Spicy Veggie Quinoa Salad

Hi there! Lately, I've been challenging myself and inspiring myself to make more savory lunch recipes, because if you have noticed, I kinda tent to make sweet recipes, but I guess that's because I have a sweet tooth...so, this Spicy Veggie Quinoa Salad is really hitting the spot for me- EASY, VEGAN and DELICIOUS salad that requires only 20 minutes in the kitchen! It's flavorful, it's colorful, incredibly nutritious...no further explanation needed.

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Quinoa is one of my favorite things to eat- firstly, I love its nutty and earthy taste and the other thing that amazes me is that quinoa is a complete protein plant-based food, which means that it contains all amino acids that are essential for our bodies. This is kind of a big deal because there are only a few plant-based foods in the world that are complete proteins, so to see that this little grain is SO powerful, it's truly magical to me! Also, quinoa is loaded with fiber, minerals (iron, magnesium and zinc) and it's also gluten-free.

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ingredients:

200 g quinoa (soaked in water overnight)

mix of your favorite vegetables (I used sweet corn, green and red peppers, red onion, garlic, a bit of cauliflower and zucchini)

vegetable oil for cooking

sea salt

mix of desired spices (I used turmeric, red paprika, ginger, dried dill and cayenne pepper)

20 g sesame seeds

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-feel free to use any vegetables you have and use whatever spices you like and desire-

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how-to:

-in a cooking pan, add the soaked and rinsed quinoa and pour half of the amount of water (400l) and on medium heat, let it cook completely. It will take about 20-25 minutes

-in another cooking pan, on medium heat, add a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil and place all of the vegetables you'll be using and start cooking

-stir while cooking, so that everything cooks well. After 3 minutes or so of cooking, add all of the spices and stir everything nicely so that all the spices distribute evenly in the pan

-cook the veggies parallelly with the quinoa (keep an eye on both dishes). The veggies should be nicely cooked and soft after 20 minutes of cooking, so you have the veggies and the quinoa ready at the same time

-get a big salad bowl and pour the quinoa in, followed by the stir-fried veggies and mix everything well and VOILA- you have yourself a

delicious, healthy and vegan-friendly filling salad!

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I all about quick and simple meals and this Spicy Veggie Quinoa Salad is definitely one of those meals. It's truly really filling, but the good kind- we had this for lunch and I ate a good amount of it, but after that, I felt full and happy, but I wasn't uncomfortable at all. And that the power of plant-based foods, folks!

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If you're in the mood for an extra treat, you can make a Lemon Tahini Dressing (recipe here) for your salad or you can add some hummus (because why not)!

Did you try this recipe?

If you did, make sure to tag @GirlAroundTheFood on Instagram and add the hashtag #GIRLAROUNDTHEFOOD . I'd love to see that!

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thank you.

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