Clean Eating Salad With Canned Tuna, Chickpeas and Quinoa
Food makes me so happy. So happy that I’ve been using this time in quarantine venturing out the only way I know how: trying out new food combinations. There’s been no lack of indulgence in my house, but today I decided it was time to find something a little “cleaner.”
I stocked up moderately for this pandemic — a few cans here, a few cans there, just to spread out trips to the grocery store. Today I was tasked with making lunch after a negotiation with Travis that had him doing a 60-minute workout with me in the garage. “Fine, I’ll do it, but you have to make lunch and clean up,” he said.
Lately, he’s been whipping up lunch since I spend so much time cooking dinner and baking sweet treats. So I found myself at a bit of a crossroads in the kitchen today — trying to find something healthy enough after such a lovely workout, but different enough that it didn’t feel like we were eating just another salad.
This recipe is a delicious combination of canned chickpeas, canned tuna, cooked quinoa, spinach, onion, carrots, mint and tomatoes complemented with a super simple tangy dressing.
Ingredients:
For the salad:
1 can tuna, drained
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled (begin with 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa)
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1/4 cup (or more) onion (I used white, but red would be great)
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 cup mint, chopped
About 4 cups spinach, loosely packed
For the Dressing:
2 medium garlic cloves, grated
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
salt to taste
Directions:
Cook quinoa according to directions. For a half a cup of dried quinoa, you will get about three cups of cooked quinoa. Allow the quinoa to cool completely, then measure out a cup, and add to a large salad bowl.
Toss in the spinach, onions, tuna, chickpeas, carrot, tomatoes and mint.
Grate the garlic into a small bowl. Add in freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Whisk gently with a fork.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. Lightly toss the salad, then divide between two people for a large portion and four people as a starter plate.
Lex Erickson
Exploring life's many facets one glass of wine, pair of heels, and yoga class at a time.