We happened upon a restaurant that sounded promising. I wasn't particularly hungry, and so I was fine letting the family choose a restaurant. Worse comes to worst, I thought that if we ended up at a not vegan friendly joint, I could just end up ordering a bowl of lettuce. 
I'll spare you the details of the next 25 minutes, but in the end the waiter, after hearing my dietary constraints, recommended their "famous" house made salad with avocado substituted for salmon.
1 hour and a clean plate later I determined that that was the best salad I had ever ordered at a restaurant. So many flavors and textures! For the rest of the trip, I had a hankering to go back and order another.
Back at home I decided one of my first acts would be to recreate this salad. Lucky for you all, I was successful :) and now you all can enjoy a great salad.
Sometimes salads get boring. Its easy to forget that different things can be incorporated for a completely new salad experience. So, break out of your salad rut and get choppin'!
This Super Protein Salad has protein from 3 sources (quinoa, pumpkin seeds, and black beans)! It is also colorful- and you know what they say: Eat the rainbow!
Super Protein Salad
Serves 4 as a side dish
2 as an entree
Prep time: 15 minutes
Salad
4 C. of Arugula*
1 C. Cooked Quinoa
1 C. Cooked Black Beans
1 C. Quartered Cherry Tomatoes
1/2 C. Raw Hulled Pumpkin Seeds (also known as Pepitas)
1/2 C. Freeze Dried Corn Kernels
1/4 C. Dried Cranberries** (optional)
1/2 Diced Avocado (optional)
Dressing
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 Tsp. Salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
Directions:
1. Assemble salad
2. Prepare dressing on the side. Pour over salad immediately before serving.
*Mixed field greens can be substituted for those who don't like the taste of Arugula. Personally, I never liked arugula before eating this salad. The flavors complement each other so well, that my mind was completeley changed about arugula and I truly enjoyed it.
**I did not include these in my salad because they don't provide any nutritional benefit. They do add a nice sweet bite every once in awhile if you would like to add them.
Enjoy!!
1 C. Cooked Quinoa
1 C. Cooked Black Beans
1 C. Quartered Cherry Tomatoes
1/2 C. Raw Hulled Pumpkin Seeds (also known as Pepitas)
1/2 C. Freeze Dried Corn Kernels
1/4 C. Dried Cranberries** (optional)
1/2 Diced Avocado (optional)
Dressing
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 Tsp. Salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
Directions:
1. Assemble salad
2. Prepare dressing on the side. Pour over salad immediately before serving.
*Mixed field greens can be substituted for those who don't like the taste of Arugula. Personally, I never liked arugula before eating this salad. The flavors complement each other so well, that my mind was completeley changed about arugula and I truly enjoyed it.
**I did not include these in my salad because they don't provide any nutritional benefit. They do add a nice sweet bite every once in awhile if you would like to add them.
Enjoy!!
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