Nourishing Protein Quinoa Bowl
A nutritious and energizing salad packed with protein from quinoa, edamames, hemp hearts, sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast and tahini. Served with sweet potatoes and kale for a colorful and nourishing salad.
Servings 2
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato, sliced or diced
- 1 tablespoon oil (I use avocado)
- 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa (see note)
- 4 cups kale, chopped
- 1 cup edamames (I use frozen)
- 1 ripe avocado, diced
- Sunflower seeds, for topping
- Hemp hearts, for topping
- Nutritional yeast, for topping
- Salt to taste
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
- 1-2 tablespoons water as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Prepare the sweet potato: Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Toss to cover evenly and sprinkle with salt to taste. Roast for 30 minutes at 400F or until tender and lightly golden.
- Meanwhile, add the quinoa in a small saucepan with 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes or until the water has been absorbed.
- Once the quinoa is cooked, add the frozen edamames to the quinoa and cover. The steam should thaw and warm the edamames. Set aside.
- Chop the kale and divide into 2 or 3 bowls (depending on how many portions you're serving).
- Prepare the dressing: In a small bowl or jar, whisk together all the ingredients except for the water. The mixture should be thick. Add water as needed, 1/2 tablespoon at a time. The dressing should be creamy and easy to drizzle.
- Assemble the salad: Top the kale with the quinoa and edamames. Add the roasted sweet potato. Drizzle with the dressing and top with avocado, sunflower seeds, hemp hearts and nutritional yeast.
Notes
This recipe makes 2 large salads or 3 smaller portions. You could also serve it as a side dish for more portions.
Instead of cooking a small portion of quinoa, I usually cook 1/2 cup of quinoa and use what's not used in other recipes. I find that this larger portion of quinoa cooks better than a small 1/4 cup.
This recipe is great served warm and cold! The leftovers also keep well in the fridge.