Herbed Quinoa Garden Veggie Salad

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/3 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons warm water

1 or 2 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon agave nectar

juice of one lemon

salt and pepper to taste (I started with 1/4 teaspoon salt)

a handful of parsley leaves

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

8 leaves romaine lettuce

3 large carrots, peeled

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

3/4 cup chopped herbs of choice (see notes)

Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

Directions

Puree the dressing ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Store in fridge until ready to use.

Cook the quinoa according to package directions. When finished cooking, chill in the fridge or freezer. The texture of the salad is better when the quinoa is cool and crumbles a little more easily (instead of hot and sticky).

Shred the lettuce into long, thin pieces (or to whatever texture you like). Cut the carrots into a few big chunks and mince them in the food processor with 3-5 pulses. Toss the tomatoes, carrots, and chopped herbs together. Toss the cooled quinoa with the dressing; add the carrots, tomatoes, and herb mixture. When ready to serve, toss with the lettuce.

Nutrition

• Calories: 185
• Total Fat: 10.9 g
• Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Sodium: 98.2 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 19.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3.4 g
• Total Sugars: 2.9 g
• Protein: 4 g