I have a great recipe to share with you that I found on Tasty Kitchen! Its prefect to make for a small dinner (like I did this week because it was only me at home one night!!) or to bring for lunch or to have as a side! p.s. don’t you love when you have a fun/different lunch to bring to school/work? It makes my day…is that sad? haha This salad was great! The tahini dressing was different and added a great flavor to the quinoa and everything was so healthy! You feel good about yourself for eating it! and you dont skimp on the taste for the health either…win win 
I might just have to make some brownies/cookies/unhealthiness to balance out the healthiness of this meal…stay tuned my friends. hehe 
INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE SALAD:
- 2 cups Water
- 1-½ cup Quinoa
- 1 pint Grape Tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoons Salt
- ¼ teaspoons Freshly Ground Pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
- 1-½ whole Avocado
- 1-½ cup Spinach
FOR THE DRESSING:
- ¼ cups Tahini (sesame Seed Paste)
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 3 Tablespoons Warm Water
- 2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 whole Lemon, Juiced
- 1 teaspoon Honey
- 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
- ¼ teaspoons Salt
- ¼ teaspoons Freshly Ground Pepper
DIRECTIONS
- Boil the water. Once the water is boiling, add the quinoa, cover with a lid, and turn the heat down to simmer the quinoa. The quinoa should cook for about 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork when it’s done cooking and allow it cool slightly.
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Cut the grape tomatoes in half and lay them in a single layer in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Roast the tomatoes for 25-30 minutes, or until they start to caramelize. Allow the tomatoes to cool slightly.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Make the dressing about 15 minutes ahead of mixing it into the salad.
- Mix together quinoa, tomatoes, avocado, and spinach. Drizzle with tahini viniagrette (I used about 2/3 of what I made) and season with salt and pepper. Mix well.
