Red Quinoa and Black Bean Vegetable Salad

This salad is awesome so I thought I'd share. Very tasty and loaded with protein and fiber. If you are not familiar with quinoa, it is a grain-like seed with a nutty flavor. I get it at Whole Foods for $5.99/pound in bulk. This recipe is adapted slightly from the post on www.ohsheglows.com, which is a nice food blog. Here is a link to the original if you are interested:

http://ohsheglows.com/2011/01/21/red-quinoa-and-black-bean-vegetable-salad/

Salad:
1 cup uncooked red quinoa
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1 small avocado, chopped into 1 inch pieces

Dressing:
4-5 tbsp of fresh lime juice (Juice from 2 small limes) (I used Nellie & Joe's brand Key Lime Juice)
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin, or more to taste


Directions:
1. Cook 1 cup red quinoa according to package directions.

2. While quinoa is cooking, prepare the chopped vegetables and whisk together the dressing.

3. Allow quinoa to cool after cooking for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Add the beans and vegetables and toss well.

4. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with salt and pepper to taste. Bring salad to room temperature before serving. Keep fresh in a sealed container for 1-2 days.

Yields: Six - 1 cup servings

Salad nutrition (per serving):
233 calories
5 g fat
0 g saturated fat
8 g protien
9 g fiber
38 g carbs
3 g sugar

Dressing nutrition (per 1 tablespoon)
49 calories
5 g fat
1 g saturated fat
0 g protien
0 g fiber
0 g carbs
0 g sugar