This warm Grains and Greens Detox Salad is simple to throw together and make ahead friendly. With tons of fresh greens, nutty quinoa, pomegranate seeds and a simple lemon vinaigrette..healthy has never tasted better!

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Yay for Spring!!!

I know, I know.. yesterday was the big kick-off.

Annnnd maybe the "kick-off" involved chilly temperatures and rain. And maybe things aren't exactly blooming, buuuut... I've got a serious case of Spring fever and I can't make one more meat and potato style recipe. I want grains, fruits, veggies.. you know, Farmer's Market style stuff.

So for today, we pretend that it's sunny, 75 degrees and that the air smells of fresh flowers as we stroll through the street selecting fresh produce and sipping on fancy fresh pressed juices. You in?

In the spirit of our happy go lucky spring attitude.. today, Grains and Greens Detox Salad.

You guys, this is the kind of dish that makes you feel healthy just for looking at it. Seriously, it's loaded with good for you stuff. Think quinoa, garlic, onions, juicy pomegranate seeds, lemon juice and All. The. Greens. Don't be skeptical. I know, it has a bit of a hippy feel, embrace it! This salad is fresh, flavorful and best of all, throws together in under 30 minutes (especially if you use my tips in the helpful hints section below).

Oh yeah.. did I mention that it's make-ahead friendly???

Time Saving Tips and Tricks

Prep: Making the quinoa ahead of time assures that assembling this salad is really simple. If you aren't using a pre-chopped green veggie medley you could also wash and pre chop all your greens.

Make Ahead: Yes! It's one of my favorite things about this salad. I make the full recipe and then divvy it out into 4-5 individual portions to eat for lunches throughout the week.

Freezer: Sorry guys.. not this time!

Grains and Greens Detox Salad

Author: Bailey Sissom
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x
Category: Vegan

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

¼ cup olive oil, divided
½ red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups of assorted greens and veggies (I used Taylor Stir Fry mix with bok choy, broccoli, snow peas and cabbage and then added 3 cups of baby spinach)
2 cups prepared quinoa
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
¾ cup pomegranate seeds
salt and pepper

Instructions

Prepare quinoa. You can use frozen or dry. Cook according to package directions.
While quinoa cooks, heat 2 TBS of olive oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minute or until fragrant. Add greens and veggies. If you are using a veggie (like broccoli) that requires a little extra cooking time you may want to throw that in first. Cook until veggies are tender and greens are wilted. Remove from heat.
To the cooked veggies, add quinoa and the juice and zest of 2 lemons and the remaining 2 TBS of olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in pomegranate seeds.

Nutrition

Serving Size: ½ cup
Calories: 333
Sugar: 5.3mg
Sodium: 13.8mg
Fat: 13g
Carbohydrates: 46.8g
Protein: 10g

Helpful Hints:

There are some seriously fancy salads and stir-fry mixes that you can buy as a pre-packaged kit. I always throw away the dressing and make my own, but washed and pre-cut veggies are a HUGE time saver. For this recipe I used a Taylor Sesame Chili Stir Fry bag that I picked up at my local Kroger (Whole Foods carries these as well). It was a blend of broccoli, bok chop, peas and cabbage. You can use any mix you find. You can't mess this one up! (PS.. this is not sponsored or an affiliate link.. I just really like it!)
For quinoa.. I recommend frozen all the way! I picked up a bag from the freezer section and had perfectly cooked quinoa in 4 minutes. Tough to beat!
If pomegranate seeds aren't your thing you can sub for any fruit that you like. I suspect that oranges or strawberries would be delicious!

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