Easy Quinoa Vegetable Salad with Lemony Tahini Dressing

The goodness of quinoa and vegetables in a salad – all enveloped in a creamy lemony tahini dressing. Easy to assemble with the simplest, no-fuss ingredients, a salad that isn’t at all boring but a balanced meal in itself!

Until few years ago, my idea of salad was greens and carrots thrown together on a plate. Perhaps I need not explain that salads represented penance to me, with veggies topped with a store-bought dressing. I wouldn’t consider salads a meal, and would ‘punish’ myself with a salad every once in a while to compensate for a meal that I went overboard with earlier in the day.

Quinoa, chickpea and sesame seeds in the dressing inculcate ample protein and essential fats, while veggies serve as a micronutrient powerhouse as well as dietary fiber.

RECIPE: CHICKPEA QUINOA FETA VEGETABLE SALAD WITH LEMONY TAHINI DRESSING

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups chickpeas, soaked overnight, boiled (canned ones can be used too)
• 200 gms quinoa
• 1 cup spinach, cleaned
• 1 bell pepper, red or yellow, chopped
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup red cabbage, chopped
• 2-3 garlic pods, minced
• 1 cup spinach, roughly sliced
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced into quarters
• ½ cup carrots, chopped
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
• 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp pepper
• Salt, to taste
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tbsp sunflower oil

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR DRESSING

Grind/ blend sesame seeds, salt, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice together to a paste. Add more lemon juice/ water to adjust the consistency for dressing. Set aside.

FOR SALAD

Heat a non-stick pan and toast the pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds mildly for crunch. Heat sunflower oil in the pan, add mushrooms, garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes till they’re cooked. Add spinach, stir and turn off the flame. Set aside to cool.

Soak quinoa for instructed time and rinse till you see no foam. Bring water to boil in a saucepan and cook as per instructions on the pack. Allow to cool.

Combine all the ingredients in a salad bowl and toss well. Drizzle the dressing on top.

Devour!

I’d love to hear how this recipe turned out for you, if you tried it. Do post a pic on Instagram and tag #fitfoodiediary in the picture!

NUTRITION INFORMATION (per serving)*

Energy	345 calories
Protein	14.2 g
Fat	13.1 g
Carbohydrates	42 g
Of which, Fiber	12.3 g

*Recipe is for 4 servings; all values in grams.