Medically reviewed by Shahzadi Devje, Registered Dietitian (RD) & Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE)
Happy Monday folks! And what a way to have a fresh start to the week…with this quinoa mung bean salad recipe. This refreshing, light, yet satisfying salad will definitely help to energize you through this Monday. Any day of the week in fact! Simple to pull off and high in protein and fiber; this super bowl is packed with vitamins and minerals. A sprinkle of sumac gives a tart, citrusy flair that will excite your taste buds! This one IS a SASSY salad!
GOOD MORNING!
At the risk of not sounding annoyingly excited, truth be told, we all LOVE salads! Especially this quinoa mung bean salad recipe. With the hustle and bustle of kids activities and clubs, we all need energizing, wholesome foods to help us power through our busy days. Am sure, many of us can relate to this!
So why are salads SO great?
On this one, I could talk till the cows come home..lol! So with the least number of words, here goes…
Here are my top reasons why you should consider including them more often in your diet:
- Super convenient – Now who isn’t after convenience?! For us, salads are a super convenient way to get in a couple of servings of vegetables and/or fruit
- Mouth appeal – Imagine the crunch, the coolness, the crispness…hmmm. There are so many textures, flavours and colours to enjoy.
- Versatile – They can be customized easily to include a variety of ingredients. You’ll never get bored!
- Loaded – The addition of leafy greens, beans and/or lentils, offer a boost of fibre. And trust me when I say, we could all do with more fibre! And that comes with an array of health benefits! It’s going to be hard to be brief here but I’ll cut to the chase. Got LDL-cholesterol issues? Fibre helps! Want to control blood sugar? Fibre helps! Looking for ways to better manage your weight…well fibre is your best friend! Struggling with bowel movements? Fibre is key! Last but not least, fibre has also shown to reduce the recurrence and prevention of numerous types of cancers. WOW, now that’s a lot of boxes ticked! As if the above wasn’t enough, eating more fruit and veg offers a host of benefits. They’re packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other compounds. These have shown to help lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, prevent some types of cancers, and lower the risk of eye problems. LOADED indeed!
- Pack in more – Add a couple of tablespoons of mixed nuts or seeds to boost your daily intake of good fats. Experimenting with various oils in dressings can also help, along with a slice of creamy avocado (my favourite!)
This past week was also Foodie~licous Facebook Group’s sassy salad week. Although I had shared my beetroot poriyal recipe, I was inspired to create another salad recipe to share with the tribe. Looking at this simple dish and the fact that we are still learning, we felt it would be great to shoot another video. YAY! Being our second video, we were feeling excited and confident. Hey, we learnt lots from last time and thought it would be a breeze (but God, No!). It took us quite a while to bring this one to completion. Hubby wanted to try close ups and zooming in and out. Why not I thought?! Well….it didn’t quite work. Watching back the raw footage with the time lapse, I felt nauseous and that it NOT the effect I was aspiring for…LOL! Glad to say it’s done, and we feel pretty proud of our handy work and hope you like it too!
After a hard day of shooting, it’s always a treat to enjoy a yummy dish and call it a day! This quinoa mung bean salad recipe was exactly what we needed. It was bursting with flavour and goodness! I gotta say quinoa is one of my favourites. Am sure many of us know the benefits of quinoa. It’s such a healthy wholegrain – with a nutty, delicate texture. If anything deserves to be called a superfood, it’s this. Not only does it pack 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber per 1-cup-cooked serving, it’s also one of the few plant foods considered to be a complete protein; meaning it contains all the essential amino acids your body can’t naturally produce. Add this to the goodness of the mung beans, the herbs, tomatoes and veg and well….we are truly pampering our body, aren’t we?!!
So, kuch kuch hota hai? If you try this recipe, would love to hear from you! Leave a comment, rate it, or share a photo and hashtag with #desiliciousrd on Instagram and twitter! Can’t wait to see your photos.
Looking to enjoy more plant-based sources of protein? Grab my FREE Cheat Sheet – 29 Incredible Plant Sources of Protein. You’ll definitely be spoilt for choice!
Quinoa Mung Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 cup mung beans
- 5 cups water
- 1/2 red onion medium, chopped
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1 cup cherry tomato
- 2 cups flat leaf parsley
- 1 cup mint leaves
- 1 lemon Juice
- 1 clove garlic paste (1/2 tsp)
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp sumac
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash the mung beans and drain any excess water.
- In a pressure cooker, cook the mung beans with 3 cups of water for 15 mins. You want the beans to be cooked but not mashed.
- Thoroughly wash the quinoa and drain any excess water
- At the same time, in a separate pot, cook the quinoa in 2 cups of water. Once it boils, turn the heat to low and place the lid until all the water has been absorbed.
- Wash the cucumber, tomatoes, parsley, and mint
- Chop the onion, cucumber, parsley and mint and set aside
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, mung beans, onions, cucumber, parsley, mint and cherry tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice, salt, sumac and olive oil. Stir well.
- Serve cold.
Please note the nutritional analysis values are estimates and suggestions. This nutrition facts table does not know your life - your body, including your hunger and satiety cues, change daily. It's okay to eat more or less. Say no to food guilt and instead embrace mindful eating.
Shahzadi is an award-winning registered dietitian (RD) regulated by the College of Dietitians of Ontario and certified diabetes educator (CDE), approved by the Canadian Diabetes Educator Certification Board. A YouTuber and notorious foodie, she’s dedicated to helping you end your cooking wars, transform your health, and be the best version of yourself! Shahzadi is an on-air nutrition expert for CTV Your Morning and a regular contributor for Global News and other national media outlets.
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