Quinoa Salad w/garlic vinegarette

Welcome to lunch on "Q" day, and it's going to be a GREAT day! Okay I admit, this "Q" meal was designed for mom and mom's taste buds! Yes I didn't share with anyone, but they already ate lunch so I'm cleared right?

Even if this was for my lunch this would make an excellent side dish at a potluck, or for dinner or for the meal, whatever your feeling! It was amazingly fast and very nutritious! I really enjoyed the dressing that I made to go along with everything, please don't pour the whole amount that the recipe makes over a little salad...that may not go over so well :)! Quinoa is very easy to prepare and it goes a long way. I put 1/2 C uncooked quinoa and covered it with a cup of water. Just double the amount of water to whatever amount of quinoa you're using, and simmer until the water is all absorbed! Mix this with whatever veggies, in my opinion peppers added an awesome flavor to this! I think I'm overcoming my texture issue with peppers. YAY!

Want some healthy benefits of Quinoa? Well you're going to get some :)
- Quinoa is a complete protein. One cup of quinoa has more protein than and egg!!! It also has all 8 of the essential amino acids

-It helps you keep your blood sugar regulated!!!! It is digested slowly so no blood sugar spikes

-Quinoa is a complex carbohydrate so it helps clean out the digestive tract, in other words it keeps you regular, less bloating and super uncool constipation.

-Quinoa has a ton of calcium, postassium and magnesium, these assist with bones, your heart and nerve functions!

-Quinoa is high in iron which supplies energy to the blood stream. It also has B vitamins which assist in brain function and helps keep your mind "with it" Sweet

info found here

Quinoa Salad w/ Garlic Vinegarette

1/2 C uncooked quinoa

2 C romaine lettuce

1/4 red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 C shredded Carrots

1/4 C onion, chopped

1 T sunflower nuts

Garlic Vinegarette

3 Garlic Cloves, shredded

1/4 C extra virgin olive oil

4 T red wine vinegar

1 T raw cane sugar

1 T chia seeds

Cook quinoa in sauce pan with 1 cup of water. Simmer until completely absorbed and tender. Combine quinoa with remaining salad ingredients. Set aside. Combine all dressing ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to boil, remove from heat and stir constantly until sugar is completely dissolved. Let dressing cool slightly before pouring it over salad. Toss salad so it's well coated

*the salad is for made for one person, the dressing supplies you with several servings so don't pour all the dressing onto your one salad!