Quinoa, corn and edamame salad

 I added about 1 cup of grape tomatoes

2 cups frozen, shelled, edamame

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup cooked, cooled quinoa

1 green onion, sliced

1/2 red sweet bell pepper, diced

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1⁄8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Dash cayenne

Briefly boil the edamame and the corn until tender. Drain very well and cool completely.

In a large bowl combine the edamame, corn, quinoa, green onion, red pepper and cilantro. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, salt, chili powder, cumin, thyme, black pepper and cayenne until emulsified. Drizzle over the salad and toss to coat.

Servings » About 8 (1/2 cup) servings

Layered salad

This is from fatgirlstrappedinaskinnybody.com

Balsamic Vinaigrette
Recipe from Creative Kitchen Adventures
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 tbsp water (more or less depending on the consistency you want)
2 tbsp honey (can be replaced with agave or brown sugar)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Directions
Place all ingredients into a small jar (canning jar). Anything with a lid works well.
Shake to mix thoroughly. Stores in fridge for 1-2 weeks.

*Or use my blending method: throw everything in the blender, blend for about 30 seconds, then store in a jar for 1-2 weeks.
Salad
Makes 2 salads (Salads pictured were made in 32 oz mason jars)
1 cup cooked quinoa
2 big handfuls spinach
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion, diced
4 tbsp balsamic vinagrette
Layer the ingredients in the jar as follows:
dressing
onion
mushrooms
tomatoes
quinoa
spinach
The most important part of the layering is making sure the dressing and the spinach (or whatever ‘leaf’ you choose) don’t touch. As long as they stay separate, these salads can be made up to 4 days in advance and will stay fresh in the fridge with a lid on. This is one of my tricks to eating salad everyday for lunch at work. I make a few jars on Sunday night and just grab one to bring to work everyday. When you’re ready to eat, just shake it up.