Black Bean "Meat" Ball Burrito Bowls with Avocado Crema

Even though I'm not a vegetarian, I have such a thing for veggie burgers. I love ordering veggie burgers when I go out to a bar or pub for dinner because they never make me overly full. Last summer, my husband and I got addicted to these awesome veggie black bean burgers from Costco. We would grill them, then break them apart and create a burrito bowl with them.

When I looked at the nutrition facts of the Costco burgers I was a bit startled by the sodium levels. I decided I would attempt to recreate them myself and make them much healthier.

The reason I decided to make them into balls instead of patties is because they're so much easier to cook. I just through them in the oven on a sheet pan lined with foil and non-stick spray versus babysitting them on the stove. Also, I figured if I made a black bean burger I'd have to pan fry it in oil, where the "meat" balls I wouldn't have to cook them in any unnecessary fat.

Well, I must say, these "meat" balls turned out incredibly yummy. They're super hearty without being too heavy and they're just bursting with delicious Mexican flavor. We served ours on top of white rice with salsa, shredded cheddar cheese, cilantro, and  homemade avocado crema. YUM! All of the toppings we used are entirely optional so feel free to make the burrito bowls however you please!

Black beans are incredibly nutritious as they are packed with a ton of protein and fiber. Both of these are necessary for maintaining a healthy digestive track and regulating blood sugar. Black beans also contain antioxidants which are said to prevent against many forms of cancer. 

Ingredients:

2 cans black beans- drained and rinsed

1 onion- diced

2 cloves garlic- minced

1 red bell pepper- diced

1/2 cup cilantro-chopped

1 tsp. cumin

1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. sea salt

3/4 cup whole grain/whole wheat bread crumbs

2 eggs- beaten 

optional toppings- rice, extra cilantro, lime wedges, salsa, shredded cheese

Avocado Crema Ingredients:

1 avocado-scooped out

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup cilantro

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1/2 lime-squeezed

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheet with foil and non-stick cooking spray

2) Heat olive oil in a pan over medium high heat and add onions. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until golden.

3) Add bell pepper and garlic to the onions and cook another 2 minutes.

4) Add cumin, salt, red pepper flakes, and black beans. 

5) Using the back of a wooden spoon- mash half of the black beans.

6) Turn the heat off and pour the mixture into a bowl. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.

7) Add bread crumbs and eggs to the bowl and mix with a spoon.

8) With wet hands take a small portion of the mixture and roll it into a ball and place on lined baking sheet. Repeat this until you have about 24 balls.

9) When the balls are formed place in oven for 30 minutes (flipping half way through)

10) While the balls  are cooking, make the avocado crema by placing all ingredients in a food processor.

11) Blend everything together until creamy. Taste and add more salt if necessary.

12) When the black bean "meat" balls are done, assemble your burrito bowls however you like!

Crispy Gnocchi with Tomato Basil Sauce

All I have to say is OMG yum. I think this just may be my best recipe yet. (Not to toot my own horn or anything!) This meal was inspired by a dish my husband and I had in Sorrento, Italy called Gnocchi alla Sorrentina. This may have been our favorite meal we had during our whole trip. It was so simple, yet so perfect. The gnocchi was pillowy and the tomato basil sauce was so creamy and decadent. 

Our trip to Italy was 7 months ago, and I don't know what took me so long to try to recreate this dish at home! I bought the gnocchi from the Italian aisle in Whole Foods. It is vacuumed sealed and packaged with all of the other pasta. To be honest with you, I did try to buy fresh gnocchi, (which would be in the refrigerators by the cheese) however my particular Whole Foods was out of it. Boo :( I actually think this may have turned out better by using the dry gnocchi, as I was able to get it really crispy. I think if you use the fresh kind it would be too doughy to get that perfectly crispy outer layer. 

I made my own tomato sauce in this recipe, as I prefer it to the pre-made kind. If you want this to be a quick and easy recipe, you can just purchase a jar of your favorite sauce. Totally up to you!

Basil is the superfood I used in this recipe. Basil is not only delicious, but it is also packed with amazing health benefits. Basil contains magnesium which leads to good cardiovascular health by improving blood flow in the body. Basil also provides Vitamin C which helps protect the immune system and ward off disease. Lastly, basil contains the oil, Eugenol, which helps reduce inflammation in the body.

