Quinoa Salad with Fresh Vegetables

Served on a lettuce leaf, this is a beautiful side salad. 

Son #3 was all about magnesium this morning.  He wanted to talk about the benefits, what it does for your body, how he takes a supplement, and ya di ya....  I know magnesium is really good for you so I cracked open my nutrition books and another book which I love, The World's Healthiest Foods by George Mateljan, to refresh my memory on sources of this wonderful element.  The best sources are dark leafy greens such as chards and spinach (but of course!).  However, it is abundant in many of our foods if you love to eat vegetables, beans, seeds, and cold water fish such as halibut and salmon.  Tofu is also a good source of magnesium.

Inspired by Taylor's enthusiasm, I decided to create a salad recipe using the food guides for magnesium.  Pumpkin seeds were added because they were in the "very good" category as a contributor for magnesium.  Quinoa and tomatoes also provide decent doses of magnesium.

In the salad here, I soaked red quinoa, drained it, and then forgot about it for a couple of days while we hosted a dinner party and, well, it got lost behind all the food in the fridge.  It was sprouting!  No worries.  I gave it a quick dip in hot water to soften it and it is delicious and sweet.



Red or white quinoa will suffice.

Servings:  3 as a main dish, 6 as a side dish
Prep time:  not counting the time I forgot it was in the refrigerator, about 30 minutes

1 C. quinoa, rinsed and drained, then cooked
A handful of mixed cherry tomatoes, quartered
Fresh corn shaved off of one cob
Several sprigs cilantro finely chopped, a few sprigs left for decoration
3 scallions thinly sliced, white parts only
1/4 C. pumpkin seeds
1/2 lemon juiced, a tablespoon or so of olive oil, salt, and pepper, added to dress the salad

The quinoa is underneath all the yummy additions to the salad.

Toss all the ingredients together with dressing.  People think I am crazy but I usually just squeeze a lemon or lime over the salad, drizzle with oil, then season with salt and pepper.  I toss with my hands and taste frequently to make sure the dressing or seasoning is right. 

Raw pumpkin seeds are a very good source of magnesium.

This salad provides about 220 calories as a side dish with about 4 grams fiber, 7 grams protein, and about 8 grams fat, most of which is mono- or poly-unsaturated.  Over half the daily required amount of copper, manganese, and iron are in this salad with magnesium coming in at about 1/3 the daily requirement.

So back to magnesium.  It is vital to bone health in that it helps with bone mineralization.  It is vital to the ATP cycle (think energy production in our cells), helps with myelin sheath health (nerves), heart health and immune function boosts.  Magnesium relaxes muscles and nerves.  It is hard to overdose on magnesium, but the common symptoms are diahrrea if you decide to up your intake of it. 

As always, your best sources of nutrients to stay healthy are in the food choices you make in your diet.

Experiment and enjoy!

- Kim Fielding