I hope that everyone had a fabulous weekend. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen working on some fun new recipes and I cannot wait for all of my little bunnies to try them!
On the menu today is a flavorful quinoa salad packed with protein, served in an avocado “bowl”! The healthy fats and fiber from this fresh vegan dish will keep you full and focused for hours.
Quinoa Salad Stuffed Avocados
Serves 2
1 Avocado
1/4 cup dry quinoa
1/2 cup chickpeas
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup chop cilantro
1/4 cup chop spinach
1 Tbsp Water
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp agave
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Cook the quinoa to package instructions and set aside. Finely chop the cilantro and spinach, and combine with mustard, lemon juice, agave, cumin, and garlic. Add one tablespoon of water to the dressing until it is all well combined. Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves. Add tomatoes and chickpeas to the quinoa. Pour dressing over the quinoa mixture until it is evenly coated. Cut the avocado in half and remove pit. Top with even parts of quinoa salad.
The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown
Produce: tomatos, cilantro, spinach
Whole Grain: quinoa
Protein: chickpeas
Plant Based Fat: avocado
Josée
June 11, 2012 at 3:18 pm (13 years ago)CAtherine, what is agave and can I go without…never heard of this :0S
Catherine
June 11, 2012 at 5:20 pm (13 years ago)Agave is a natural sweetener. You could definitely go without or use honey instead!
Valeria A
June 12, 2012 at 12:11 am (13 years ago)Hello Catherine,
I’m definitely trying this!
I’ve got a question, I use stevia as sweetener, is agave an equivalent, or do you prefer agave?
Catherine
June 12, 2012 at 10:16 am (13 years ago)Hi Valeria!
I use stevia in tons of recipes from coffee & smoothies to baking. For this recipe I wanted to use a sweetener with more of a sugary flavor than biter sweetness. I’m sure stevia could work as well since I only used a small amount of agave. You could try using honey, or exclude the sweetener completely and do a taste test at the end to decide if it is needed or not 🙂 Let me know how it turns out! Health & Happiness xo
Tammi Kibler | How Do You Cook Quinoa
June 23, 2012 at 8:07 pm (13 years ago)I love this idea. I have been looking for greener bowls for my quinoa salad. Thank for sharing.
Catherine
June 23, 2012 at 9:26 pm (13 years ago)I’m glad I could help you find a new quinoa recipe to try! Xo
Jessa
July 2, 2012 at 4:38 pm (12 years ago)This looks delicious and easy to make! Definitely going to make this this week for lunch.
Torre
July 3, 2012 at 4:44 pm (12 years ago)I made this tonight. Delicious! My avocado must have been small though, I had an abundance of stuffing. Mind you, I’m not complaining!
Catherine
July 3, 2012 at 5:37 pm (12 years ago)Haha I had some extra quinoa salad too! Glad you loved the recipe! xo
Rachel @ The Health Revival
July 12, 2012 at 9:13 am (12 years ago)Two of my favorites — cherry tomatoes and avocados! I have just recently started cooking with quinoa and the texture is so much different than what I’m used to, but I DO like it. Love the use of cilantro in this recipe, but I absolutely *must* use fresh garlic 🙂
Thanks for the recipe!
Catherine
July 12, 2012 at 2:57 pm (12 years ago)I love cherry tomatoes and avos too! Soooo good 🙂 Can’t wait for you to try it! xo
Rachel @ The Health Revival
July 17, 2012 at 4:01 pm (12 years ago)Had some the night before last and the only changes I made were putting avocado right in the salad, and using lime juice instead of lemon – oh, and I added a little crushed red pepper. It was way yummy – my whole family loved it – great summer salad!
Catherine
July 17, 2012 at 4:40 pm (12 years ago)Yummmm, love your adjustments Rachel! I love crushed red pepper, that sounds like a good idea for my next batch! xo
Nikki Allen
August 29, 2012 at 9:48 am (12 years ago)I just subscribed to your blog and added you on Facebook. Can I just say, avocado is my absolute FAVE and I can’t wait to try this….mmmmmmm….