Ingredients:

1/2 tbsp. butter

1/2 tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. packaged gnocchi

8 oz. buffalo mozzarella- chopped (invest in some good cheese here!)

4-5 cups tomato sauce (homemade or jarred)

2 cups chopped basil

salt/pepper to taste

Ingredients for tomato sauce:

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 carrots-peeled and diced

1 onion- diced

2 ribs celery diced

3 cloves garlic minced

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

16 oz. can tomato sauce

2 dried bay leaves

1 tsp. italian seasoning

salt/pepper to taste

Directions for sauce:

1) Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add celery, onions and carrots. Cook until tender. (About 10 minutes)

2) Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes

3) Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, bay leaves, italian seasoning, salt/pepper. Bring to a boil.

4) Cover sauce and simmer on low for 45-60 minutes.

Directions for the gnocchi:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Cook gnocchi in salted water to package instructions. Drain when finished cooking.

3) Heat olive oil and butter in a medium skillet over high heat.

4) Add cooked gnocchi and cook in oil and butter mixture until golden and crispy stirring constantly. (Will take 8-10 minutes)

5) Add gnocchi to the tomato sauce (If you are not making homemade sauce, heat your jarred sauce in a dutch oven or big pot prior to making the gnocchi)

6) Remove the bay leaves and add 1.5 cups of the chopped basil to the pot. Taste for flavoring and add salt/pepper if necessary.

7) Turn off the heat and add the mozzarella.

8) Put in oven for 2 minutes.

9) Turn the broiler on the oven and cook another 2 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

10) Serve and enjoy!

Turkey Waldorf Salad

I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving! This was my first time hosting this year, and I couldn't be more pleased with how the meal turned out! I think hosting Thanksgiving is genius because you are left with SO many delicious leftovers. 

After the third night of hot turkey and gravy, I decided I had enough of it. I still had three entire gallon size zip-lock bags worth of meat though, so I decided to whip up some turkey salad.

This is my grandmother's recipe for Waldorf turkey salad. I typically use chicken in this recipe, but turkey works perfectly as well. The Waldorf salad combines crunchy celery, sweet apples, toasted walnuts and a hint lemon juice to brighten the whole thing up.  Yum!

White meat turkey happens to be a superfood! Turkey contains Vitamin B which is essential for energy production in the body. Regular consumption of turkey can help keep insulin levels steady and reduce bad cholesterol. Turkey also contains the amino acid Tryptophan which produces serotonin. Serotonin is necessary for maintaining a healthy immune system. 

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded turkey breast

3 tbsp. light mayo

3 ribs celery chopped

1 apple diced

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. onion powder

1/2 lemon- juiced

Directions:

1) Lightly toast walnuts in a skillet over medium heat. Watch carefully as they burn very quickly. They should be toasted within 5 minutes.

2) Combine turkey, celery, apple, and toasted walnuts in a large bowl.

3) Add lemon juice, mayo, salt/pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.

4) Stir everything until well combined.

5) Serve on toast, with crackers, or just by itself!

Chocolate Coconut Avocado Pudding

OMG..avocados can turn into pudding..Whaaaat? Yes, sir, avocados mixed with coconut milk and all natural cacao powder make the purest, healthiest, most luxurious pudding EVER. Don't believe me? Well try it for yourself and you shall see!

This pudding is not only part of the clean eating diet, it is also completely dairy free and free of refined sugars. The best part about this pudding however, is that nobody will ever be able to tell it's made from avocados unless you want them to!

I was inspired to make avocado pudding after seeing it all over Pinterest. I figured I would try it out for myself and see what all the hype was. To make it my own, I used coconut milk instead of regular milk to make it dairy free and give it a "coconuty" taste. I finished it off with toasted coconut flakes on top which add a nice texture and bite to the pudding.

I think for my next go 'round at avocado pudding, I will try making a peanut butter chocolate version. I will share that with ya'll when it's complete!

Avocados, are of course, the superfood in this pudding. If you want to know the health benefits of this amazing superfood check them out in one of my other avocado recipes here!

