Quinoa Fruit Salad

If you follow my blog regularly, you know that I am slightly obsessed with Mahjong. I started playing the Chinese tile game about 2 months ago and it has taken my life from awesome to spectacular in 8 short weeks. Honestly, I have no clue why I am not starring in my own reality TV show by now. I’m expecting a call any day now. Real Housewives of Aberdeen spinoff? Whatdoyathink?

Anyway, back to Mahjong, it’s probably my favorite activity group with the AWA because we meet every Friday to play from 10-1. Part of the agreement is that everyone attending bring their game face along with a sweet or savoury snack. My first time I kept it simple with store bought gingerbread cookies, and then I kept it safe with a fruit tray and fruit dip.

But then it occurred to me that the Mahjong ladies are perfect guinea pigs for all those pinterest recipes I’ve been wanting to try. The first experiment was Pecan Pie Bars, which I’ve already told you all about, and this past Friday I decided to whip up a Quinoa Fruit Salad that has just been sitting on my “Sweet Tooth” board for months now.

Jon and I often use quinoa as an ingredient for a healthy meal or snack, but I had yet to try it in a sweet dish. To find the recipe I started with, you can follow this link. I changed it up just a tad adding a touch of honey and alternating some of the fruits. It’s simple enough, or as I like to call “Laine-proof”, which is evident by the fact that not even I could ruin it.

Some of the ladies even asked for the recipe, which I took to be a good sign and encouragement for me to keep on trying new recipes. This Friday we are doing a cookie exchange where we are supposed to bake 6 ½ dozen cookies. Maybe the reason I am so bad at baking is because I never get a chance to practice. I hate baking 2 dozen cookies for just the two of us, but these weekly Mahjong meetings are the perfect excuse to exercise my Betty Crocker muscles.

You can look forward to some humorous stories about this little activity I’m sure. But for now, let’s keep it simple with this delightful and amazingly healthy Quinoa Fruit Salad.

Ingredients:
About 4 cups of diced fruit. For example, I used:
     1 pint of Strawberries rinsed and diced
     1 pint of diced pineapple
     2 peaches rinsed and diced
     1 apple rinse and diced
     1/2 Cup of pomegranate seeds 
2 Tablespoons of maple syrup
1 Tablespoon of Honey
1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon of lime juice (for taste and also keeps fruit from browning)
¾ cups of uncooked quinoa, rinsed

Directions:
1. Rinse Quinoa to get rid of the bitter taste and then cook according to directions.

2. Dice fruit and layer it in a large bowl.  (P.S. Never underestimate the time it takes to slice fruit. My quinoa was done way before my fruit was cut up.)

3. Once quinoa is cooked, put it in the bowl on top of the fruit.
 4. Put dressing ingredients on top and mix ,mix, mix.  

It tastes equally good hot or cold, though I prefer it warm. The texture is very similar to oat meal so I had the leftovers for breakfast the next few mornings. Quinoa is packed with protein and both quinoa and fruit are excellent sources for healthy carbs, so for runners, this is truly the breakfast of champions. Enjoy!

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