Hello friends! I can’t believe there’s only 5 days to go until the wedding! We’ve been watching the weather for Saturday like a hawk – so far it looks okay. Fingers crossed – our wedding is outside!
I’ll share more details on the planning we’ve been doing this week tomorrow, but for now – a new favorite meal! Quinoa taco salad. 
I whipped this up on Saturday for lunch for me and Matt and we enjoyed leftovers again for lunch on Monday. It’s really easy and delicious, too!
Here’s the “recipe” – feel free to get creative!
Quinoa Taco Salad
- Cooked quinoa
- Tomato, chopped
- Peppers, chopped
- Black beans, drained/rinsed
- Avocado, sliced
- Salsa
- Cheddar cheese (optional)
- A few shakes of cumin
- Hot sauce, if desired
- Cilantro, chopped (optional)
Just throw it all into a bowl, mix, and enjoy! The proportions are up to you – it doesn’t have to be exact for this recipe at all, and that’s the fun in it.
Dining al fresco!
Up close and personal.
Plus grapes on the side.
Easy, right? Give it a shot yourself!
Variations of this meal are also great as a packed lunch for work. I originally made a variation of this for lunch last week, which was what inspired making a bigger batch on Saturday. I made a big thing of quinoa (1.5 cups dry) in the morning while I was getting ready for work, ate some of it with the lunch you’re about to see, and then used the rest of the leftover cooked quinoa to make the big taco salad on Saturday.
The packed lunch version started with salad greens.
I added chopped peppers…
Black beans and the quinoa…
And topped it with lots of salsa (add more than you think you’ll want – it will soak in!).
Grapes to enjoy with it!
For some snacks (either morning or afternoon), I packed an apple with a Justin’s almond butter packet:
And a Chobani yogurt.
All ready to go!
Have a great Tuesday, everyone!
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p.s. I also wanted to share for those of you in the DC area that next week (October 15 to 20) is Growing Healthy Schools Week! The week is a celebration of school gardens and farm to school programs throughout District schools and takes form in classroom chef demos, farm field trips, nutrition lessons, school garden activities, in-class farmer visits, etc. Childhood nutrition is a big interest of mine and I so wish that I could participate but Matt and I will be gone for part of the week on a mini-honeymoon and then I’m busy the weekend after with Army 10 Miler stuff. Bummer!
If you’re interested, check out the fun events they have going on and please support them if you have a chance! The October 20th bike tour of the school gardens sounds really fun, as does the restaurant fundraiser on Monday (October 15) – all you have to do is go out to eat and part of your purchase will be donated to the cause!