Ingredients:

1 avocado- cubed

1/2 cup light coconut milk

1/3 cup raw cacao powder

1/4 cup honey

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

4 tbsp shredded coconut (optional)

Directions:

1) To toast coconut for the topping- Add coconut to a pan over medium heat. Cook for just a couple of minutes until toasted. *Note- it is VERY easy to burn coconut so make sure you watch it, as it really only takes a few minutes.

2) Add avocado, coconut milk, cacao powder, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla to food processor. Blend for 1-2 minutes until desired consistency is reached.

3) Taste for sweetness. I don't like things overly sweet so you might want to add more honey to your pudding if you like things sweeter.

4) Place pudding in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes.

5) To serve, put pudding in bowls and top with shredded coconut.

6) Enjoy this guilt-free delish dessert! You can thank me later. :)

Asian Salad with Sriracha Glazed Salmon

I'm always looking for ways to make salad more exciting. I like using lots of different vegetables, adding herbs, switching up the proteins, and adding something crunchy on top like nuts or seeds.

In the last year, I've been trying to stick to a clean-eating diet. That means reducing the preservatives and additives in the food that I eat. This also means not using bottled salad dressing, like I've always done in the past.

Believe it or not, salad dressing is SUPER easy to make yourself. I also find that most of the time I have 90% of the ingredients in my house already, so I wind up saving money!

I cannot take credit for this particular salad dressing, as it is my mom's recipe. Whenever I taste this dressing, I always think of her and her delicious meals.

As like most of my other recipes, this salad is extremely versatile. You can pretty much switch up everything in it to suit it to your particular taste buds. For the lettuce, I used a combination of baby spinach and Napa Cabbage. You could switch this up and use romaine, arugula, or spring mix. I used cilantro as my herb in this salad, but if you don't like cilantro you could add parsley, or even fresh basil.

Lastly, you'll notice these delicious looking cashews on top of this salad. These are homemade sriracha cashews that I experimented making. Here is the recipe in case you're interested!

My superfood is the Napa cabbage. Napa cabbage contains antioxidants which help protect the body against harmful free radicals. This in turn, can help prevent many cancers as well as heart disease. Napa cabbage also contains Vitamin C which helps the body fight infection and stay healthy. Napa cabbage is also packed with fiber which is excellent for digestion and weight loss. 

Ingredients:

1 small head of Napa Cabbage- chopped

3 cups baby spinach

1 red bell pepper- sliced

1/2 English cucumber- sliced

1/2 cup water chestnuts- sliced

1/2 cup shredded baby carrots

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup cashews (optional)

Ingredients for Salmon:

3/4 lb. salmon filet 

1 tbsp. sriracha 

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. oyster sauce

1 tsp. brown sugar

Ingredients for Salad Dressing:

2 tbsp. light mayo

1 tbsp. sesame oil

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. grated ginger

1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2) Combine all salad ingredients (minus cashews) in a big bowl.

3) Prepare the dressing by whisking all ingredients together. 

4) Place salmon on a baking sheet lined with foil.

5) Combine the salmon ingredients- sriracha, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, glaze the top and sides of salmon with the mixture.

6) Bake salmon for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.

7) Pour dressing over salad and stir to combine. (We didn't use all of the dressing on ours)

8) Add cooked salmon on top of each plate and top with cashews.

9) Eat up and enjoy this healthy meal!

Clean Eating Peanut Butter Granola

Nom Nom Nom..I LOVE granola. My favorite store bought granola is by the "Kind" brand, but my preference is to make it homemade. 

When I make granola, I typically make the same kind every time.  Today, however, I decided to throw one of my all time favorite ingredients into the mix... Peanut Butter! The peanut butter causes the granola to have all of these delicious clusters running through it..YUM! 

The basic formula for granola is: oats, dried fruit, nuts/seeds, a sweetener of sorts, and some sort of oil to bind everything. When I make granola, I prefer not to use dried fruit, so I use extra nuts and seeds. I also always use a natural, clean-eating sweetener like honey or maple syrup, and I always use coconut oil so it's extra healthy!

You can totally switch up this recipe and make it your own. It's really hard to mess it up, so don't be afraid to have fun with it!

