Cilantro lime quinoa

Same food, a different taste. You'll see a pattern here at my blog. My personal favorite super foods: quinoa, kale, avocado, tomatoes, garlic and so on. There are so many variations available with fresh, whole foods. You may remember Quinoa fresh-Mex medley (a salad, a wrap filler or chip dip!). I've tried a new variation with mostly the same ingredients except the dressing. This time it's cilantro lime vinaigrette! I'm going to play with it some more to get it just to my liking, but it's very close. I wasn't totally sold on it the first day, but after the dish marinaded overnight, it was awesome!

Ingredients:
1 C dry quinoa (red or white)
2 1/2 C water
1 can black or kidney beans
a few large leaves kale, chopped
1/2 large granny smith apple, diced
tomato, diced
1 large carrot, shredded
1 avocado, diced
green or red onion, chopped
opt: red bell pepper, diced

Simmer quinoa in 2 C water for 20 minutes or until fully cooked (you'll see the tiny spirals everywhere!). Meanwhile, blanch kale in 1/2 C water in a large wok. It literally takes only seconds till kale is deep green, then remove. Squeeze remaining water out of the kale and add kale and all prepped veggies in a bowl and set aside.

Cilantro lime vinaigrette

Juice of 2 limes
1T white vinegar
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1T maple syrup
1 clove garlic
1/4 t salt
3/4 t whole grain dijon mustard
1/2 C olive oil

Add all ingredients in a food processor and let it run till smooth and even in texture. Pour over quinoa and vegetables, toss and let sit overnight. The avocados will stay fresh because of the lime, so no browning avocado worries! Enjoy!