Strawberry Quinoa Salad with Zesty Orange Vinaigrette

Moving is no joke. We moved into our new house over the weekend and WHEW, it was exhausting. For those of you in Ohio, you may recall the MONSOON DOWNPOUR we experienced all day on Saturday. All. Day. That was our moving day! Everything got soaked it it certainly made things more difficult than we had hoped...but we got through it. In a way, it was almost funny. At some point you just have to laugh about it, eh? 

Scott and I have become quite the handy couple lately (something I never thought I would say!). Originally we were planning to hire someone to paint the inside of our new house, but we ended up doing it ourselves. And you know what? We actually did a great job if I do say so myself. I won't lie...I had serious doubts about our painting ability prior to starting. The job just seemed so daunting. I had a nightmare the night before we started painting that Scott bought black and plum colored paint and I didn't realize it until we were halfway done painting. Que panic attack! Luckily, we bought the correct paint color and I couldn't be happier. I wanted everything white and bright and it turned out great! If you follow me on Instagram, you knew I looovvveeee houseplants. Our plants were the first things we moved in and I think they are happy and content in their new home :)

Speaking of plants! After a few days of not having an organized kitchen or fresh food in the house, I have been craving some seriously planty foods. I have put myself on a bit of a reset this week. I know the times I am busy and stressed are the times I need nourishing foods the most. Having said that, we still have a LOT of unpacking and organizing to do and I don't have 5 hours a day to spend in the kitchen cooking tons of healthy food. 

This salad fit the bill perfectly. It was simple and easy to throw together and is bursting with plant nutrition. It is everything I want in a salad - fresh, hearty, colorful, and insanely delicious. It also screams summer. Just look at all those delicious strawberries! It's a pretty straight forward salad but with layers of flavor. There is a nutty quinoa base, a zesty orange vinaigrette, and crunch from the sunflower seeds. And the mint leaves....talk about refreshing! The quinoa and sunflower seeds round out the salad with protein and healthy fat making it hearty enough for a balanced meal OR a delicious side dish. 

I have a feeling this salad will be making a consistent appearance on our dinner table this summer.

Oh! And if you want to learn about some Edgy Summer Veggies, check out Q Blog where I share how to eat the season's most surprising produce picks. 

Strawberry Quinoa Salad with Orange Vinaigrette 

| Serves 2-4 |

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked tri-colored quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable broth (or water)
• 10-14 strawberries, cored and quartered
• 1/4 cup roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds
• 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp thinly sliced fresh mint
• 2-3 cups power greens *See note below*

Vinaigrette ingredients

• Juice of 1 large orange (about 3-4 Tbsp)
• 1.5 Tbsp orange zest
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Cook quinoa: put 1 cup of uncooked quinoa into a saucepan with 2 cups of vegetable broth and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.
2. Place vinaigrette ingredients in a jar and shake to emulsify. 
3. When quinoa is cooked, set in the freezer for 5-7 minutes to cool slightly. 
4. When the quinoa is cooled, place into a large bowl and toss with the orange vinaigrette. Then toss with the strawberries, sunflower seeds, green onions, mint, and power greens.
5. Enjoy!

Notes

* The "power greens" I use is Simple Truth brand which is a combination of organic spinach, organic chard, organic kale, and organic mizuna. If you can not find this combination, any greens will work. My recommendation would be spinach or arugula...or a combination of the two!

xoxo,

Lauren