Eat: Curried Quinoa Salad

Oh, you might be wondering whatever happened to our commitment to eat grain free and all that? Well, we lasted a week, I lost 5 lbs and Chris gained 5lbs. I wouldn't call it a fail, I'd just say that way of eating isn't for us. We were committed for seven full days and then we had pizza for lunch. I think more than pizza Chris and I wanted our Lattés back! So, we went back to eating what we always eat and we've lost and gained our 5 lbs each. So, that brings me to my newest fun personal challenge; I'm going to go on another elimination diet. I've been feeling tired, bloated, my joints are painful, the list goes on. So I'm eliminating for the next four weeks: eggs, dairy, peanuts, gluten, refined sugar, soy and corn. Well, this is day three and I can fit my wedding ring on without force, I have been waking up pretty early (and falling asleep without trouble). I also haven't been drinking coffee, I tried one latté with steamed coconut milk and decided to forgo the whole thing. I love black coffee too, but find that I'm dependent on the stuff.

Here's one of the meals I made that fits into this relatively restrictive diet, it's also VEGAN, for all you vegans out there!

Curried Quinoa Salad

1/2 cup quinoa, prepared as directed
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 - 1 1/2 tsp curry (my favorite is Trader Joe's brand)
2 Tbs rice vinegar
lots of fresh black pepper
1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup each diced carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, raisins, frozen peas
1 cup cashews (or sliced almonds)

Place olive oil in a large pan, with a medium high flame
Sauté onions until translucent, then add garlic, stir for one minute
Add carrots, broccoli, bell peppers and raisins and cashews. Stir for two to four minutes
Add cooked quinoa, stir
Add curry, pepper and rice vinegar, stir
Add the frozen peas, stir, cover for three or four minutes to thaw the peas
Serve!


You can always increase or decrease the curry and pepper, use whatever veggies you love most. Sometimes we use cranberries instead of raisins, but there is always a dried fruit element in there - you could even try apricots...The three things I always have in there are quinoa, carrots, dried fruit and then add as much veg as I can...

Enjoy