Vegetable Quinoa Salad

This is an easy salad to throw together using the veggies listed below and a few pantry staples or you can swap the veggies for your taste and preference.  I love recipes like this that let me use up what I have on hand to make a quick substantial salad to use for the week.

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups water
• ¾ cup dry quinoa
• 1 (15-oz.) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed (you can sub black beans, pulled roasted chicken, sliced steak, or cooked shrimp)
• 1 (6-oz.) bag baby spinach (approx. 2 cups)
• 1½ cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise, then quartered
• 1 large English cucumber, chopped
• 1 medium colored bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium avocado, chopped
• ½ medium red onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup. olive oil
• 4 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (approx. 2 lemons, juiced)
• 1 tsp. Sea salt (or Himalayan salt) and
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Bring water and quinoa to a boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; gently boil, covered, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until quinoa is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
2.  Transfer warm quinoa to a large bowl. Add, chickpeas (or protein of choice), spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, avocado, onion, oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper (if desired); toss gently to blend.
3. Serve warm or refrigerate and enjoy cold for a quick lunch or dinner.