California Quinoa Salad (Whole Foods Copycat)

Wouldn’t it be nice if the salad fairy came every Sunday and stocked our fridges with healthy, protein filled salads that we could eat all week?  Well, you are that salad fairy. Make it happen.  Try it just one week and you’ll be hooked.  When I don’t have a salad made I eat whatever is in sight and it’s usually not pretty.

This salad is a re-make of a Whole Foods favorite called California Quinoa.  I made a few minor adjustments based on my taste and I added sunflower sprouts.

A note about sprouts.  I have just discovered that my Whole Foods carries a new brand of sprouts from a local grower that I trust.  Sprouts are seriously good for you but not always easy to find.  These are clearly optional and the salad will be just as delicious without them. If you would like to learn more about the health benefits of sprouts visit Dr. Mercola’s website.  I just read his new book Effortless Healing and it’s a good read for anyone who wants to use food to improve their health.

This salad has delicious flavor with the flaked coconut, almonds and honey dressing.  It’s a bit sweet with lots of crunch from the veggies and freshness from the cilantro.  Feel free to substitute basil or parsley if you don’t like cilantro.  Add any extra veggies you have lying around like cucumbers, tomatoes or carrots.

If you plan to keep this in the refrigerator for the week I would leave the dressing off and dress it just prior to eating.  Lucky me, I have my lunch ready to go.

5 from 1 vote

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California Quinoa Salad (Whole Foods Copycat)

A delicious, healthy, gluten free salad to eat all week.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 32 minutes

Servings 6

Author Karen Kelly

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 small red pepper diced small
• 1/4 red onion diced small
• 1/2 cup flaked unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds
• 1 cup frozen edamame thawed
• 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
• 1 cup sunflowers sprouts optional, washed and chopped
• Dressing:
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• juice and zest of 2 limes
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook the quinoa according to package directions.
2. Put all ingredients for dressing in a mason jar and shake well.
3. In a large bowl toss all remaining ingredients. Add the cooled quinoa and top with dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss and enjoy.