, chop the veggies and cook the quinoa.
Then combine in one bowl and mix it all together.
Refrigerate at least a few hours before serving.

I made this salad for lunches one week,
and it was SO good that I decided I needed to blog about it.
So I made it for a second week in a row in order to document the process.

It's so simple and so tasty!
I can't wait to make it again to be honest.

Grain Greek Salad

One of my go-to lunches (and favorite lunches in fact) is a Greek Salad grain mixture. You can use any grain you'd like - but I tend to prefer quinoa and have recently decided I liked the combination of quinoa and Israeli couscous. The vegetable chopping takes a little time, but I always make a BIG batch and get to enjoy the salad all week! It's so easy once it's made and I'm full for hours after eating it. 

Take a look at the salad making process and you'll be amazed at how simple AND delicious it is!

The Goods:

Quinoa

Israeli Couscous

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Lemon

Salt

Cherry/Grape Tomatoes

Persian Cucumbers

Green Onions

Feta

Kalamata Olives

Cook the grains...

Israeli Couscous

And Quinoa for me!

Chop the Cucumbers

Chop the Green Onions

Chop the Tomatoes

Chop the Olives

(I ran out of Kalamata so used Green Queen ones too!)

Add the Feta! 

And the Quinoa.

And FINALLY the Israeli Couscous.

Toss it all together with fresh squeezed lemon juice, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Add a little salt for flavor if necessary. 

The finished product! 

This salad can be eaten alone, or enjoyed on a bed of mixed greens tossed in fresh lemon juice as I usually do!

Grab some spring mix.

Toss it with more fresh squeezed lemon juice.

And add the mixed grain salad on top!

Dig in and enjoy!!!

YUM!

Giant Salads for Lunch

I've always taken my lunch to work, but it wasn't until recently that I started making giant salad almost every day of the work week. Over the weekend I get and prep everything I'll need for the salads. It changes every week, but is usually pretty similar. I bring everything in little containers and assemble it in the office kitchen. This is a great lunch that is quite healthy and never fails to fill me up!

Start with lettuce - spring mix in this case.

Add some roasted potatoes. 

And a lil bit of roasted broccoli. 

Throw in some cherry tomatoes.

And some fresh corn off the cob!

Now some freshly roasted beets.

And don't forget those cucumbers!

Toss it alllll up with dressing of your choice.

I used a yogurt bleu cheese. 

YUM! YUM! YUM!

I can't wait for lunches this week to eat more tasty salads. 

Pasta Salad Like Mom's

When I was growing up, my mom made a pasta salad that was so amazing, yet so simple. I loved it then and I'm sure I'd love it now. No matter how many times I've tried to recreate it, it's never come out exactly the same. Since I'm not able to recreate her recipe exactly - I've modified it a bit and made it my own.

Every time I make MY pasta salad, it comes out a bit different. It really depends on what I have and trying to use up, or what I'm craving at the time. The one thing that is constant is the fact that I use spiral, usually Rotini, pasta. More recently, I've started using the whole wheat kinds and like it just as much as the regular not so great for you pasta. :)

Here's a look at how I made my most recent batch of pasta salad. Note: this makes a VERY large batch, so be prepared to share or eat it for days! 

The Goods:

Rotini, Asparagus, Green Pepper, Cucumber, Tomatoes, Red Onion, 

Green Olives, Black Olives, Feta, Lemon Juice, Italian Dressing, Salt and Pepper

(This can be modified very easily. Use whatever vegetables you want, 

but blanch raw ones that would be too hard like Asparagus and Broccoli)

Cut Up Veggies!

Veggies covered in cooked, cooled pasta!

With a little bit of Feta thrown on top.

Lemon squeezed on top, followed by Italian Dressing and then mixed!

Ready for consumption. Oh yum!