Quinoa salad with Buckwheat and Cranberries

Mmm, this one had me at quinoa! Add the buckwheat and some greens and cranberries and you have a delicious light meal or a side dish to your main meal. It can be served cold however I preferred mine to be slightly warmed. The quinoa packs a punch with protein so this was a great meal to feed my belly after a workout. This is an extremely breezy dish to whip up and what I loved the most was making the dressing- it was slightly sweet and smelled just as good!

Ingredients

Salad:

1 cup of quinoa     

1/2 cup of dry buckwheat grains (also known as groats)

3 cups water

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

1/2 cup dried cranberries or cherries

2 medium stalks celery, chopped

1/4 cup sunflower seeds (toasted or raw)

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup chopped parsley or coriander

Dressing:

3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil or grape seed oil

3 tbsp. rice malt syrup

juice of 1/2-1 lemon (to taste) 

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cumin 

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 

After rinsing the quinoa well, add to a pot with the buckwheat, or you can choose to use a rice cooker which worked great for me. 

Reduce heat to low, then cover and simmer without disturbing for 20 minutes.  Uncover (all the water should be absorbed) and let sit until cool.  

Fluff with a fork and turn the quinoa into a large bowl.  

After lightly toasting the walnuts and sunflower seeds, add them together with dried cranberries, celery, green onion and coriander and toss to mix.

In a separate bowl, mix together all the dressing ingredients with a whisk.  

Pour over salad and toss to coat evenly. 

 May be served immediately or covered and refrigerated overnight. 

Serves 4-6