Do you know about quinoa with chicken salad? Are you looking for a salad? This quinoa with chicken salad is so fresh, light, and flavorful – perfect for lunches! It’s also filling and full of protein, but what you’ll love is the seasoned chicken, juicy tomatoes, rich olives, cool cucumbers, salty feta cheese, spinach, basil, and hearty quinoa all tossed in a tasty Greek dressing.
I want to make it all the time! Better yet, a satisfying serving it is. Huh? I think I can read your mind I know your feeling and what you are thinking. Let’s come together and make this recipe.
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Quinoa With Chicken Salad
I always make the quinoa in my super simple rice cooker, but you can also easily make it on the stovetop following the package instructions. Want to know the best part?
You’ll want to allow it to cool to use it in the salad, so you can even make it the night before and just pull it out of the fridge when you’re ready to compile the salad. The chicken cooks in just minutes so the whole recipe comes together quickly and easily once the quinoa is ready.Â
What You Will Need?
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon sliced fresh basil
- 2 oz crumbled Feta cheese
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
- 1/3 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1/3 cup chopped cucumber
- 8 kalamata olives
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 5 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon yellow mustard
Method – Quinoa With Chicken Salad
Take a large skillet, and bring a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, basil, oregano, and rosemary and stir into the oil. Cook for a minute until fragrant.
Add the chicken to the pan and stir to coat in the oil and herbs. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-6 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
In a small bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients and stir together until combined.
In a large serving bowl, combine the quinoa, chicken, basil, Feta cheese, spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, and olives and stir until mixed.
Pour the dressing from step two over the quinoa mixture and stir until the salad is evenly coated with the dressing. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Look so yummy and tasty!
Importance of Eating Quinoa With Chicken Salad
Salads Help You Get Enough Fruits and Vegetables
Some people struggle when it comes to eating enough fruits and vegetables to maintain a healthy diet. Having a fresh salad every day can make it easy to get all of the servings you need, plus it supports a clean eating lifestyle.
Dark leafy greens and brightly colored vegetables ensure you get a range of vitamins and minerals, helping you to maintain a healthy body and mind. They are also overflowing with antioxidants, important chemicals in the fight against cancer-causing free radicals.
To get the most benefit, try to keep the majority of the ingredients in their raw form. These pack the biggest punch when it comes to creating a truly healthy salad, plus they’re full of flavor and satisfying crunch. I have also written an article on Fluffy and Flavorful: The Ultimate Quinoa Pancakes Recipe.
Vegetable and Fruit Salads are Full of Fibre
Fibre is a wonderful thing; it helps you feel full longer and can provide a range of health benefits. For example, a fiber-rich diet can help alleviate and prevent constipation and lower cholesterol.
It can also make it easier to maintain a healthy body weight which reduces your risk of developing heart disease and diabetes. Your blood sugar levels may also stay more even, helping to prevent cravings for sugary foods. You can read more about Easy Quinoa Instant Pot Recipes to Revolutionize Your Meals.
Healthy Quinoa With Chicken Salad Cut Calorie Consumption
For people interested in losing weight, adding a healthy salad to every meal can be an excellent way to go. As mentioned before, a salad contains valuable fiber, which helps you feel full and satisfied. And, if you start a meal with a salad, you’ll have less room for higher-calorie options that form the rest of the meal.
Dark, leafy greens are very nutrient-dense, meaning they provide a lot of nutrition with a limited number of calories. That means a salad with a large serving of spinach, kale, or Romaine creates a strong foundation for weight loss. Just make sure to use higher-calorie options sparingly.
Cheese, nuts, and dressings can add a lot of calories quickly, so use enough to get a sense of the flavor and texture and stop there.
But, many other fruits and vegetables can make a salad exciting and satiating without allowing you to pack on the pounds, so explore your clean eating options and choose items that leave you feeling satisfied. You can get more from this video.
You’ll Get Access to Good Fats – Quinoa With Chicken Salad
While salad ingredients can contain fats, most of them are of the healthier varieties than you find in items like meat. For example, olive oil, nuts, and avocados all have fat, but of the monounsaturated variety.
These not only help you feel more satisfied, but they also ensure your body can absorb other key nutrients found in fruits and vegetables more effectively.
Certain vitamins are fat-soluble, meaning they need fat to be present to aid absorption. Vitamins A, D, E, and K all fall into this category, so you need to consume an appropriate amount of healthy fat, like omega-3, to make sure these vitamins are making it to critical body systems. Another on Quinoa Burgers: The Amazing Alternative to Traditional Burgers.
Phytochemicals also seem to be easier to absorb when combined with healthy fats. These important chemicals help protect the body from conditions like cancer and heart disease, so eating enough fat to get their value is important, just make sure it is a healthy version, like the above-mentioned monounsaturated options or the polyunsaturated variant found in soya beans, walnuts, and flaxseeds.
A Salad Provides Water
Some people are surprised to hear that fruits and vegetables are great sources of water. Watermelon and strawberries are around 92 percent water while cucumber and certain lettuces are a startling 96 percent water.
Eating a combination of vegetables and fruits will high water contents can help you stay hydrated even if you don’t have the opportunity to grab a glass of water to drink. Plus, the water consumption from foods does count towards your daily needs. So, if you aren’t getting multiple glasses of water in during the day, choosing a salad can help make up for it.
Further, the vitamins that aren’t in the fat-soluble category are water-soluble instead. This means they need water to be absorbed by the body. This group includes a range of B vitamins, including riboflavin, niacin, B12, and folic acid, as well as vitamin C.
Other fruits and vegetables with high water content include grapefruit, peaches, oranges, tomatoes, spinach, and broccoli.
Salads Can Cool You Down
Whether it is a traditional lettuce-based version or a fruit salad, the cool ingredients can help you feel refreshed during the summer heat. Often, as temperatures rise, hot meals become less appealing. But consuming healthy ingredients is critical all year round if you want to maintain optimal health.
A slightly tart flavor can make you feel rejuvenated while fiber-rich vegetables ensure you’ll feel full. If you want to add protein, look for lighter options like grilled chicken or salmon, as they won’t weigh you down as red meats can. Plus, those options also have fewer calories, helping you stay trimmed.
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Conclusion
If you love quinoa with chicken salad, I strongly encourage you to try this delicious quinoa with chicken salad. It is a nutritional powerhouse, containing energy-boosting protein and essential dietary fiber.
As well, it is a family favorite; eat it warm or cold, for lunch or dinner, to take on a picnic, or as a packed lunch. Enjoy! Also, let me know in the comment section what’s your opinion about this.
Use quinoa similarly as you would some other grain, similar to rice or grain. It makes a fabulous side dish for practically any feast, particularly whenever cooked with stock rather than water and adding a cove leaf to the pot. It can likewise be utilized in breakfast porridge and mixed greens.
Quinoa, an old grain from South America, is plentiful in B nutrients and minerals. It likewise has cell reinforcements and heart-solid monounsaturated fat.
Rich dietary fiber and protein increment digestion, and that makes quinoa great for weight reduction. Cooked Quinoa contains five grams of dietary fiber per cup.