Quinoa and Pomegranate Salad

November 15, 2017 · 3 Comments

My parents came down for a visit a few months back and we tried out a cafe that had heaps of great reviews. The Golden Pig is in Newstead in Brisbane and if you get the chance to go, you won’t be disappointed! The food is sublime.

Mum and Dad has this yummy quinoa salad with some slow cooked lamb and we were blown away by the flavours. Of course we had to then try to recreate it when we got home. Sadly, it’s not quite as good as the original but it’s pretty close.

I have served the salad to a few visitors and they all really love it. I hope you do too.

Quinoa and Pomegranate Salad

Vital Stats: gluten free, grain free, dairy free, egg free, vegetarian, vegan, paleo

What you need:

5 cups cooked white quinoa

1 cup finely shredded baby spinach

4 finely chopped small green shallots

1/2 cup finely shredded parsley

1/2 cup finely shredded mint

1 large pomegranate, deseeded

1/2 cup roughly chopped pistachios

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

2 crushed garlic cloves

salt and pepper to taste

How to do it:

Whisk up the lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt and pepper together or shake in a glass jar. Add to the rest of the ingredients and gently mix. I like to leave it to sit for a few hours in the fridge for the flavours to develop.

This salad will serve about eight to ten people as a side. We serve this with slow cooked, marinated lamb and a generous dollop of home-made hummus. Divine!

*Hot Tip

A lot of people tell me they hate quinoa!! You do need to give it a really good wash before you cook it as the outside of the grains have saponins which can be quite bitter. I soak it for a bit in some water and then rinse really well. I find adding a little salt to the cooking water also helps bring out the flavour.

This would make an awesome salad for the Christmas lunch menu! Find some more whole food Christmas recipes here.

Gluten-Free, Nut-Free Muesli Bars

January 21, 2014 · 50 Comments

This is such an easy and tasty recipe that is perfect for lunch boxes.

I guess they aren’t really ‘muesli’ bars as they don’t contain oats! But you can certainly use oats instead of quinoa if you like.

Quinoa (pronounced KeenWah) is incredibly nutritious – it’s very high in protein. Combined with all the seeds and eggs, these bars will have you fuelled up and ready to go!

HOT TIP: You can use any combination of dried fruits,nuts and seeds – as long as the mixture you add to the eggs equals 5 cups.

Gluten-Free, Nut-Free Muesli Bars

Vital Stats: gluten free, grain free, dairy free, nut free, refined sugar free

Okay, so this is what you need:

1/2 cup organic quinoa, dry

1 cup dried apple

1 cup organic sultanas

1/2 cup dried organic figs

1/2 cup organic sunflower seeds

1/2 cup organic pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1/2 cup organic shredded coconut

1/4 cup organic chia seeds

1/4 cup organic sesame seeds

3 organic, free range eggs

2 tablespoons organic maple syrup or honey (optional)

2 teaspoons organic ceylon cinnamon

2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract

Hot tip: choose organic dried fruit where you can, as it doesn’t contain preservatives.

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Preheat the oven to 160° celsius. Line a slice tray with a non-toxic baking paper.

Rinse the quinoa really well (I soak for a bit and then rinse). This is really important as quinoa has a bitter saponins that coat it and need to be removed.

Cook the quinoa in a saucepan with 1 cup of filtered water. It will take about ten minutes. You will know it’s cooked because it becomes translucent.

HOT TIP: Make extra quinoa and store it in the fridge or freezer. It’s fantastic added to a salad or used instead of rice.

Cool the quinoa right down (you don’t want scrambled eggs)!

Chop the apple and figs. You can use the food processor or thermomix to do this.

Mix all the ingredients together well. I like to get my hands in and give it a good massage!

Press it firmly down into the slice tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked.

I cover the slice halfway through the cooking time with some baking paper so it doesn’t burn on top.

Cool on a wire rack before slicing with a bread knife into bars.

These freeze really well, so make a double batch and you will always have some on hand!

Makes about 12 large bars.

Want more?

Check out my 10 Healthy Muesli Bar recipes.

Quinoa and Dukkah Crumbed Chicken

August 11, 2012 · 3 Comments

Welcome to yet another recipe in my Just say NO to nuggets campaign!

I have been making this one for a while now and was pretty chuffed that Australian Healthy Food Guide published it in 2010 as a reader recipe.

This recipe is gluten-free, egg-free and contains protein-packed quinoa and lots of yummy spices.

Okay, so this is what you need:

500g organic or free range chicken, cut into strips

1/2 cup buttermilk (use homemade mayo if you are dairy-free)

1/2 cup of organic quinoa flakes

1/2 cup of dukkah (purchase from spice aisle or make it in your thermomix)

1/2 tablespoon of Herbamare

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Marinate the chicken strips in buttermilk. I like to leave it overnight as it makes the chicken really moist and tender, but a couple of hours is okay.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius.

Mix the quinoa flakes, dukkah and Herbamare well and place on a plate.

Taking the strips one at a time, slightly wipe off the buttermilk on the side of the bowl.

Roll in the quinoa mix, pressing it on firmly.

Chuck them onto a tray lined with baking paper and give them a spritz with some oil.

Fling them into the oven to cook for about 10 minutes, depending on how big your strips are.

Our favourite dipping sauce to serve with this is mango chilli chutney and greek yoghurt.

It is lovely served with a huge salad and nice the next day in a wrap with salad for lunch.

Enjoy.

As always, I love to know if you make one of my recipes, so come back and leave me a comment!

Want to make some more healthy, homemade chicken ‘nuggets’? Check out the recipes here.