COLOURFUL QUINOA BOWL

So every once in a while, something great happens by complete fluke. And this dish is one of those times.

I’m kind of a habitual eater. I’ve got a handful of go-to meals that I cycle through, and very rarely do I ever get tired of them. But on this particular day, none of those appealed to me.

I must have searched my fridge and freezer a half dozen times.

You know the drill.

You open the door and stare at each shelf, and then close the door because you don't see anything you like (or want). And then you go back 10, 20, 30 and 40 minutes later and do the same thing, hoping each time that something new will miraculously appear. Only it doesn't!

And I was starving, but didn’t have time (or energy) to go down the rabbit hole that is Pinterest, in search of the perfect meal!

So, I decided to take out all of my favs and just toss them together in a bowl - and it was a stroke of frikkin’ genius!!

How I’d never thought to do this before, is beyond me.🤷🏻‍♀️

This colourful bowl FULL of flavour consisted of:

• quinoa

• sweet potatoe

• edamame

• cherry tomatoes

• cucumber

• gala apple

• avocado

And my go to dressing recipes didn’t make the cut either that day. So, once again I started pulling random ingredients. And once again, I hit gold!

The dressing consisted of:

• 1 tbsp of fresh squeezed orange juice

• 1 tsp of fresh squeezed lemon juice, along with some of the zest

• 3 tbsp of grapeseed oil - extra virgin olive oil would work fine as well

• 1 tsp of white wine vinegar

• fresh pressed garlic - to your preference

• 1 tsp of honey

• salt & pepper

• fresh Thai basil - from the only herb I seem to be able to grow successfully

I will admit, the first time that I made this dressing, I made it without the honey (as I’m a sugar free girl), but it just didn’t taste right. So I decided to splurge the second time around, and just a little of that one extra ingredient made all the difference.

I’m sure I could have used a different (low glycemic) sweetener, but for whatever reason, the creative process in this particular instance was calling for honey!

All-in-all, it’s a pretty simple recipe, right?

I mean it’s not like I reinvented the wheel or anything.

And I’m well aware that there are probably plenty of recipes floating around out there, that are similar to this dish. But I assure you, I’m not plagiarizing.

This meal was created out of pure boredom ... and near starvation.

Oh, and yes, I did eat this with chopsticks.

I read an article a year or so back (can’t remember where though), that claimed that people who eat with chopsticks tend to eat slower and chew their food more, because you’re taking smaller bites. So I decided to give it a try, and it kinda stuck. I don’t eat with them ALL the time, but definitely a couple of meals a week.

Anyways, if you give this recipe a try, I’d love to hear what you think. You can leave a comment here (below) - or, post a pic to Instagram and tag me (@cancersabigb), and I’ll proudly share it in my Insta Stories!

Extra points if you eat it with chopsticks as well!!