Cranberry and Cilantro Quinoa Salad

This was not my favorite of all of the recipes I'm trying for this Elimination Diet, but that's probably because I'm not huge on cilantro. I like a hint of it, but not the strong flavor. However, I did get to cut some fresh cilantro from my herb garden this morning to make this (it has grown so much since I took this picture! {so proud}

But anyway, on to the main event. I love the cranberries and peppers in this, and I think that it's a nice mix of textures. But the cilantro is a bit much for me, and I really skimped on the onion (I put in about a third of what the recipe called for), but it's plenty for me. Anyway, if you like cilantro and/or onion, you'd probably love this, so I thought I'd share:

Ingredients:

 

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed

1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped 

1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped 

1 small red onion, finely chopped  

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder  

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

1 lime, juiced 

1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds 
1/2 cup minced carrots 
1/2 cup dried cranberries
salt and ground black pepper to taste


Instructions:

1. Pour the water into a saucepan, and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, then pour in the quinoa, recover, and continue to simmer over low heat until the water has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Scrape into a mixing bowl, and chill in the refrigerator until cold.
2. Once cold, stir in the red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, red onion, curry powder, cilantro, lime juice, sliced almonds, carrots, and cranberries. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill before serving.

***

My alterations:
As mentioned above, I only used about 1/3 of the onion. I also left out the almonds because I can't have those right now.. but I'm sure they would be delicious in this salad.  I did not measure the cilantro, but I didn't think I put in the full amount (I may have...), and I'd definitely put less in next time. I may also add some more lime juice since I can't taste it as much as I'd like to.
 

Skinny Broccoli Salad

I found this recipe on facebook... someone shared it, and I'm not totally sure where it came from. But, I took some of the ingredients and amounts and added and removed and here's what I came up with for my skinny broccoli salad:

Ingredients:
2 heads fresh broccoli, chopped
1 head fresh cauliflower, chopped
1/2 red pepper (chopped)
1/2 green pepper (chopped)

1/2 c dried cranberries (more or less)

1/2 c sunflower seeds (more or less)
1 c reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 c reduced-fat ranch dressing
 

Other optional ingredients:

1/2 red onion, chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped

olives (green or black)

walnuts (or other types of nuts)

raisins (instead of cranberries, or added to) 

pepper

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and toss with reduced fat ranch dressing.
Refrigerate until serving.

I believe that the original recipe called for a full cup of dressing, but I found that 1/2 cup was plenty. Do what you will with that. I really enjoyed this recipe. It's simple (besides the time it takes to cut everything), and quite tasty. There were also suggestions of using a miracle whip, vinegar, sugar dressing instead of the ranch. There are so many things you can do with this, I just love it! Cold salads for spring and summer - yes, please!