The key ingredient in this salad is the popular and powerful superfood, Quinoa! This colorful and antioxidant-rich salad can help ward off free radical damage to your skin cells and help reverse oxidative damage from toxins in the environment.
Quinoa Salad
When it comes to antioxidants in food, people often think of fruit and vegetables, but colorful grains and beans are also an excellent source. Red and black quinoa have higher amounts of polyphenols and antioxidant activity than regular quinoa. This salad calls not only for colorful quinoa and black beans but also some antioxidant-rich veggies, olives, herbs, and spices
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked black beans or 1/2 cup cooked black beans and 1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans
- 1 cup diced cucumber
- 1/2 cup chopped pitted green olives or Kalamata olives
- 4 red radishes, chopped
- 1/4 cup raw organic pumpkin seeds
- 3 cups cooked and cooled quinoa, red, black or tricolored
- 3 to 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or other fresh herb of choice
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp ground cumin (optional)
- 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
- 1/8 tsp Himalayan salt or Celtic sea salt or more to taste
- Mixed Greens, or spinach, for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the beans, cucumber, olives, radishes, and pumpkin seeds. Add the quinoa and stir to mix.
- In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, mint, parsley, lemon juice, cumin, garlic, and salt. Pour over the quinoa mix and toss to coat. Serve over a bed of greens.
