*Image courtesy: © Julie Van Rosendaal

Quinoa (pronounced as KEEN-wah), an ancient grain makes a fantastic base for a salad. Its mild, nutty flavour lends itself well to soups, grainy breakfast cereals and anything in which you’d use rice or couscous. With a lighter, fluffier texture than most whole grains, quinoa is also a rich source of protein. This 160 calorie dish can be served as a light snack too. Enjoy!

Author of One Smart Cookie, among other cookbooks, Julie Van Rosendaal is referred to as the “queen of the skinny sweet” and the “poster girl for low fat cooking.” She’s the food and nutrition columnist on the Calgary Eyeopener on CBC Radio One, co-host of TV’s It’s Just Food and writes and is the photographer for her popular blog, DinnerwithJulie.com, which documents real life in her home kitchen in Ramsay.

Nutritional Analysis Per Serving:

• Calories 160
• Total Fat 6 g
• Saturated Fat 0 g
• Cholesterol 0 mg
• Sodium 15 mg
• Carbohydrates 23 g
• Fibre 4 g
• Protein 4 g

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa 250 mL 1 ripe mango
• Peeled and diced 1 small red or yellow pepper
• Seeded and diced 2 cups (packed) baby spinach
• Torn or sliced 500 mL 1 cup (half 19-oz/540-mL can) black beans
• Rinsed and drained 250 mL
• 1/4 English cucumber
• Chopped 2-3 green onions, chopped, or 1/4 cup chopped purple onion 60 mL
• Dressing: 3 Tbsp canola oil 45 mL 2 Tbsp white wine or white balsamic vinegar 60 mL 2 tsp honey 10 mL 1/2 tsp curry powder or paste 2 mL 1/4 tsp cumin 1 mL

Instructions:

• Rinse quinoa well under cool water in fine sieve or in several changes of water. Drain well.
• In a large pot of boiling, salted water, set over medium heat, cook quinoa until tender but still firm to bite, about 15 minutes. It’s done when germ separates, making it look like a curly Q.
• Drain well and return quinoa to pot, off heat. Cover with a tea towel and replace lid, allowing it to steam and producing fluffy quinoa as it cools.
• In a large bowl, combine cooled quinoa, mango, pepper, spinach, black beans, cucumber and onions.
• To make a dressing, combine canola oil, vinegar, honey, curry and cumin in jar or small bowl and shake or whisk to blend.
• Drizzle salad with dressing and toss until well coated. 

Yield: 8 servings. Serving size: ½ cup (125 mL)