Feta and Lemon Quinoa Salad

Feta and lemon quinoa salad is a deliciously fresh tasting gluten free vegetarian healthy lunch option. Packed full of nutritional goodness this low cost salad is quick and easy to prepare. The classic Mediterranean flavours, brought to life with a zingy lemon vinaigrette.

Although during summer I’m still inclined to take one of my soups every day to work for lunch, from time to time I do like to shake it up a bit with a good filling salad. Exactly like this feta and lemon quinoa salad.

I also think that it would be a shame to miss out on all the fantastic fresh salad produce in the shops at the moment. Particularly cherry tomatoes, they just seem to taste so much juicier now, rather than in winter don’t you think?

It’s just that when time is limited, and I’m home late from work in the evening, it’s often far easier to reach into the freezer and get out one of my pre-made soups.

Fortunately though, I came up with this feta and lemon quinoa salad as an ideal solution to the limited time issue and this means I CAN take advantage of all that fantastic fresh salad produce!

You’ll be able to make this feta and lemon quinoa salad in just 10 minutes if you’ve already got cooked quinoa and peas.

Plus, quinoa is just such a super amazing grain! Check out this detailed article on the 27 science-backed health benefits of quinoa if you don’t believe me!

I got the idea for this feta and lemon quinoa salad from a pre-made healthy lunch I bought out of a well-known U.K. high street store, prior to travelling on a train to London a few years ago.

It stuck in my memory and the lemony flavours of that salad really complimented the quinoa, feta and edamame beans.

I wasn’t able to get edamame beans for this, my version. So I’ve substituted with peas instead. You could add edamame beans instead if you can get them.

Also, goats cheese would be fine as a feta cheese substitute if you can’t get that.

Talking of feta cheese, whilst writing up this recipe I did some checking up on the benefits of feta cheese.

Is Feta Cheese Good For You?

I came to the conclusion that like any cheese, feta cheese is one to enjoy in moderation.

It can be high in saturated fat and salt. But, that depends on how it’s made and there are healthier versions available and that’s what I tend to use.

Saying that though, feta cheese is still one of the healthiest cheeses you can choose and an ideal addition to your salad.

Made from either sheep or goats milk, its packed with vital vitamins and minerals and is an excellent replacement high protein source for vegetarians.

Print

Feta and Lemon Quinoa Salad

Prep Time

10 mins

Total Time

10 mins

 

Packed full of nutritional goodness this low cost feta and lemon quinoa salad is quick and easy to prepare.

Course: Lunch

Servings: 2

Calories: 464 kcal

Author: neil@neilshealthymeals.com

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients

• 60 g quinoa cooked and cooled*
• 80 g feta cheese
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped coriander
• 70 g peas cooked
• 8 halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 small red onion finely diced

Lemon Vinaigrette Ingredients

• 3 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed is best
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• Freshly ground salt and pepper

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

1. Make the lemon vinaigrette by combining all the vinaigrette ingredients into a small bowl and seasoning to taste.
2. Make the salad by placing the quinoa in a medium sized bowl and combining with the onion.
3. Crumble the feta into the bowl with the quinoa and onion, then add the peas and cherry tomatoes.
4. Pour over the lemon vinaigrette, add the chopped coriander and gently mix everything together.
5. Transfer to serving bowls and squeeze extra lemon juice over if required.

Recipe Notes

*You can cook 60g of rinsed quinoa in 300ml of water which only takes about 20 minutes

Hawaii 2017

Another major benefit of this feta and lemon quinoa salad is that it’s low cost.

And for Lady Lynne and myself that is currently good news and the way forward.

Why? Well we’ve booked up our trip to Hawaii (woohoo!), with a stopover in San Francisco for next year, March 2017.

And so as a result of that you’ll be seeing a lot more emphasis on the “low cost” theme as we save our pennies so we can enjoy another trip of a lifetime.

I’ve got to say “thank you” to Amanda for the valuable advice in where to stay and for your recommendations of what to do and see in Hawaii.

I’ll write more about Hawaii and what we’re planning to do there before we go, as well plenty more delicious low cost recipes like this feta and lemon quinoa salad.

You know, it’s amazing how the 80/20 way can also be applied to money and so many other aspects of your life. It works, not just in terms of your health and healthy eating, but it also helps you to achieve your life goals. Travel being one of ours.

I promised in the previous views of Oban post that I’d write more about that, and how the 80/20 way gives you those opportunities to prosper and live a fulfilling life. I’m working on those articles for the future.

So, for now, all you need to know is “less is more”.

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