Prepping for a week of healthy foods in the Novak house means making whole grains ahead of time so when you need them they’re already prepared and ready to eat. I make quinoa for three days at a time, starting on Monday. This is a standard lunch on week days when I don’t have time to drop everything and cook. I’ve perfected the quinoa salad to be salty, sweet, and rich all in the same bite.

Making Quinoa

Cooking quinoa is far from an art but you do want it to be fluffy. I’ll usually cook 2 cups at a time with 4 cups of water, I don’t add salt because it reduces down and the flavor condenses to become much too salty. Heat it up to a boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer. Towards the end I start to fluff the quinoa with a fork and when the water has evaporated you know it’s done.

Keep it Simple

The grapes make the salad sweet plus adding phytonutrients that come from its skin. The Kalamata olives add the salt factor, and the pine nuts add a richness. But while it makes the perfect flavor combination, it’s also loaded with nutrient density:

Red grapes – (antioxidants) resveratrol, catechins, quercetin, beta-carotene, and lutein to name just a few

Kalamata olives – (healthy fats) linoleic acid, and a very small amount of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid

Pine nuts – (healthy fats) oleic acid and pinolenic acid as well as the antioxidant vitamin E

Cherry tomatoes – vitamin C, vitamin A, lycopene, and lutein.

Quinoa Salad with Red Grapes, Kalamata Olives, Pine Nuts, and Cherry Tomatoes

1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup red grapes, quartered
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, quartered
2 tbsp pine nuts
Handful leafy greens (spinach, kale, collards, or turnip greens will work), chopped
1/4 cup chopped Vidalia onion
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt to taste

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients and toss well.