I think salads are my fave thing to make. I love getting in my kitchen and getting creative with different salad ingredients, with the tunes blaring and the kids playing happily. Ok so the bit about the kids rarely happens. But this is one of my creations, I hope you like it.

I love this salad and everyone I make it for love it too…It’s high in protein so super filling and low in fat, and the quinoa adds that little bit of texture. You can add toasted pumpkin seeds too for extra crunch.   Great as a lunch or a light dinner. It’s gluten free, fructose friendly, and can be dairy free if feta is left out. So feed your inner Goddess with some of this goodness!

 INGREDIENTS:

1 cup quinoa or brown rice

roasted Jap pumpkin approx. 300g (Jap or Kent for fructose people)

2 beets, peeled and sliced into cubes

1 cup baby spinach

goats feta (or any feta)

1/3cup orange juice (either freshly squeezed or store bought)

1 tsp sesame oil

I tsp olive oil

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp maple syrup

2 x eggs, soft boiled for approx. 5 mins (optional)

Handful of coriander, chopped

Rinse quinoa under cold water. Tip into a saucepan and cook quinoa on medium heat and bring to the boil. Reduce to simmer for 10-15 minutes until tender or the liquid is absorbed. Drizzle olive oil and some lemon juice over it whilst hot and fluff with a fork.

Chop pumpkin into small cube pieces and beets into cubes. Drizzle with olive oil, salt cumin and maple syrup.

Roast in oven at 180 deg for approximately 20 – 25 minutes or until cooked.

Soft boil the eggs for approximately 5 minutes, then peel and crack in half (or slice)

Mix orange juice and sesame oil together. Assemble salad in  a big bowl with baby spinach on the bottom, quinoa, then roasted veges on top. Next crumble feta over the top. Add on boiled eggs and coriander then drizzle sesame and orange juice dressing over it all.

If serving with a meat, leave out eggs as the extra protein is not needed.