Cabbage and Quinoa Salad

Spotted: the elusive vegetable in my lately-lackluster diet. You know when you are sick, and you either lose your appetite or just want to eat junk? I was the junk eater over the past couple of weeks during my endless coughing, sinus pain, and fatigue. I ate plenty of lime tortilla chips and even ordered Domino’s cheesy bread a-la-Freshman year in college one night. It was gooooood.

This week, as we look forward to warmer weather, a trip to California, and some rest, I am finally craving vegetables again. I never thought that would happen. I decided to whip up a cold quinoa and veggie salad for healthy and quick lunches.

I started by cooking up a few cups of quinoa. I don’t really follow any directions, just throw some quinoa in, cover it ever-so-slightly in water, and boil it until the water is absorbed. This time around, when the quinoa started to look done, I added about 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar and let it cook a little more. Instant flavor!

While the quinoa was doing its thing, I tossed two jalapenos and a piece of ginger root into my mini chopper, creating a finely minced, very fragrant blend.

And I roughly chopped heaps of red cabbage. I used my vegetable scissors and just chopped away until the cabbage pieces were to my liking. I worried I had too much cabbage compared to quinoa, but it ended up being perfect.

To make the salad, I simply poured the hot quinoa over the cabbage, stirred in the jalapeno and ginger, and I was done. Isn’t it pretty?

I loved all of the spice that the ginger and jalapeno brought to this, the crunch from the cabbage, and the tang from the vinegar. It’s the perfect on-the-go salad because there’s no mayo or other dairy to spoil. I ate my first bowl warm and went back for another cold bowl later, both really nice.

This salad would be great with all sorts of veggies and toppings like carrots, olives, and lemon juice. Even though it’s really simple, I am kind of excited to have found something I like so much that is also really easy and healthy. Maybe I can actually avoid being sick for awhile.

Are you craving crunchy veggies, or are you still on a wintry comfort food streak?