This quick and easy quinoa tabbouleh {gluten free, low FODMAP} that you can whip up in 20 minutes, is just one of my favorite things in this week’s edition of Happy Things, Healthy Living Tips. See how to make it & find out what else I’m loving in this week’s edition of Happy Things, Healthy Living Tips!
HAPPY THING NO. 1 | This Fresh & Easy “Make Ahead” Quinoa Tabbouleh for Dinner
It’s baseball season!!! Please allow me a quick “proud mama” moment~Congrats to Big Tex for making the JV Baseball Team as a freshman! He got his first “win” pitching the other day. Yippee!!! Ok. Back to this yummy quinoa salad…
Baseball season means busy afternoons, and late night dinners, especially on game day, so make ahead meals are like liquid gold for me right now! I had some time this afternoon, so I whipped up this quinoa tabbouleh in 20 minutes. We’ll be enjoying it for dinner tonight after the game, customized to everyone’s dietary preferences {see recipe notes}~perfect for our flexitarian meal plans!
Fresh & Easy Quinoa Tabbouleh
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed if needed
- 2 cups water
- 2 large cucumbers, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces
- 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced into bite size pieces
- 2 cups loosely packed flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 cup chopped green onions, green part only
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh mint, chopped
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa if not pre-rinsed. Place in a medium pot with water, and heat on high until boiling. Turn the heat down to a simmer, and cook for ~ 15 minutes.
- While the quinoa is cooking, peel and chop the cucumbers and slice the tomatoes. Place them in a large salad bowl or serving dish. Add the chopped parsley, green onions, and mint to the cucumber and tomatoes, and stir well to combine.
- Juice the lemon and add to the herbs and veggies along with the olive oil.
- When quinoa has finished cooking, pour it into the bowl with the other ingredients, and stir well to combine. Stir in the dried oregano, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve warm, or chilled {store covered in refrigerator until ready to serve, or for up to 3 days.}
Notes
Serving Suggestions:
- Serve With: Pita bread {Udi’s Pizza Crust, toasted, makes a delicious gluten free alternative to pita bread}, and fresh fruit for a light dinner.
- Vegetarian/Vegan: Top with feta cheese or crispy chickpeas for additional protein.
- Omnivore: Serve as a side dish with roast chicken.
Nutrition
HAPPY THING NO. 2 | Celebrating #NutritionMonth at Feeding San Diego w/ SiSi & our Friends
Sisi and I had a great morning volunteering at Feeding San Diego with our friends for their National Nutrition Month event, “Go Further with Food”. We packed up apples, tomatoes & Brussel sprouts, and we decorated food bags for their BackPack and School Pantry programs that serve 16,000 children each month.
Did you know? 1 in 5 children in San Diego County are at risk of hunger, 1 in 12 seniors in America are food insecure , & 1 in 8 families in San Diego are food insecure.
There are so many ways to help ~ check out Feeding San Diego or Feeding America to learn about all the opportunities you can get involved in to help fight hunger!
HAPPY THING NO. 3 | My Interview at FODMAP Everyday
I was so honored and excited to be interviewed this month by Dede & Robin from FODMAP everyday! These two fabulous ladies are doing amazing things for the IBS & Low FODMAP community with their delicious low FODMAP recipes & lifestyle tips for THRIVING with IBS. I hope you’ll pop on over to read the interview, check out their beautiful and informative site, and say Hi!
HAPPY THING NO. 4 | A Weekend Trip to San Francisco with My Best Girl
San Francisco is one of my all-time favorite cities, so I had a blast a couple of weekends ago when I traveled there for the weekend with SiSi and her high school sailing team. It was her first regatta and she did great {thank goodness there were no sharks, and she didn’t capsize}!
There wasn’t a whole lot of down time to explore the city, but I did manage a quick walk to the top of Lombard street one morning~such a great way to get in my 10,000 steps, and enjoy this gorgeous view of the San Francisco Bay!
HAPPY THING NO. 5 | Running Outside on a Beautiful {Almost!} Spring Day
Yesterday I had a migraine. Bleh, no fun! Fortunately when I get them, the bad headache goes away within 24 hours, but I usually feel irritable and “hung over like” the next day. So, a run with Kai in the canyon near our house was the perfect mood booster and pick-me-up this morning. I feel a little bad posting this for all my East coast friends who are getting socked in by the latest snow storm. I’m definitely sending some {virtual} San Diego sunshine your way!!!
MORE HAPPY THINGS & HEALTHY LIVING LINKS I’M LOVING THIS WEEK…
- I’m a big time fan of Energy Bites. Like these, these, and these. If you’re a fan too, you’ll love this recipe round-up from Beautiful Ingredient: 47 Blissful Vegan Energy Bite Recipes. Yum!
- The other day I shared this yummy breakfast I made for Big Tex on Instagram. Truth be told, not every breakfast looks like this, so it’s nice to have EASY kid friendly breakfast ideas like these ones from Jessica Levinson–>Healthy Breakfasts to Get Out the Door in the Morning.
- Great post from Dr. Ayala, the creator of Ayalya’s Herbal Water & Magic Spice, on the gut microbiome–> Microbiome isn’t destiny: Lifestyle matters more than genes.
- And, more on gut health…Stress might be just as unhealthy as junk food to digestive system. Looking for some simple ways to de-stress? Check out my 10 Simple Ways to Tame Stress!
Let’s Chat!
- Have you made tabbouleh salad before?
- Have you volunteered at a food pantry before?
- What’s one of your all time favorite cities?
- Is it snowy or sunny where you are?
- What’s making you happy right now???
If you enjoyed this post, I’d love for you to share it with your family and friends, and give the recipe 5 stars. Thank YOU so much for your support in helping me spread the word that healthy IS delicious!
