Quinoa Crunch Salad

this salad makes me feel like I’m at an overpriced healthy cafe (I love overpriced healthy cafes)

Since this is a Quinoa Crunch Salad all the veggies are obviously crunchy, making this the best quinoa salad to meal prep bc nothing wilts and it only gets better throughout the week. I especially love that any of the veggies you have leftover will stay good in the fridge for a while so you don’t have the stress of things going bad.

I don’t make my own dressing too often (probably bc my ADHD brain hates precise technical measurements) but the maple dijon vinaigrette in this salad was soo yummy it was worth it. I like writing my recipes in similar measurements bc of above reason but also so I don’t have to get out a bunch of different measuring cups/spoons. (I lowkey feel like more recipe developers should start doing this)

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (or 1/2 cup uncooked*)

• 1 cup shredded kale

• 1 cup purple cabbage, thinly sliced**

• 1 cup shredded carrots

• 4 stalks celery, finely diced

• 1/2 red onion, finely diced

• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

• 1/2 cup raisins (or craisins)

• 1 cup rotisserie chicken, shredded (optional)

maple dijon vinaigrette:

• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 tbsp dijon mustard

• 1 clove garlic, minced or grated

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

steps:

1. make dressing***

2. combine all the salad ingredients together with the dressing (if making your own quinoa make sure to let it cool down a bit first)

3. enjoy ᵕ̈

hot tips:

*My favorite way to make quinoa is just throwing it into the rice cooker w a little bit of Better than Bouillon- it comes out so fluffy and flavorful everytime. I use a ratio of 1:2 for quinoa to water (ex: for 1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa, add 1 cup of water)

** If you also cook for one/don’t want to be stuck w leftover veggies, see if your market has a premixed salad with kale and purple cabbage already. I just used 2 cups of cruciferous crunch from Trader Joe’s and it was perfect since it had both.

*** I like measuring the oil first bc it makes everything else slide off easily and not stick to the spoon afterwards. Obv use a clean spoon for the mustard but I always go for the squeeze bottles bc I’m lazy.