Summer is fast approaching woooo! Time for beach hangs, summer parties, icy cold smoothies and fresh salads! Salads are one of the best staple meals, they are a chance to get in your greens and pack it with colour vegies (ad sometimes fruits). We love getting creative in the kitchen with our nutritious products to see what we can come up with next!  In our opinions, a successful salad combines all the texture! Our delicious Spinach & Blueberry salad provides the subtle nutty crunch from the Quinoa Grains, a juicy burst from our succulent Dried Blueberries and creaminess from the feta cheese. Providing protein, fibre, antioxidants and much more this salad is super easy to whip up and super satisfying!

Our Certified Organic Quinoa Grains make up the base of this satisfying salad along with spinach. Quinoa is the perfect gluten free grain which provides a mild, nutty flavour, the great part about quinoa is its versatility. It can be eaten as porridge, as a rice substitute or even added to deserts as a gluten free flour substitute. Quinoa is definitely taking the world over by storm, thanks to its rich nutrient content. In just ½ a cup serves it provides an impressive 6.8g of protein 5.4g of fibre! Compared to white rice which is 80% carbohydrates, only 57.2% of Quinoa is carbohydrates.

To provide a juicy burst of flavour and to help balance out the saltiness of the feta we’ve added in our succulent Dried Blueberries that not only taste amazing but are packed with wholesome goodness! Our Dried Blueberries are low sodium and provide a source of antioxidants which have been measured and displayed clearly on our packaging for quality assurance.  We just love these versatile berries as they are perfect to add in salads, cereals, muffins, fruit & nut mixes, yoghurts and so much more! The great part about them as their shelf life! As they are already dried for your convenience they can be stored in the pantry for last minute salads. 

This Spinach & Blueberry Salad recipe is gluten free and vegetarian but it can easily be adapted for our vegan friends! Simply swap out the feta cheese for avocado which will provide that creaminess and healthy fats. You could also use pine nuts, cashews, walnuts, almonds or pumpkin seeds which also go great in salads! If you’re planning on having this as a main meal it will easily serve 2, we would recommend serving it with a bit of chicken, salmon, egg or tofu. It would also make the perfect side to any main meal for a bit of freshness! 

When cooking the quinoa, we always like to cook it on the pan first with no water for a about 2 minutes. We find this really brings out the nutty flavour of the quinoa. If you want to add more flavour, you can minced garlic to the water whilst its cooking. Once the Quinoa has absorbed all the water, set it aside for it become room temperature then you can assemble your salad! But if like us, you just want to get to the eating part quicker, using a rice cooker to cook your quinoa works great. Be mindful to check your quinoa is your cooking with a rice cooker as it can get stuck to the bottom if you don't give it a stir every few minutes. We kept the dressing nice and simple, we find olive oil and balsamic always compliments. Once you’ve got everything in the bowl, toss it through so everything is mixed and the dressing is covering all the ingredients. Serve and enjoy!

SPINACH BLUEBERRY QUINOA SALAD

MAKE TIME: 20 min

SERVES: 2 (main size) or 4 (side dish)

INGREDIENTS

SALAD

½ cup Morlife Certified Organic Quinoa Grains

2 cups fresh spinach

1 cup Morlife Dried Blueberries

1/3 cup almond slivers

4 slices macadamia feta, crumbed (can be swapped for regular feta for non-vegan version)

DRESSING

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic dressing

STEP BY STEP

1. Cook Morlife Certified Organic Quinoa Grains according to packet instructions or rice cooker. Mindful to check and stir occasionally. 
2. Once quinoa is cooked, combine all salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. In a small jar, add the dressing ingredients, shake well to mix.
4. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss to mix then serve.