Erin's Super yummy Quinoa salad!

As I've said before, I'm not following some strict diet, I'm making lifestyle changes.  I've looked at my eating habits and am trying to make better, healthier choices.  One of the major things I found is that I wasn't getting enough protein in at each meal.  That is probably one of the biggest changes I've made.  The only problem with upping your protein is that it can make you be a little...shall we say....backed up.  So to counteract that I've obviously had to make sure I'm getting enough fiber.  Hehehe!!!  {I really am a 12 year old stuck in a 29 year old body...I'm soooo mature!}  Anywho, this salad is great for having tons of protein and being packed full of fiber too!  Plus, I've totally been craving it lately, BONUS!  It's fresh, filling and really yummy.  Here are the ingredients:

Quinoa - 2 cups dry

Chicken Broth, 99% fat free - 14 oz can

Black beans - 14 oz can

Mango - 1 cup-ish, 2 mangos

Cilantro - 1/2 cup

Green Onion - 6 medium

Dressing: 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 3 Tbsp

Fresh Lime Juice - 2 Tbsp

Red wine vinegar - 4 Tbsp

Directions:  First cook the quinoa.  Follow the directions on the package.  I cook mine in the chicken broth and make up the difference with water.  While that is cooking, cut up all the other ingredients.  I like small chunks of the veggies, and bigger chunks of mango.  Mix the ingredients for the dressing together, and once the quinoa has cooled, mix it all together. Then just salt and pepper to taste.  So yummy!  It takes about 30 minutes to make this salad and I break it down into 4 large servings.

Broken down into 4 large servings it has 562 calories, 17 grams of fat, 19 grams of protein, & 15 grams of fiber.

 To drink I made lemon water {out of bottled lemon juice} with some mint sprigs.  It's pretty refreshing, but not on my list of favorite drinks.  Today I added fresh lemon juice {much better flavor than the bottled stuff} to a single packet of fruit punch crystal light & 32 oz of water and it made it taste a lot better.  I am trying lemon juice to see if it will help me flush out some water weight I am holding on to, we will see!

Isn't that a pretty lunch?  Shanna and I thought so!