Vegan Quinoa Salad Recipe | When A Teen Goes Green

It’s May and that means summer is coming! Summer is my favorite season and after the past few weeks (it’s been up to 24 degrees Celcius here), I am excited for it! Even though right now it is a bit colder again (tonight it will be 0 degrees, what a difference!), I am changing my eating habits a bit already, when the weather is warmer I tend to eat more salads and fresh foods. So, today I want to share with you one of my favorite recipes of all times, a simple vegan quinoa salad recipe.

The quinoa salad

When it comes to sustainability, this salad might not be the very best option, since quinoa is usually grown in South American countries, far from the Netherlands. My intentions are to eat more local, even though I am doing so well right now. But, lately I found out that it is now grown in The Netherlands too, and this option is available in supermarkets already. So, the main ingrediënt is vegan, sometimes zero waste and can be local too. Most of the remaining ingredients aren’t local either, I use olive oil, lime, kidney beans, tomato, corn and avocado. Even though I am focusing on the local aspect above and this salad is not local, it is still a good option is my opinion, since it is plant-based, healthy and the ingredients can all be bought organic. So let’s focus on the positive things here!

Healthy, vegan and organic quinoa salad

This recipe is not mine, I’ve found it years ago in a recipe book for ‘De Voedselzandloper’ (The Food Hourglass). It’s a book which I believe in very strongly, since it affirms some other health-related books I’ve read and it focusses on a whole-foods, mostly plant-based diet with little processed food. So, this salad is a great option in my opinion. Simple, but so yummy! And I don’t think I need to mention that it is vegan too. Well duh, since going vegan is the single biggest thing you can do to reduce your impact. And at last, I recommend buying all these ingredients organic, since pesticides are horrible and not something I support.

So, here it is, my recipe for this quinoa salad. The amount is a a rough guess, since some like more avocado than tomato, and some might like more tomatoes than avocado’s, it depends on your preference. The canned ingredients I mentioned I don’t buy in a can, but in a glass jar, since my parents don’t allow me to cook things for long, but I named them in a can so you can understand what type of food I mean. You can also buy these in bulk and then cook them.

Ingredients

350 grams Quinoa
2 avocado’s
A can of corn
A can of kidney beans
3 large fresh tomatoes
2 table spoons of olive oil
The juice of half a lemon

cooking instructions

Boil the quinoa for about 10 minutes, in double the amount of water. Let it cool down. Add the canned ingredients and cut all the remaining ingredients in small blocks. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix the olive oil with the lime juice. Add this mixture to the salad and tadaa, you’re done. Simple as that in about 20 minutes! I prefer the salad cold.