Zucchini, Quinoa & Edamame Salad

I'm going to brag a little bit - this zucchini, quinoa & edamame salad is amazing! There's something about a making an excellent salad creation that just makes me happy! I'm not even sure how I came up with this salad, but I'm pretty happy with the results! An interesting thing happened when I was making it, I was cutting up the avocados to add to the top of the salad, and thought, damn, American avocados are sooooo much better than the avocados we get at home in Australia, which got me thinking about all the other things I loved about America, and all the things I missed about home or the things that grind my gears about being here. So in celebration of being in Portland in our new home for just over a month now, I thought I'd do a quick summary on my thoughts about America so far! I decided to stick with the positives for now! Because let's face it, no one likes a negative nancy!

Things I love about America (in no particular order!)

1. The avocados. They seriously have some amazing avocados, every one you pick if usually so good!
2. Portland. Seriously THE COOLEST city ever!
3. Donuts. Nuff said.
4. The people. We have found people to be so lovely here!
5. The cheapest of basically everything. Beer, electronics, kitchen ware, shoes, clothes....
6. The outdoor life. Snowboarding has been amazing here, and we are so looking forward to start mountain biking in the summer!
7. Cheap beer and meals
8. Chicken wings (if you know the right place to go!)
9. Food trucks! The food truck scene here is soooo cool!
10. The scenery! Everything around Portland/Oregon is so beautiful! And Washington was amazing too! Can't wait to explore more!

America has been great so far, yes, there have been some things we've struggled with (paperwork here is EPIC) but overall, we're pretty happy living in Portland and think there is so much that this city can give back to us!

I've been loving having the time, space and light (woohoo to big open windows) to work on Healthy Pears as well and feel that good things are to come with this blog in the future! So, enjoy making our zucchini, quinoa & edamame salad, and make the most of those damn beautiful American avocados!

Ps - Check out our 'how to section' on instructions on cooking quinoa!

PPS - This salad does serve 3 people, because in all fairness, what are you going to do with half a leftover zucchini? So there will be leftovers for a lunch the next day!

Zucchini, Quinoa & Edamame Salad

The Home Cook's Kitchen

Simple, delicious, zesty and healthy! This zucchini, quinoa & edamame salad has it all!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Australian

Servings 4 people

Calories 180 kcal

Ingredients

 

• 2 cups spinach
• ½ cup cooked quinoa
• 1 zucchini diced
• ½ cup broccoli cut into small pieces
• 2 garlic cloves finely sliced
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• ½ tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ cup edamame beans
• ½ avocado diced
• ¼ cup pinenuts
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon olive oil extra

Instructions

 

• Cook quinoa *
• Prepare edamame - I buy frozen in pods and microwave for 3 mins to heat them up
• Heat a dash of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and lightly fry off the zucchini, broccoli, garlic and lime juice. This should only take about 2-3 minutes, you still want it crunchy.
• Place spinach in a large salad bowl. Top with zucchini & broccoli mixture, quinoa and edamame and toss.
• Add pinenuts and avocado.
• Season with salt and pepper and a dash of olive oil.

Notes

* To cook quinoa see our link for cooking quinoa

Keyword green salad, healthy salad

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What country do you live in and what do you love about it?