Happy New Year…and Happy Salad!

Well hello stranger…

Where do I begin?  It’s been a couple of weeks since I posted last.  My New Year has been off to a great start…lots of trying to get back into a post-holiday routine only to disrupt that long enough to take an extended weekend away with my hubby in Hilton Head…a trip courtesy of my wonderful parents who let us use their timeshare while they watched the kids for us!  We enjoyed a relaxing few days in the cold (I know I know…but it was seriously cold for us!) eating well and really catching up on some good R&R.  I’ve also aged since we last spoke…I celebrated a birthday this week, which is always fun right? 🙂

Now do you want me to tell you about this “Happy Salad”?  Well, I can’t take credit for this creation…it’s actually the creation of a friend of mine who mentioned it one day on good ole Facebook, and of course, I had to have it.  What really caught my attention about this salad is that it was layered full of healthful and nutritious elements, one specifically being quinoa.  I’m a quinoa novice…although I have an expired bag of it in the pantry, I have only tried cooking with it once and am not even sure I did it quite right.  I invited my friend Jenna over to the “kitchen” with the hope of her getting me over my silly intimidation of quinoa….and to also play with my new Christmas gift – a set of Lowel EGO lights that my husband gave me!  How cool is that?

My kitchen table became our little food photography “studio”…

(Photo courtesy of Jenna Atchison)

Having fun playing…then aaah!  Memory card full…must delete…

(Photo courtesy of Jenna Atchison)

The afternoon was great…and the salad was delicious.  It was exactly what I needed after what feels like a month of non-stop celebrating…a good wholesome meal that I knew would make my body happy.  Enjoy!

And thanks for a fun afternoon Jenna!  🙂

Jenna’s Happy Salad

(makes about 4 servings)

(Printable Recipe)

bunch of fresh spinach leaves
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 can black beans
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 large cucumber (not pictured b/c I didn’t have it on hand), peeled and chopped
bunch cilantro
lemon
olive oil, optional
salt and pepper to taste

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup of uncooked quinoa to water and stir. Bring back up to boil and then simmer until quinoa “pops” out of it’s skin. It should absorb all of the water as well. Set aside.

In small saucepan, heat can of black beans (undrained, unrinsed). Set aside.

To assemble salad, place spinach leaves on plate. Top with quinoa, then black beans, chopped tomatoes and cucumbers. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro leaves and a touch of salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon juice over salad, along with a light drizzle of olive oil if you like.

(Photo courtesy of Jenna Atchison)