Quinoa Green Bean Salad with Marcona Almonds

Hi friends!

Happy Hump Day! Hope you’re having a good one. I’m taking a little lunch break to blog today. I ran across this awesome quote earlier:

Well isn’t that a good healthy living rule of thumb?! And speaking of plants, I have quite a nutritious, delicious recipe to share today:

It all started when I happened to see a recipe with marcona almonds somewhere. It reminded me how much I love them, and all of a sudden I was on a mission to nab marcona almonds and create a recipe that incorporates them.

Once I decided that I’d make a quinoa salad, ingredient ideas just started dancing in my head.

I have a fresh mint plant that I’ve barely used recently. The other day I got a whiff of the plant while watering it. I love the smell of fresh mint, and I started thinking that I need to incorporate it into my recipes more often – starting with this one!

Besides the star ingredients of red quinoa and crunchy marcona almonds, this salad includes crunchy green beans and is packed with other produce goodness:

I topped the salad off with some mixed up salt, oregano, and a light dressing of fresh lemon juice + extra virgin olive oil + red wine vinegar.

For those of you that struggle with coming up with healthy lunch ideas while you’re at work or are looking for a new dish to add to your mix of meals to have when you’re on-the-go, this salad is a great option to make at the beginning of the week, put in individual containers, and have readily available whenever you want it during your hectic week.

Sometimes I make meals that are what I call “a little hippie dippy” for my hubby’s taste. He isn’t all that creative with food himself, but he’s a great taste tester due to his lack of pickiness and general awesomeness. Last night he declared this salad to be “good, but also kind of a bit weird” – but then I saw that he took leftovers of it to work with him today. So while I adored this salad right from the start, I think that after my manly man had a chance to get acclimated to the idea of a quinoa salad, he decided it was pretty good too!

Quinoa Green Bean Salad with Marcona Almonds

Foodie Loves Fitness

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 40 mins

Servings 4

Calories 460 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa I used an Inca Red variety but any kind will work
• 2 cups string beans
• 2 Persian cucumbers
• 2 roasted red peppers
• 2/3 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup marcona almonds I used dry roasted & unsalted
• 2 cups arugula
• 1/4 cup fresh mint
• Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
• 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• 1 TBSP red wine vinegar
• 3/4 TBSP mixed up salt
• 1/2 TSP oregano

Instructions

 

• Cook quinoa according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, trim and cut green beans, and steam until slightly tender.
• While quinoa and beans are cooking, prep your veggies. Dice Persian cucumbers, roasted red pepper, cherry tomatoes, and mint, and place in a large bowl.
• Add arugula and almonds to the mixture.
• Once quinoa is done cooking, allow it to cool slightly, then pour it into the large bowl. Add green beans when they're done cooking as well.
• In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Pour onto the salad.
• Add salt and oregano, mix together well, and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 460kcalCarbohydrates: 62gProtein: 14gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 1gFiber: 14gSugar: 8g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!