Quinoa salads are a great way to maintain a healthy diet.  They help to avoid harmful ingredients that are usually contained in packaged foods.  Quinoa is also high in protein, fibre and other nutrients.  I usually cook a batch of quinoa and then use half of it to prepare a meal. This way, the remainder can be used for a different dish. 

The last blog post included a Black Bean Quinoa recipe.  With the remainder of the quinoa, I made two other salads.  One salad included a balsamic vinaigrette with fresh vegetables and the other was a tahini flavoured dish.  They are great to have on their own or on a bed of mixed greens. 

Balsamic Quinoa
2 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
2 carrots, grated
1 red pepper, chopped
1 orange pepper, chopped
1 green onion, chopped

Balsamic Vinaigrette
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 fresh squeezed lemon
Sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients together then drizzle with Balsamic Vinaigrette. 

Tahini Quinoa
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup lightly cooked broccoli
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup snow peas
2 celery stalks, chopped

Tahini Dressing
1/2 cup tahini
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp tamari (organic soy sauce)
2 tbsp fresh parsley

Mix together the Tahini Dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender.  Toss with the Tahini Quinoa ingredients. 

Store both salads in an air tight container for up to 5 days.