Balanced Meal

By Kenda Hettinger
Black Bean Quinoa Salad
with Lemon Vinaigrette
 1 Cup dried quinoa
 1 small tin black beans, rinsed
 1 punnet grape tomatoes, halved
 1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, diced
 ½ long English cucumber, diced
 1 avocado, diced
 ½ Cup feta cheese, crumbled
 1 small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Vinaigrette
 Juice from 1 lemon
 1 tbsp olive oil
 2 cloves garlic, minced
 1 tsp ground cumin
 Salt and pepper

Recipe modified from: http://portandfin.com/black-bean-quinoa-salad-with-lime-vinaigrette/

 Instructions
1. Cook quinoa according to package
instructions. Let cool.
2. Wisk all the vinaigrette ingredients
together.
3. Add quinoa and the rest of the salad
ingredients to a large bowl and mix
gently. Drizzle vinaigrette over salad
and toss to coat.
Components of a
balanced meal.
According to the Harvard healthy eating plate,
this dish great start to a balanced meal. Just
add a fruit on the side and it has everything
Harvard includes in it’s healthy plate. The
black beans give this dish a good healthy
source of protein. The quinoa is a great source
of whole grains, but the dish is mostly
comprised of great nutrient rich vegetables.
The healthy oil used is olive oil in the
vinaigrette. You could also decrease the
amount feta cheese or take it out completely
if you are non-dairy.
Protein Content
Food Serving size Protein in grams
Quinoa, cooked 100 Grams 4.40
Black beans 100 Grams 3.85
Grape tomatoes 100 Grams 1.19
Bell pepper 100 Grams 1.18
English cucumber 100 Grams 0.65
Avocado 100 Grams 1.96
Feta Cheese 100 Grams 14.21
Lemon juice 100 Grams 0.35
Garlic 100 Grams 6.36
Cilantro 100 Grams 0
Olive oil 100 Grams 0
Ground Cumin 100 Grams 0

USDA food composition databases

Notes regarding the
recipe
This is my first time making this recipe. It is very
fresh tasting and filling. It was very easy to put
together. It yields a lot of salad so it is a great
meal prep recipe. I ate on it throughout most of
the week. A good way to pick out a ripe avocado
is to push the stem end out of the avocado and if
it has turned brown then it is ready, just choose
a pretty firm one. If it is still green then it will
need a little while to ripen up. Make sure that
you refrigerate this dish after mixing to keep the
ingredients fresh. For more tips on food safety,
you can visit foodsafety.gov.