Recipe: Quinoa Orange and Pistachio Salad

This vegan, gluten-free salad provides 100 percent of your daily vitamin A and 100 percent of your daily vitamin C. It’s also a good source of fiber, calcium and iron. Quinoa is a higher protein whole grain that cooks just like rice (2:1 water to grain ratio).

Ingredients

Two 15 oz cans mandarin oranges, in its own juice, all but ¼ cup juice drained and discarded
1 cup quinoa
¼ cup fresh mint, loosely chopped
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
15 oz canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained thoroughly
⅓ cup chopped almonds or pistachios
¼ cup dried cranberries
1 tsp minced garlic (about 1 clove)
4 cups kale or greens, chopped
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp black pepper

Directions

1. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup quinoa, cover, and let simmer over low heat for about 15-20 minutes. Let cool.
2. Add the mandarin oranges, mint, chickpeas, nuts, dried cranberries and greens.
3. In a separate dish, combine the vinegar, garlic, pepper, olive oil and the reserved ¼ cup juice from the mandarin oranges. Pour dressing over the quinoa mixture. Toss lightly. Serve chilled.

Nutrition information

Makes 6 servings

Each serving contains about 1.5 cups

Calories 310
Total fat 11g
Saturated fat 1g
Trans fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 140mg
Total carbohydrate 46g
Fiber 4g
Sugars 7g
Protein 11g