Meal prepping seems like a daunting task that requires a lot of planning if you’ve never done it before, but it can be as simple as cooking larger batches for dinner as you go to save time the next day – or you can go all out and prepare a whole week’s worth of lunches in one go.
Either way, this quinoa salad is a nutritious, easy and delicious staple to add to your meal prepping routine, and it goes with so many dishes!
I like to serve it over undressed romaine leaves – which I also prepare ahead of time by chopping, washing and drying the leaves and storing them in a mason jar along with paper towels – and pan fried tofu. So good!
Quinoa Salad with a Maple & Mustard Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry quinoa
- Vegetable stock to boil quinoa
- 1 medium cucumber
- 10 cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 onion
- 1/4 cup red lentils
- 1 tbsp hemp seeds
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning with chilli (salt free)
- 1 tsp black sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp water
Directions
- Rinse and boil the quinoa according to package instructions together with the red lentils, but use vegetable stock instead of water if you can. Rinse with cold water after cooking and let cool.
- Chop the cucumber, tomatoes and onion into small pieces, and add them to the cold quinoa along with the hemp seeds. Mix to combine.
- In a bowl, combine the extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, salt, lemon juice, garlic powder, italian seasoning with chili, sesame seeds and water and whisk to form an emulsion.
- Add the dressing to the salad and mix well.
- Store your quinoa salad in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
