Simple Greens and Quinoa Salad

I've been going for simple lately.  After having some tummy issues a few weeks ago (more on that in another post), I've been sensitive to more exotic foods.  To get my system back in normal digesting order, I've been sticking to simple recipes.

Since my actual volume of food I've been able to eat has decreased, I have been having a bit more calorie dense foods, such as nuts, dried fruit, and avocados.  For those of you who are following Dr. Fuhrman's more aggressive weight loss plan, try subbing 1/2 of the avocado in this recipe for the same volume of defrosted and mashed green peas.  You'll still get that avocado flavor, but with less calories.

The recipe below has been my go-to salad for the last week or so.  It has 5 ingredients!  5!  It doesn't get more simple than that.  Plus, I can prep and mix all of this with a cutting board, paring knife, fork, and large bowl.  I'm all for less to clean!

Simple Greens and Quinoa Salad
Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 2 main dish servings, or 4-5 side salad servings
Print this recipe!

Ingredients:
        1 medium haas avocado (or 1/2 avocado and 1/2 cup defrosted green peas)
        1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about one lemon)
        1/4 cup fresh orange/clementine juice
        6-8 cups mixed dark greens (mixed baby greens, arugula, spinach, kale, etc.)
        1 cup cooked quinoa (chilled or at room temperature)
        black pepper and salt as desired

Instructions:
1.)  In a large bowl, mix together the avocado (and peas if using), lemon juice, and orange juice.  With a fork, mash and mix until combined and slightly chunky.
2.)  Add the mixed greens.  Using your clean/gloved hands, massage and mix the avocado dressing into the greens.  Wash your hands.
3.)  Next, add in the cooked quinoa and stir to combine.
4.)  Serve chilled by itself or with your favorite bean on top.

Amy's Notes:
This is a perfect salad to make when you are in a time crunch.  I brought these ingredients to work and mixed the salad in under 5 minutes.  This is also a great base salad to add other salad ingredients to such as green or red onions, julienne carrots, sliced radishes, mandarin oranges, diced tomatoes, dried fruit, raw nuts, etc.

Since this has been my regular salad for a while, I pre-cooked a couple cups of quinoa to mix in when I'm making a batch.  If you are making quinoa fresh, make sure to allow it to cool before mixing so that you don't wilt your greens.

As an extra tip, if you are using kale, just remove the stem and don't bother chopping.  When you are mixing the avocado by hand, simply rip the kale into bite size pieces.

Health and Happiness,

Amy