Asian-Inspired Mandarin Quinoa Salad

I don’t know if it’s the call of summertime (and bikinis) or just the longer hours of daylight available in a day, but over the past month I’ve started fitting a lot more exercise into my schedule.  I’d only just started getting into fitness in January but started off pretty slowly so I didn’t overdo anything (I have a bad knee that likes to act up a lot), but when new fitness classes became available in May, my sister and I started trying out a bunch and so far we've kept it up!

I’ve discovered a love for Zumba (my favourite of all classes; I am hopeless when it comes to the more salsa-esque moves but it is still so fun!) and yoga, along with a love/hate relationship with bootcamp style classes, which are so hard but also so effective!  And tonight I’m going to try my first AquaZumba class (basically Zumba in the water), which should be interesting!

All this exercise not only has me craving healthy food more, but also needing quick dinners that can be waiting for me in the fridge when I get home later than normal and am starving! I especially love quinoa salads for this purpose because they keep well in the fridge, are full of protein, and can be customized to endless flavour combinations!

Ingredients:
For the Quinoa:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa (I used golden & black mix)
• 1 cup vegetable broth, optional
• 1 cup shelled frozen edamame
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 to 1.5 mandarin oranges, peeled and chopped
• 2 large carrots, grated
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted if desired (I was too lazy but almonds are usually better toasted!)

For the Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons fresh mandarin orange juice (squeezed from about half a mandarin)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (optional for a bit of spice)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons honey (use agave or brown sugar to make this dish vegan)
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Dash each of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Bring 1 cup water and 1 cup vegetable broth to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes, then remove lid and fluff with a fork.  Let quinoa cool.  (Note that the vegetable broth is optional to add a little extra flavour; if you choose not to use it then use 2 cups water total instead)
2. .....................................

for full recipes please see : www.onceuponacuttingboard.com

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