Trying New Old Grains

I've been taking lessons on nutrition and one of the goals was to try a new grain. Well, I decided to try Quinoa. It's been all the rage for a while, but I just hadn't gotten around to it. It was very easy to make and quite tasty. So healthy food can be good and good for you.

Zesty Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 limes, juiced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste

1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

5 green olives, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

salt and ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Whisk olive oil, lime juice, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes together in a bowl.

Combine quinoa, tomatoes, black beans, and green onions in a bowl. Pour dressing over quinoa mixture, toss to coat. Stir in cilantro; season with salt and black pepper. Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by scrumdiddly. You can find it here.

Notes: This has a good flavor and would be a healthy side dish for anything Mexican or Middle-Eastern. We didn't have pepper flakes, but that would have only made it better.