Sprouted Quinoa with Apple, Celery and Miso Dressing

Once again we are being pummeled with more than another foot of snow. I used to love snow, since we hardly ever get any. However, now I can say I have seen enough snow to last me a few winters.

So what do I make when we are under a blizzard warning? Well raw food of course. Not logical you say. I know but I was in the mood for an easy meal so I went raw tonight for dinner. We had the last two raw veggie burgers, this quinoa salad and a walnut and vegetable pate (to be posted next).

I was reading “Everyday Raw” yesterday and noticed a sprouted quinoa tabouli. The idea of sprouted quinoa intrigued me so I wanted to give it a try. Quinoa does get softer when it is sprouted. It isn’t as soft as cooked quinoa but it is soft enough. It doesn’t absorb the dressing flavors like cooked grains but I am okay with that too. Here is the salad I made tonight.

Sprouted Quinoa with Apple, Celery and Miso Dressing
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa
4 cups filtered water to soak quinoa
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon agave
2 tablespoons white miso
1 gala apple, cored and very thinly sliced
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced on a diagonal

Directions:

Soak the quinoa for 8 to 12 hours in filtered water. Drain the quinoa through a fine wire sieve and allow to stand for a total of 24 hours (including soaking time) and rinse twice more and drain well.

Combine the salad dressing ingredients (vinegar, agave and miso) and whisk to combine. Add the drained quinoa, sliced apple and celery and toss to combine.

Serve the quinoa salad over the baby spinach. If you choose, walnuts would be a great addition to this salad.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 214.99
Calories From Fat (14%) - 30.58

Total Fat - 3.45g
Saturated Fat - 0.46g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 398.06mg
Potassium - 726.17mg
Total Carbohydrates - 38.37g
Fiber - 6.47g
Sugar - 5.14g
Protein - 9.07g

Comments:

This was definitely an experiment tonight. I had no idea what to expect since I had not tried to sprout quinoa before. It worked out better than I expected. The texture is not the same as cooked quinoa but more like wild rice that hasn’t bloomed. When I asked my husband what the thought of this he told me, “It is oddly good”. Of course I had to ask what that meant. He replied, “I like it, but I can’t admit it because it is weird.” Men, do any of you understand them?

Each serving of this salad contains approximately 5,800IU of vitamin A, 120mg of calcium, 210mg of folate, 300mcg of vitamin K, 250mg of phosphorus, and 140mg of magnesium. Not too shabby for a side salad.

Unrelated note:

We have been under a blizzard warning since 10pm yesterday and I am starting to get cabin fever. Today it was balmy 22 degrees with a wind chill of 5 degrees. Darn that ground hog.

I should be back in a little while with another recipe from tonight. I hope you are all having a good evening.