I often hear people say they don’t have the time, patience, or palate to cook healthy meals for themselves, and even as someone who loves to cook – I can completely relate. I find that setting a little time aside over the weekend makes eating healthy regularly so easy and delicious! I like to make a bunch of quinoa over the weekends, as well as other roasted and chopped seasonal veggies so I have lots of healthy options to choose from and put together throughout the week. This recipe fits right in with my healthy meal prepping because I can make this winter salad ahead and it will keep (deliciously!) for several days.
This recipe is packed with fluffy quinoa, crunchy kale, tender brussels sprouts, juicy golden raisins, and toasted hazelnuts – all tossed in a light honey-lemon vinaigrette. If you’ve only tried hazelnuts in desserts, have no fear! Whenever I have a savory restaurant dish topped with hazelnuts it makes me wonder why I don’t incorporate into my recipes more often – it elevates salads, pizzas, and pastas alike. You can load this salad with nutrient dense kale without the bitter flavor overpowering the rest of the dish (perfect way to sneak more greens into your diet), but you could easily swap out kale for another leafy vegetable. This meal packs great as a lunch throughout the week, it’s a flavorful and impressive dish to bring to dinner with friends, and it’s a healthy meal you can feel good about having for a family weeknight dinner, too.
Ingredients:
Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette:
1 diced shallot
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 Cup olive oil
1 Teaspoon honey
1.5 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 Teaspoon crushed garlic (2-3 garlic cloves, diced)
Salad:
2 Cups dry quinoa + 4 Cups water
10 Oz shaved brussels sprouts (I bought a bag of shaved brussel sprouts at Trader Joe’s)
2 1/5-3 Cups kale
2/3 Cups toasted and chopped hazelnuts (I buy pre-toasted hazelnuts)
2/3 Cups golden raisins
Directions:
1.Bring 2 cups of dry quinoa and 4 cups of water to a boil and then cover and simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes, or until quinoa has absorbed the water and is light and fluffy.
2.The quinoa will take about 20 minutes total to cook, so in the meantime combine all honey-lemon vinaigrette ingredients listed above in a bowl and mix with a fork, or shake up in a mason jar – whatever is easiest.
3.Once quinoa is done cooking, toss quinoa, shaved brussels sprouts, and chopped kale with vinaigrette in a large serving bowl. Be sure to toss everything very well to get the kale and the brussels sprouts evenly coated – I would highly recommend letting this salad sit for about 30 minutes before serving it, the dressing kind of marinates all of the other ingredients and the flavors are much more prominent! Top with toasted and chopped hazelnuts and golden raisins. Crumbled goat cheese would be a wonderful topping, too. Bon appetit! 