My easy and light arugula, quinoa and shrimp salad is a perfect lunch or light dinner option. Arugula is one of my favorite greens with a distinct peppery bite. It’s an easy meal to put together in minutes especially if you’ve made quinoa in advance.
Did you know that quinoa is actually a seed, not a grain and contains 19 essential amino acids? Please read more about health benefits of this seed here.
This is not really a recipe, but rather a method I use to put together an easy meal that the whole family will love. First I cook quinoa according to package directions and let it stand on the stove even for an hour or two till I’m ready to use it. To give the seed more flavor, I sometimes cook it in chicken broth instead of water. When ready to put this salad together, dress arougula lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper and toss. Add quinoa lightly fluffed with fork on top and squeeze some fresh lemon juice over it. Then add shrimp or any other protein (see chick peas option below), sautéed in olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon zest and minced garlic for just a few minutes.
Add red pepper flakes for a bit of spice – optional of course.
Don’t want to use shell fish or concerned about seafood safety like the rest of us? Make this same dish vegan. Instead of shrimp, I used some chic peas that I toasted lightly in olive oil with cumin seeds, shallots, salt and pepper.
I always look for ways to make any dish even healthier and that’s why I also added turmeric to the chic peas.
This spice is used a lot in Indian cuisine and is said to have amazing anti inflammatory properties. It gives any dish vibrant yellow color and a bit of exotic taste.
Make sure to add plenty of black pepper to the dish to increase turmeric absorption and enjoy!!
Here is Dr. Weil’s article on turmeric:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/turmeric-health-have-a-happy-new-year_b_798328.html