vegan

Healthy Cranberry Quinoa Salad

November 18, 2019 by Natalie

Here is a quinoa salad that is as delicious as it is beautiful. Full of fresh flavor and crunchy and chewy texture, everyone loves this healthy cranberry quinoa salad! Whether you make it for a weeknight dinner or as part of your holiday table, it’s a flavortul, healthy side.

Nutrient-rich quinoa is an awesome weeknight side to fish or other protein. It’s delicious and easy to cook up in some water or broth with just the simple addition of salt and pepper. You can imagine how tasty quinoa becomes when it’s mixed with vegetables, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, chewy cranberries and is coated in a fresh, vibrant lemon dressing!

A bowl of chopped tomatoes, carrots, onions.

To make this salad, start by cooking the quinoa. While it’s cooking, chop the vegetables. Aim to chop the vegetables and finely as possible so that you get bits of each vegetable with every forkful. I typically use one whole small onion, but anything from half a small onion to a whole small onion is delicious.

Once the veggies are all chopped, add the cranberries, pepitas and pumpkin seeds. Next, whisk up the dressing. I prefer the dressing with olive oil, but have made it with vegetable oil before and it works. Lemon-olive oil dressing is one of my favorite dressings. This dressing ups the lemon flavor by including fresh lemon zest!

Fresh lemon olive oil dressing, quinoa and vegetables.

The last step in this easy recipe is to add the cooked quinoa. Make sure to give all the ingredients a good stir so that all the flavors are well combined!

A bowl of healthy cranberry quinoa salad with lemon olive oil dressing.

I wish I could say what my favorite part of this healthy cranberry quinoa salad is, but I’m a little obsessed with everything about it. From the fresh dressing to the combination of chewy and crunch bites, it’s a gorgeous looking, super interesting and super tasty salad!

For more delicious, healthy salads, try my:

Healthy Cranberry Quinoa Salad

Author: Natalie
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Category: Salads
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: Mediterranean

Description

This healthy cranberry quinoa salad recipe makes the best side dish! Full of vegetables, cranberries, seeds and a fresh lemon dressing, it’s easy and tasty. Gluten free and vegan!

Scale

Ingredients

FOR THE QUINOA

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt

FOR THE VEGETABLES AND SEEDS

1/2 to 1 small onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped celery leaves
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons pepitas
2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds

FOR THE DRESSING

1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Rinse the quinoa then place it in a saucepan with the water and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cook 15 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. Remove from heat and cover. After five minutes, fluff the quinoa and set aside.
To a large bowl, add the onion, celery and celery leaves, carrot, red pepper, cranberries, pepitas and sunflower seeds.
Whisk the ingredients for the dressing together and pour over the vegetables. Stir in the quinoa and mix well until quinoa and vegetables are coated in the dressing. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Keywords: quinoa, salad, side dish, cranberries, healthy, lemon dressing, seeds

Cinnamon Apple Peach Smoothie

September 4, 2019 by Natalie

A glass of a gorgeous, silky peach and apple smoothie.

Cooler, less humid days call for a different kind of smoothie. This healthy Cinnamon Apple Peach Smoothie is a super silky, naturally sweet smoothie recipe made with seasonal fruits and a touch of cinnamon.

September feels like the best of two seasons here in the Eastern Ontario and Northern New York. There’s nothing like soaking up the remaining cherished sunny days and having to reach for a sweatshirt on cooler nights. We also get both late summer fruits and veggies and the roll out of fresh fall produce!

A freshly peeled apple in a bowl with two peaches

This smoothie is my drinkable toast to this time of the year. Sweet late summer peaches, ripe fall apples and warm cinnamon. The result is a gorgeous goldenrod-hued glass full of nothing but sweet, fresh fruit flavor.

I got the idea for this drink when my Turkish friend once added chopped apples to a pot of simmering water for our tea. I loved the taste and idea of adding apples and was reminded of it the other day when thinking about what to do with some freshly picked apples. I wasn’t quite ready for apple pie or cider, so I combined them with another late summer/early fall fruit for a smoothie.

I love the silky thickness that the peaches add! For a more tropical peach smoothie, I love this one!

A white bowl filled with gorgeous, freshly sliced apples and peaches.

HOW TO MAKE AN APPLE PEACH SMOOTHIE

This smoothie has a unique preparation method, but is super easy to make! The first thing you’ll do is peel the apple then core and slice the apple and peaches. Bring the fruit and water to a boil and along with a cinnamon stick then let it simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Apple and peach slices simmering in a pot with water and cinnamon sticks.

Once the fruit is cooked, remove the cinnamon stick and blend the water and the fruit together. Refrigerate it for 2 hours or overnight.

The active prep time is the same as most of my smoothies which is about 5 minutes, but it’s definitely a good idea to refrigerate the smoothie for at least 2 hours. The flavor becomes a little more intense and it tastes better cold.

A pot full of stewed apple and peach slices being poured into a blender.

Sugar is optional! I added about a tablespoon to this. Add more or less if you like.

Freshly blended apple peach smoothie in a blender.

I sometimes compare smoothies with fruit and milk or yogurt to a healthy milk shake. This Cinnamon Apple Peach Smoothie is dairy free, so I’d compare it more to a drinkable sorbet!

two glasses of cinnamon apple peach smoothies on a counter with cinnamon sticks in front of them and an apple and a peach next to them

This silky, good-for-you smoothie is as delicious as it is gorgeous! It’s one of the healthiest, tastiest ways to enjoy the tastes of this beautiful time of the year!

For more delicious, healthy smoothies, make my: