Quinoa has been crazy trendy over the last few years to the point where it might be a tad overexposed. Like Taylor Swift overexposed. It’s everywhere, from salads, to muffins, to the crust on pan-fried scallops. You can’t escape it. You might say you can’t…shake it off…haha. But like Taylor Swift, quinoa is surprisingly likable.
Sure, haters will dismiss quinoa as a hipster fad, but even if its mainstream popularity does turn out to be short lived, this hearty little seed is going to be a staple for me for years to come. Mostly because I’m a food nerd and love that quinoa is a) a fibrous perfect protein (it’s healthy!), b) an ancient Andean seed (it has history!), and c) is chewy and flavor-malleable (yay!). That last part is where we’re focusing on today because I’ve concluded that quinoa is the ideal companion to all things mushy. Specifically fruit and yogurt.
Breakfast is my favorite time to eat like a fatass. Twice baked almond croissant? I’ll have four and a doughnut and a venti whole milk latte as a side to my five-egg ham and Swiss omelet. Notice how there is no fiber or really anything of nutritional value on that menu besides the eggs? Sounds great! I would eat that every single day.
Unfortunately for me (or fortunately) Julia is much more reactive to a diet of 90% baked goods 10% protein. In fact I’m pretty sure if she ate like that she’d be very unhappy. Her body just craves healthy eating. Now that doesn’t mean she enjoys the taste of most healthy food, but that’s a different topic for a different day. The bottom line is that this quinoa fruit salad recipe is a great and simple dish that people like me (who can eat whatever but shouldn’t) and people like Julia (who want to eat whatever but can’t) can make a big batch of at the beginning of the week and then munch on in the morning for a tasty, healthy, clean breakfast or snack or side.
I’d caution you guys to not think of this quinoa fruit salad recipe as a strict set of rules as far as the fruit goes. You could make this with tropical fruit, or apples and pears, or just about any type of fruit there is. You can eat it straight up without the yogurt as well, although we’re really digging Ellenos greek yogurt. The only rule here that counts is that you want to take fruit and mix it with a little citrus and coat in quinoa. Add to oatmeal, serve it over a waffle or french toast, make it a side dish, it will work in all those scenarios. Get creative! And hey if you find a combo that you think works particularly well, leave comment!
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 8 servings | 20 minutes |
| Passive Time |
| 4-6 hours |
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| A super simple and delicious fruit salad. Perfect for breakfast. 1 batch will last 3-4 days in the fridge. If you want to add the fruit separately for individual use, the quinoa will last 5-7 days in the fridge on its own.
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- 1 cup unsprouted red quinoa or 3 cups sprouted
- 1/2 lb strawberries
- 4 ounces blueberries
- 4 ounces blackberries
- 1 whole kiwi
- 1 whole Lemon juice of & zest
- 1 teaspoon Honey
- Rinse your quinoa thoroughly and place in a shallow pan. Cover with warm water. If quinoa does not sprout or if you want to speed up the process you can heat the quiona on medium heat for about 20 minutes. Once all the quinoa is fluffy and sprouted you are done. Drain and set aside.
- Rinse and quarter your strawberries.
- Peel and cut the kiwi.
- Rinse the blueberries and blackberries and set aside.
- Zest 1 lemon into the quinoa.
- Cut lemon in half and squeeze the juice of the entire lemon into the quinoa.
- Add a teaspoon of honey and mix thoroughly.
- Add your fruit and mix thoroughly once more.
- Serve 1/2 cup of the quinoa fruit salad over 4 ounces of Greek yogurt or French toast or eat plain. We sprinkled some cinnamon onto our Ellenos yogurt for an extra kick.
1 cup of unsprouted quinoa makes 2-3 cups of sprouted and fluffed depending on variety.
