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Black Bean Quinoa SaladQuinoa is a nutritious seed (from the Chenopodium plant) that comes from the Andes region of South America. While it cooks like a grain, it is actually more nutritious than most grains (it has a lot of protein, iron, and calcium) and also has the added benefit of being completely free of gluten. Quinoa seeds are naturally coated with a bitter substance that needs to be removed before cooking. Put your quinoa into a fine mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly with warm water to accomplish this. For this black bean quinoa salad, you cook quinoa just as you would cook brown rice- 1 cup quinoa to two cups water. Bring to a boil in a pot, cover, reduce heat to simmer, and let cook until water is absorbed. Quinoa cooks fast, so this only takes about 15 minutes. When it is done cooking, turn the heat off but leave it covered for another 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork. You can also eat quinoa without actually cooking it if you soak it in water for 12-24 hours (this preserves the enzymes and is the "raw food way" to eat quinoa). Drain and change the water every few hours. Soaking quinoa first is actually good practice even if you are going to cook it because it helps negate the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors naturally present on all virtually nuts, seeds, and grains. Soaking it for just a few hours is better than not soaking it at all, but if you don't have any time to soak it, don't worry too much-it's still good for you. Black Bean Quinoa Salad
4 cups baby arugula or meslun greens 4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped 2 cups canned or cooked black beans 1 zucchini or yellow squash, chopped 1 carrot, chopped 1 cucumber, chopped 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, raw or (soaked, if possible, and then) toasted 2 cups cooked quinoa 8 Tb. olive oil 4 Tb. raw apple cider vinegar or fresh lime juice (or a combination) Himalayan or sea salt to taste Directions:Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Serves 4-6.Serving suggestions:You could add some fresh raw or cooked corn, chopped mango, and cilantro to this salad to give it even more of a Mexican flair.
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