Avocado Quinoa Mango Salad

This post is featured on:

 

 

 

 

 

Summer is not over yet! How about an avocado quinoa salad with fresh mangos, basil, and walnuts. That’s it! Oh yeah, a little minced garlic and a pinch of sea salt. Fast, simple, clean food.

This can be a great alternative to a mayonaise based pasta salad replaced by the healthy fat of avocado and the high protein of quinoa. Vegan, gluten-free and unprocessed, this recipe can be made in under 15 minutes!

You may see a pattern in these posts where the same few ingredients are added to new ingredients to make totally different dishes. Waste not want not. I took the avocado and quinoa from the last recipe Strawberry Salsa & Avocado Quinoa Lettuce Wraps.

This is the secret to grocery shopping, plan your meals so that you are using the same fresh ingredients within the same week. Don’t throw away your money with your wasted food.

It’s also about making new creations everyday with minimal ingredients. This is efficient, economical, and sustainable cooking at it’s best.

You will see quinoa sprinkled throughout many posts in every season. Quinoa is so versitile, gluten-free, and high in protein.

If you soak the quinoa over night in a bowl of water, this will sprout the quinoa and turn it into a live digestible grain. This will also require less time to cook the quinoa.

You can also make a big batch of quinoa and freeze it. You can see this technique later in the post, but now let’s see that Avocado Quinoa Mango Salad recipe!

Ingredients
2 servings

1 avocado

1/2 cup to 3/4 cup quinoa

2 to 3 basil leaves

1 garlic clove minced

Diced mango or any fruit of your choice (apples, peaches, pears, strawberries).

Chopped walnuts for some crunch

Mash the avocado and mix in minced garlic and sea salt. Toss together with the rest of the ingredients. I added some local spinach and green beans to the salad.

To cook the quinoa, it calls for a ratio of one part quinoa to 2 parts water. Bring water to boil and simmer quinoa for 15-20 minutes depending on how tender you like it.

You can soak a big batch of quinoa overnight and then freeze it in jars. It is easy to spoon out portions to cook whenever you want.  I use the same soaking water to cook the quinoa to conserve water.

It is up to you if you want to rinse the quinoa before cooking it. I find that the quinoa holds its nutty taste if it is not rinsed. You can also cook the quinoa first and then freeze it. If you use this technique, a great tip is to spread the quinoa on a tray and freeze it.

Cut it into portions and freeze in these leak proof reusable storage bags!

Just reheat on low heat. Perfect for side dishes or with fruit, maple syrup, and almond milk for breakfast.

Enjoy your clean eats!

Want to save this recipe? Use the Yum button above post to save this recipe to your recipe box. Or visit Unprocessed Purpose on Yummly!