Refreshing Quinoa Salad

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of dry quinoa, tri color or white
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup of chopped broccoli, cooked
• 1 cup of carrot, shredded
• 1 cup cucumber, diced
• 1 cup of celery, diced
• 1 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar (or rice, apple cider, balsamic) 
• Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
  

Instructions:

1. First, you want to make sure that you wash and dry your fresh veggies. After they’re clean, dice or slice them as mentioned above. All vegetables in this recipe are raw with the exception of the broccoli.
2. As for your broccoli, steamed frozen broccoli works great but if you want to use fresh broccoli, I highly suggest spraying it with cooking oil and air frying it for 8 minutes at 375°F. If you want to add a little extra flavor, add a pinch of salt, black pepper and garlic powder to your broccoli before air frying.
3. Next, in a pot, bring your chicken broth to a boil and add quinoa. Cook your quinoa per its packaging instructions, as cook times can vary.
4. It’s now time to prepare your vinaigrette. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine your olive oil, vinegar, salt and black pepper. Mix well.
5. Now that your vinaigrette is complete, it’s time to assemble. Grab 2 large bowls or plates and place ¾ cup of prepared quinoa in each. Going around the bowl, add ½ cup of each vegetable in separate piles (see pic).
6. Once everything is assembled, drizzle ½ of the vinaigrette over each bowl and enjoy!