Quinoa Fiesta Salad

I love making this salad because it's easy and healthy, and of course it's super tasty too!
If you don't know it, quinoa is an ancient Peruvian grain, it's packed with protein and rich, nutty flavour. You gotta try it : )

Read on for the recipe...

Quinoa Fiesta Salad

1 cup dried quinoa

1 can black beans

1 can corn

3 green onions, chopped

1 cup cucumber, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

1 cup red and/or orange bell pepper

optional: cubed cheese pieces, avocado pieces, liberal amounts of fresh coriander... or anything else you may think of.

Dressing:

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup lemon or lime juice

1 tsp coarse sea salt

pepper

2 tsp grainy mustard

1 tbs maple syrup

2-3 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp thyme & oregano

1. Cook the quinoa as directed on the package. I do it the lazy way, and boil it in water for about 15minutes (until soft) and then simply strain out the excess water.

2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, and then poor in the dressing. 

If you follow the recipe for my dressing, it will likely make more than you need for the salad... so add it to taste.