If you're searching for the perfect summer side dish, look no further! This Sprouted Quinoa Salad is tasty and simple to make.
It's a great thing to bring to a picnic or BBQ; it pairs well with meat or seafood. I like it with rack of lamb or lamb chops, steak, roast chicken, pork ribs, or grilled salmon or shrimp.
And yes, it's gluten-free!
Sprouted Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
Quinoa:
- Quinoa (1 1/2 cups)
- Filtered water (4 1/2 cups)
- Whey, lemon juice, kefir or yogurt (1 tablespoon)
- Chicken stock, preferably homemade (3/4 cup)
- Black beans, canned (1 1/2 cups)
- Corn, frozen, organic if possible (1 1/2 cups)
- Bell pepper, red, yellow or orange (1)
- Parsley (1 bunch)
Dressing:
- Lime juice, fresh, (5 tablespoons, or to taste)
- Sea salt (1 teaspoon)
- Cumin, ground (1 1/4 teaspoons, or to taste)
- Olive oil (1/3 cup)
Instructions
1. Warm 4 1/2 cups filtered water in a saucepan to just above body temperature (113-131 degrees). You don’t need a thermometer —- just heat it until it’s hot to the touch but not boiling. If you let it come to a boil, let it cool before using.
2. In a large glass or enamelware (not metal) bowl or pitcher, add 1 1/2 cups quinoa, 4 1/2 cups heated filtered water, and 1 tablespoons of whey, lemon juice, kefir or yogurt. Mix thoroughly.
3. Cover the bowl with a dishtowel and let sit overnight on the counter or in a cupboard. Let sit overnight.
4. When ready to make the quinoa salad, add the soaked quinoa and 3/4 cup chicken stock to a small to medium saucepan on medium to high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
5. While the quinoa is cooking, make the dressing: In a small bowl whisk together the lime juice, sea salt, and cumin. Add the olive oil in a stream, whisking. Set aside.
6. Strain and rinse the black beans. Set aside.
7. Deseed and chop the bell pepper. Set aside.
8. Mince the parsley. Set aside.
9. Transfer quinoa to a large bowl and cool. Add beans, corn, bell pepper. Add the parsley to taste.
10. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with sea salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
I've soaked the quinoa overnight to make it more digestible and nutritious. It also has black beans which provide protein as well as flavor. (Quinoa is also very rich in protein.) And chicken stock, which helps you utilize the protein, and you get lots of benefits from the gelatin in chicken stock.
The lime juice, bell pepper, corn and parsley give this quinoa salad loads of flavor. It's even better the next day. I like double the recipe so we have leftovers in the fridge for easy summer lunches.
You can make this dish a day or two ahead; store in the fridge.
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That looks so good!
So, I’ve been reading through your archives and wondering which supplements you still take and what has worked for you. Specifically: magnesium, iodine, dessicated thyroid & adrenal, cod liver oil…and anything else you’ve found works or doesn’t work in the long term.
Hi, Lindsey
I’ve been in the middle of traveling for a month and we just moved back to LA from Vegas. So I haven’t been taking a lot of supplements.
Right now I’m taking the fermented cod liver oil/butter oil and dessicated thyroid.
I’m also taking elk antler velvet — see this post: https://cheeseslave.com/my-weekend-at-the-take-back-your-health-conference-april-2012/
I am going to start taking magnesium baths again at night — with the magnesium flakes — once I get unpacked and find it.
Don’t know if you have already know this. Just wanted to say that before taking any dessicated thyroid you might want to check to make sure that you do not have a reverse t3 (RT3) problem in which case taking any form of supplements/meds containing T4 (dessicated thyroid) would do more harm than good. I was taking armour thyroid but then discovered that I had a RT3 problem which means that my body wasn’t able to convert T4 to T3 instead making RT3 and i still had all my hypothyroid symtpons. So I had to go on T3 only and I am doing sooo much better. More info here: https://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/reverse-t3/
Good tip!
Do you drain the quinoa in the morning, or keep the soaking liquid?
You should not need to drain it. Quinoa absorbs a lot of liquid.
What’s your understanding of canned beans vs. soaked homemade beans? I’d be glad to skip that step and buy canned every once in a while, but I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. Thanks!
I buy canned beans all the time. Just look for cans without BPA lining. All the beans at Trader Joe’s do not have BPA cans.
I cannot eat any canned beans (or corn products – even organic) because my hands and knuckles bleed almost instantly. I can, however, eat all of the soaked/homemade beans and nixtimailized (sp?) corn that I want with NO problem. In Nourishing Traditions it mentions that the lemon juice neutralizes the aflatoxin in dry beans. After reading that I thought I would try it and ate 2 hunkin’ bean burritos – no bleeding. I’m a believer! :)
Dd made hummus with canned garbanzos and I won’t touch them. It’s just too painful. She made another batch with some I had in the freezer and I ate a bunch of that batch.
@Beth What is your average body temperature? Just curious.
I haven’t taken it in many years (I used to use it for NFP but then got too lazy for the temp part) so I really have no idea – except that I used to be below normal and was running fever if it reached regular temperature. Why do you ask? I have complications from Lyme that I’m still trying to heal like adrenal issues. Would that make me more sensitive to molds/toxins? I only have trouble like that with processed beans and corn products (but homemade beans or fresh corn is fine).
Have you heard of people not digesting quinoa well? I grew up eating it and then all of a sudden it started giving me stomach aches. I know my gut has some issues from antibiotic use, but I think it’s weird that this is the only grain I have problems with. I’ll have to try soaking and see if that makes a difference.
I have this problem as well, except I’ve never been able to eat it without getting a stomach ache. I’ve tried different kinds and same result. I haven’t tried soaking it yet though. Raw spinach gives me the same stomach aches too. I know that I have a histamine intolerance but not sure if quinoa is high histamine.
Wow, I posted one very similar to this last month – Great minds think alike :) I added sliced jalapeno for a little kick and I also like mine with fresh corn trimmed right off the cob. I didn’t realize that quinoa should be soaked. Is it the same reasoning as soaking other grains and seeds?
Jalapeno sounds like a great idea!
Yes quinoa has antinutrients so it is best to soak
This is perfect to take to the birthday party I’ll be going to next weekend. I took pickle relish last year and everyone loved it. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes.