May Long Weekend is coming up, signalling the start of summer and the season of backyard BBQing. Hooray! For me, what’s even more exciting than the promise of grilled ‘everything’ is the fresh, colourful, garden-inspired salads that will accompany all the BBQ delights. Perhaps you are attending a potluck BBQ this weekend and are tasked with bringing a salad? Please, skip the pre-made supermarket potato salads and coleslaws, which are loaded with sodium, sugar, and all the wrong kinds of fats. Instead, whip up this easy, delicious, super nutritious twist on traditional coleslaw.
This Miso-Lime Quinoa Slaw is oh-so-creamy, but instead of mayo and sour cream it gets it’s lusciousness from miso and hemp, both of which are protein-packed plant foods. The quinoa in this salad provides an additional boost of protein as well as much-needed anti-oxidants to protect and repair damage throughout the body. Quinoa also makes this salad more substantial and could easily be enjoyed as a light meal on it’s own.
Whatever you’re up to this long weekend, may there be sun, fun, and colourful food! Cheers!
Salad Ingredients:
1 cup black, red, or white quinoa (or a combination), uncooked
1 ½ cups water
1/8 teaspoon each garlic powder & onion powder
½ teaspoon coconut oil
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
3 green onions, chopped
3 cups (approx.) purple cabbage, shredded
½ cup (approx.) watermelon radish, chopped (or use regular radishes)
1 medium carrot, shredded
Generous sprinkling of sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
Dressing Ingredients:
Juice of 1 lime
1.5 Tablespoons miso paste
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon raw honey
2 Tablespoons hemp seeds
1/8 teaspoon each garlic powder (or use 1 clove garlic), and ground ginger
Few grinds of fresh ground black pepper
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup water
Directions:
Rinse and drain quinoa well under cold running tap water. Place quinoa, 1 ½ cups water, garlic & onion powder, and coconut oil in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to minimum heat, cover, and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. When done, sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt, stir to combine, place in a large bowl in the fridge to cool.
While the quinoa is cooking, toast the sunflower seeds for 7-10 minutes at 350F (I use a toaster oven for this). Watch carefully so as not to burn. They should be fragrant and slightly darker in colour.
Make the dressing by placing all ingredients except the olive oil in a blender and blend until smooth. With the blender running, drizzle in the olive oil, also adding more water if necessary to achieve a creamy consistency that isn’t too runny.
Once the quinoa and sunflower seeds have cooled down a bit (they don’t need to be completely cool, just not so hot to wilt the vegetables), combine them with the green onions, cabbage, carrot, radish, and S&P. Then add the dressing and toss to coat evenly.
Allowing the salad to marinate in the fridge for at least an hour will mellow the cabbage, which is nice, but this isn’t necessary and you can feel free to serve it immediately.
Enjoy!