Midweek Snack // California Quinoa

Going gluten and casein free in my household has not been as hard as I originally thought it might be. I guess because for the most part, we try to avoid eating wheat and dairy anyways, but always failed when it comes to sweets. Sure there are great dairy free ice creams... which I have ALL of. And there are great gluten and dairy free cookies. But, there's just nothing that really compares to the loftiness of gluten as it rises in baked goods, along with the richness that milk, cream, and cheese lend to dishes.

But one thing that we have not had any trouble with is finding suitably nutritious delicious tasting substitutions for our normal weekly meals. Have we noticed a difference? Yes. My eczema is all but vanished, and pardon me if I just put it out there that I am extremely regular. I am hungrier though, and I can't put my finger on why. There have been several occasions when I've woken up in the middle of the night starving and then can't get back to sleep. So, I do still need to experiment on how satiating some of the carbohydrate-specific dish substitutes are for me, or incorporate more fat into my meals to make up for it.

G is feeling a lot better with her heartburn and stomach cramping, although we are still trying to nail down additional sensitivities because she is still getting some flare ups. Onions are under suspicion at the moment. In part because of this dish, which we made this weekend and have been eating leftovers of ever since. It's delicious!!!

I got the idea of this recipe when I saw a container at Whole Foods while I was browsing their prepared foods section - it was called california quinoa, and I flipped it around to see what was in it. All the ingredients were listed right there of course, and they were all ingredients that we love and are easy to put together. I did a few internet searches to verify if my proportions of ingredients, especially the dressing, were in line with what I was thinking and the home made version was born. I love it! And if G is having issues with onion, I won't cry because it will be equally as good without it.

California Quinoa

Ingredients (for salad):

1 cup dry quinoa

2 cups filtered water

1 cup of cubed fresh or frozen mango

1/2 small red onion, diced

2 red bell peppers, diced

3/4 cup sliced almonds

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped parsley (WF called for cilantro, but we're not cilantro lovers, so you pick!)

Ingredients (for dressing):

juice from 4 limes

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

+ Bring water to a boil, add quinoa, cover, and turn down heat to low for 16 minutes. Uncover and remove from heat, fluff with a fork.

+Whisk all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl (I put mine in a mason jar and shake - this also serves a dual purpose of storing the dressing, so that you can add it as you serve it if you're not going to eat it all at once)

+In a large bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together including the quinoa once it is cool and the dressing.

Notes:

+Depending on how large your servings are, this could serve 8-10

+for 1 cup of salad, I added 1/2 tbsp dressing

+if you will eat it incrementally through the week, add dressing as you go instead of combining it all up front, it will keep the rest of the salad fresher longer

#Nourish #Meals #Sides