Coconut Oil is my superfood. Coconut oil has SO many health benefits. It contains lauric acid which is a saturated fat that is said to improve good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol. Lauric acid is also know to prevent heart disease and reduce chance of injury to the arteries. Coconut oil also has anti-fungal and antibacterial properties which helps strengthen the immune system and ward off illness. 

Ingredients:

3 cups old fashioned oats

1/4 cup all natural salted peanut butter

1/8 cup melted coconut oil

1/8 cup honey or maple syrup

1/2 cup shredded coconut

2 tbsp. chia seeds

2 tbsp. hemp seeds

1/8 cup slivered almonds

1/8 cup chopped pecans

1/8 cup chopped cashews
2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

2) Melt coconut oil, honey, and peanut butter in microwave for 30-40 seconds or until creamy 

3) Add oats, coconut, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and all the nuts in a big bowl. Pour in the melted honey/PB/oil mixture and stir until combined. 

4) Add cinnamon and stir until incorporated.

5) Pour mixture on a greased cookie sheet.

6) Bake for 1.5 hours, stirring around every 30 minutes.

(Store at room temperature for 2 weeks or in refrigerator for up to 2 months!)

Baked Fish Sticks with Yogurt Lime Caper Sauce

For the last few months, I have been participating in a "fish share" through my local farm. Every other week I would go to the farm and pick up anywhere from 1-3 lbs of delicious locally caught New England fish. Some examples of the fish included were salmon, swordfish, and tuna. This particular week was Haddock. 

Haddock is a very mild white fish that is widely caught in New England. The Haddock share this time was about 3 pounds, so I was able to freeze a few portions.

When I was on the phone with my mom the other night, I explained to her that I had no idea what to cook for dinner. I mentioned the Haddock portions I had in the freezer and asked her to help me brainstorm. She came up with the brilliant idea of healthy baked fish sticks!

I have always loved pre-made frozen fish sticks since I was a kid. I'm reluctant to eat them now because of all the weird ingredients in them and the high fat content. When my mom mentioned the idea of making them myself, I thought this was pure genius!

I think ketchup would be a fine dipping sauce for these sticks, however I decided to kick it up a notch with a yogurt lime caper sauce. I ALWAYS have greek yogurt, lemons or limes, mayo and capers in my fridge, so for me this was simple. If you don't have these ingredients, do not worry! The sticks are tasty all by themselves. :)

Haddock contains Omega 3 fatty acids which can help relieve inflammation and prevent heart disease. Haddock also contains the mineral selenium which is known to prevent cancer and diabetes.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Haddock or any other white mild fish (Cod would work well)

1/4 cup light mayo

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1/2 lime-juiced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup crushed cornflakes

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

Lime Caper Sauce Ingredients:

1/4 cup non-fat Greek Yogurt

1/8 cup. light mayo

2 tbsp. capers

1/2 lime- juiced

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line baking sheet with foil and non-stick cooking spray.

2) Pat fish dry and cut into 2 inch long strips.

3) Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper on both sides.

4) Mix mayo, Dijon, lime juice, salt, and pepper.

5) Combine crushed cornflakes and panko bread crumbs in a bowl.

6) Coat each 2 inch piece of fish in the mayo mixture followed by the bread crumbs.

7) Place each piece of fish on greased baking sheet. Spray top of fish with non-stick cooking spray.

8) Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through.

9) While fish is baking prepare dipping sauce by combining all ingredients in a bowl.

10) Eat and enjoy!

Chocolate PB Corn Flake Clusters

Chocolate cravings are the worst! In my case, it seems to be an every day occurrence. I'm usually good at calming these chocolate cravings with a small piece of dark chocolate, or a couple chocolate chips, but today I needed more.

I wanted to make something sweet and salty that I didn't have to bake. I had cornflakes in my pantry from a recent chicken recipe so I decided to use them and make up a concoction. As you all know, I LOVE peanut butter so I decided to throw that into the mix as well.

The result: Amazing sweet and salty crunchy bites. Utter perfection.

These are so simple to make and relatively guilt-free if you only have one or two. (I had to hide the rest from myself in a container in the fridge.) 

