Zesty Quinoa Salad

This is one of my favorite things to make ahead and meal prep for a week's worth of lunches for the hubby and myself! There are so many different ways to make it and customize it for your tastes. Usually I make this in the summer and serve it cold. As for substitutions, you can use chicken or shrimp as your protein, or keep it vegetarian and don't add any animal protein. The beans will pack some in anyways, in addition to the quinoa.

You can also customize the veggies, but my staples usually include black beans, bell peppers and roasted corn. You can add jalapeno if you like extra spice, or red onion if you want that flavor profile. I usually love onion, but for whatever reason I tend to keep it out of this dish.

It takes a little time to get everything together since I let things cool considerably before combining, but overall it's worth it! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

-2 cups cooked quinoa

-2 chicken breasts or 12-15 jumbo shrimp

-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

-1 bag roasted frozen corn, or a can of corn kernels

-1 large red bell pepper

-1/4 cup scallions

-avocado if desired

-1/4 cup olive oil

-Juice of 2 limes

-Trader Joe's chili lime seasoning (or chili powder & salt)

Method:

1. Cook Quinoa and set aside when done to cool. Be sure to season with salt while cooking.

2. Season meat with Chili Lime seasoning. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and saute until cooked through, or cook shrimp for 2-3 minutes a side then cut into bite sized pieces. Set meat aside to cool.

3. Rinse beans, warm corn, dice bell pepper and scallions and combine all with quinoa and meat. Stir to evenly mix.

4. In a small bowl, make your dressing. Combine olive oil, lime juice and seasoning. Once salad is cool, drizzle dressing over mixture and stir to combine. Squeeze extra lime on top if desired.

5. Chill for at least an hour if eating cold. My husband warms his up to eat his warm- either way works!