When I moved an hour inland from the Beach last year, the first thing that hit me was the heat. Holy crap, it’s hot, often hitting the 100’s during the summer. Needless to say, heating up the kitchen is the last thing on my mind.
I’ve also made some changes to my diet lately and am testing my hand at Vegetarianism. I’ve been reading Crazy, Sexy, Diet and Tracy Anderson’s 30-Day Method recently and am blending the two to create a healthy eating lifestyle that works for me. So even though I’m doing the 21 day cleanse outlined by Kris Carr in Crazy, Sexy, Diet…I’m being flexible (I added Feta to the salad below). Flexibility is the key to help me adopt this as a lifestyle and not a ‘Diet’. Anything too strict will absolutely lead to a dangerous cycle of binging down the road, GUARANTEED.
Last night I made a killer Quinoa salad, which you can make ahead as it’s best served chilled or room temperature. I paired it with balsamic rosemary mushrooms and a sweet potato. It was heavenly!
Quinoa Avocado Salad
Serves: 1
1/4 C Uncooked Quinoa
1/2 C Water
1/2 Avocado
1 Tablespoon Chopped Walnuts
1 Tablespoon Feta Cheese
Bring the quinoa and water to a boil over medium-high, once at a boil, reduce to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes. The quinoa is done when it has absorbed the water and is translucent.
(At this point I recommend chilling the quinoa or letting it cool to room temperature; however, you can make this salad while the quinoa is warm)
Mix the quinoa with the avocado, walnuts, and feta. Serve.
A note on recipe servings…I am one person and often cooking for only one person. Therefore, I tend to create recipes with calculations for one. However, I assert this makes recipes easiest since there are no complex calculations. If you want to serve 4, then just multiply the recipe calculations by 4.
Bon Appétit!
This looks so daggone good.