I was rummaging through the fridge one day wondering what to have for lunch, and stumbled upon a medley of random ingredients I knew would make an awesome salad. I had some chicken from one night, and some chopped veggies from another night’s taco dinner, and fresh herbs in the garden and a random bit of goat cheese leftover. Â Don’t ya just love how leftovers can meld together so nicely
sometimes?!
Thankfully, I have been keeping already cooked quinoa on hand for such an occasion as this.
Quinoa is great for those who do not eat grains and need an alternative. It’s not a grain, but can act like a grain replacement in many dishes. It’s also chock full of nutrients and especially good for you when soaked prior to cooking (as soaking removes the saponins and anti-nutrients). However, I do not recommend quinoa for those healing a leaky gut. When I do make quinoa I cook it in homemade chicken stock to enhance it’s nutritive qualities and flavor. I use this basic recipe for quinoa from Real Food Kosher.
Ingredients:
- 2 heaping cups cooked quinoa
- 2 cups cooked chicken, diced (for optimal flavor use grilled chicken)
- 1/2 cup red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup cucumber, diced
- 2 1/2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled (or feta would also be nice)
- 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
- handful of mint, minced
- handful of oregano, minced (or whatever fresh herbs float your boat, or are on hand)
Instructions:
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl, toss together and serve over a bed of lettuce, or by itself topped with some salsa, or chopped olives and toasted pine nuts.
- To make the quinoa;
- Place 2 cups quinoa in a bowl and cover with warm water for 12 hours or overnight.
- Strain the quinoa through a fine mesh strainer.
- Place in a pot with 4 cups water or chicken stock and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low and cook for 1 hour.
- Option: Make a big batch of quinoa and portion into containers in portions (usually 2 cups is a good amount of cooked quinoa) and then freeze it.
This post has been contributed to the ‘Two for Tuesdays Blog Hop‘ over at A Moderate Life.
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Lydia Joy Shatney is a certified Nutritional Therapist Practitioner through the Nutritional Therapy Association. Additionally, she is the chapter leader for the Weston A. Price Foundation in Delaware County, Pa. (Find the group here on Facebook). Lydia is also a member of the Nourished Living Network. Lydia founded Divine Health From The Inside Out in March of 2010. You can find Lydia on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest. Sign up for the Divine Health From The Inside Out newsletter! Pick up a copy of Lydia’s eBook; ‘Divine Dinners: Gluten-Free, Nourishing, Family-Friendly Meals’.
Lydia offers specialized step by step counseling to transform your health. Personalized consultations to suit your specific needs are offered via phone or in person. Lydia offers a variety of packages offered to suit your individual needs. Lydia also offers 3 online courses: Heal Your Gut, Revitalize Your Health and A Calm Mind. Contact Lydia today to get started as well as to learn more about what she has to offer you!
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I truly enjoyed this. It is very educational and useful. I will return to check on upcoming posts.
Glad you enjoyed it Chelsea!!
Oh yeah…leftovers that were some how meant to end up in perfect harmony 😉 Love it! This is an awesome sounding chicken salad. Thanks for sharing it with Two for Tuesdays!
I just learned how to cook quinoa so that it tastes good a few weeks ago, so it’s ending up in a lot of my leftover re-creations too.
Lydie! I love this kind of “throw together” meal that comes out GREAT! It really does stretch not only our culinary skill and taste palette, it also stretches your budget!
Thanks for posting on the two for tuesday recipe blog hop! 
Alex@amoderatelife
What a yummy throw together meal, you would never know it wasn’t planned! thanks for linking this to Two for Tuesdays!