My recommendation in making these is to use good quality chocolate chips and all natural peanut butter. I used Ghiradelli 60% cacao chips and Teddie all-natural salted peanut butter. 

My superfood of the week is CHOCOLATE, what else?! Here are the health benefits of chocolate from a previous recipe to make you feel better about indulging in these clusters.

Ingredients:

-2 cups cornflakes- crushed

-1 cup chocolate chips- melted

-2 tbsp. all natural peanut butter

-1 tbsp. coconut oil

-sea salt for sprinkling 

Directions

1) Crush corn flakes in a zip top bag and pour into a mixing bowl

2) Melt chocolate chips in microwave and mix with cornflakes 

3) Melt coconut oil in microwave and stir in peanut butter. Pour into corn flake mixture and stir all ingredients to combine

4) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray

5) Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto the baking sheet. (Should make 12 clusters)

6) Top each cluster with a sprinkle of sea salt

Sweet Potato Lasagna

I love the kind of meals where the leftovers taste just as good as the dish the night it was cooked. Well, lasagna is the perfect meal from which to achieve these perfect leftovers. Recently, I've been experimenting with different kinds of Lasagnas to try to make them healthier and more nutritious than the regular Italian version.

My mom became gluten-free a year and a half ago, and she came up with the idea of using corn tortillas instead of noodles. I love making Mexican Lasagna this way. Check out my recipe for that here.

I decided I wanted a carb-free layer in addition to the corn tortillas this time, and thought thin slices of zucchini would be perfect. After you thinly slice the zucchini, lay it on a paper towel and sprinkle it with salt to make sure you get out most of the liquid. Zucchini contains a lot of water so if you skip this step, your lasagna might be a little soggy. 

The sauce for this lasagna is by far the best part of the whole dish. It's made by roasting sweet potatoes and pureeing them with milk and chicken stock. The result is a velvet-y smooth sauce that accompanies the ground turkey and onion mixture PERFECTLY.

Sweet potatoes contain beta carotene which is an antioxidant that gives the potatoes their bright orange color. Beta-Carotene is said to prevent many different types of cancer. Sweet potatoes also contain Vitamin A which helps promote healthy eyesight as well as healthy skin and hair. Lastly, sweet potatoes are e a great source of potassium which helps lower blood pressure.

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes diced 

8 corn tortillas

1 onion- diced

3 cloves garlic- grated

1 lb. ground turkey

1.5 cups chicken stock

1 cup milk

2 zucchinis- thinly sliced, salted and patted dry. (read above directions)

1 cup part-skim ricotta

1 egg

2 cups spinach

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1 tbsp. olive oil

salt/pepper to taste

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2) Peel and dice the sweet potatoes and roast them for 25-35 minutes or until tender

3) Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. 

4) Add sweet potatoes to a food processor with salt/pepper, chicken stock and milk and puree until a silky smooth sauce appears. (Add more liquid if necessary)

5) Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium high heat

6) Add onion and cook for 15-20 minutes or until caramelized 

7) Add ground turkey and heat until totally cooked through

8) Add garlic to turkey mixture with the red pepper flakes and more salt/pepper to taste. Mix around and taste for seasoning. Add more spices, if necessary.

9) Mix ricotta in a small bowl with the egg until completely incorporated

10) Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray

11) Pour 1/4 cup cold water on the bottom of the pan so the tortillas do not burn

12) To start building your lasagna, add corn tortillas to the bottom, top with half of the turkey mixture, and 1/3 of the sweet potato puree. Place zucchini strips on top and then add the ricotta mixture. Top ricotta mixture with the raw spinach leaves. Add the rest of the turkey mixture and more of the sweet potato purees. Line the top with the 4 remaining corn tortillas and pour the remainder of the sweet potato puree on top. 

12) Cover the lasagna with foil and cook for 30 minutes

13) Remove from oven and top with grated mozzarella cheese. Cook for additional 10 minutes uncovered.

14) Remove from oven and let sit for 20 minutes prior to eating so the lasagna stays together when you cut into it.

My 1 Year Blogiversary!

It's hard to believe that it was was ONE year ago that I started the Superfoods Girl Blog! I started the blog with the goal of motivating people to eat healthier and incorporate heart-healthy superfoods into their every day diets. I truly believe I've been successful in this goal, and I look forward to sharing even more recipes with you.

You will notice the my blog got a face-lift. I owe that all to my extremely talented friend, Julia who spent time revamping my site and making it fancy. :)

To celebrate this Blogiversary, I have decided to post my top 5 favorite recipes of the year. If you haven't made these, I encourage you to give them all a try!

Recipe #5: Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
This is the most delicious and satisfying breakfast in the cooler months--especially in apple-picking season!

Recipe #4: Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites

Need a sweet and healthy treat to satisfy your chocolate cravings? Look no further! Make these easy and scrumptious chocolate peanut butter banana bites.

Recipe #3: Protein Power Balls

These superfood-loaded treats are the perfect on-the-go snack to make you feel energized and ready to take on the day!

Recipe #2: Penne with Sauteed Shrimp and Avocado Pesto

Obsessed with avocados like I am? Stop making the traditional olive oil-loaded pesto and use avocados instead! 

AND..my FAVORITE recipe this year... Recipe #1: Eggplant "Meat" Balls

This is my mom's famous recipe, and it is definitely a winner! Try introducing "Meatless Mondays" at your house. I guarantee you- nobody will miss the meat!

Thank you all for your support and for contuing to read my blog each week. Going into year #2, I feel more inspired than ever to create and share more delicious recipes with you!

~xoxo Emily

Fiesta Quinoa Avocado Salad

Every Sunday morning, my ritual is as follows: I drink my coffee, watch Food Network, and browse Pinterest to see what new and exciting lunch recipes were posted. 

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I get bored with food VERY quickly. I know there are some people (cough, my husband) who can eat the same thing for lunch every day and never get tired of it. Well, my friend, I am in no way like that. 

I like to think of lunch as my reward for getting through the morning at work. Therefore, I want this "reward" to be utterly delicious and refreshing to my palate! 

There are 4 qualities that are very important to me when it comes to lunches. I want:

• A dish that's easy to make
• A dish that doesn't require 800 ingredients 
• A dish that's healthy and hearty (has enough protein to keep me full)
• A dish that doesn't smell (like fish or curry- let's be honest, we hate the people who bring smelly lunches into work)

This dish was inspired by a Barefoot Contessa recipe that I saw on Food Network this morning. She made a delicious-looking corn and avocado salad that almost made me start drooling. I decided to sort of recreate this with my own flare. I used black beans and quinoa in my salad to amp up the protein and fiber to really keep me satisfied throughout the day. I also added cumin and paprika to give it a little zesty edge. 

In addition to being great for lunch, this salad is also the perfect dish to bring to a party or BBQ because it really adheres to most dietary restrictions: The salad is gluten free, dairy free, nut-free, and vegan! Could you ask for more?!

I used cilantro in this recipe, which I know a lot of people dislike. Feel free to sub this out with parsley or any other herb you love. I also found the most beautiful cherry tomatoes that I thought would be perfect for this salad, but you can use any kind of tomato you want. Lastly, I used black beans, but I think kidney beans or cannelini beans would also also work very well. Mix it up and have fun with this recipe!

My superfood of the week is quinoa which I've featured before in my Quinoa Fried "Rice." To get the health benefits of quinoa check out that recipe: Quinoa Fried "Rice"

Ingredients:

2 cups cherry tomatoes

1 cup dried quinoa

1 large english cucumber-sliced

1 can black beans- rinsed

1/2 cup cilantro-chopped

2 cups corn (I used frozen and thawed it prior to adding)

1 avocado- diced

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup olive oil

2 limes- juiced

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. paprika

Directions:

1) Cook quinoa to package instructions and let cool

2) Combine tomatoes, cucumber, beans, corn, cilantro, and avocado in large bowl

3) Mix vinegar, olive oil, lime juice, sugar, sea salt, pepper, cumin and paprika in a small bowl with a wire whisk. Add dressing to the veggie mixture

4) Add cooled quinoa to mixture and stir to combine

5) Taste for seasoning and add more salt/pepper if necessary

6) Refrigerate at least 2 hours before eating to allow flavors to marry