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Happy Food, Healthy Life

Forking delicious vegan food

Cleansing Tri-Color Quinoa Salad

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Need a re-do meal after days of eating crap? This Cleansing Tri-Color Quina Salad should be your go-to!

Tri-Color Quinoa Salad - This healthy vegetarian salad is full of cleansing vegetables that help you "reset" when you need lots of nutrients | www.happyfoodhealthylife.com

Monday! A day of new beginnings. A day of refreshing newness. A day to put weekend mess-ups behind you.

Ok, so I’m actually against “starting new” on Monday. I’m a complete believer that you can start making healthy choices any time of the day or night, on any day of the week. It doesn’t have to be Monday. It doesn’t have to be the first of the month. It doesn’t have to be January 1st.

You can decide to choose healthy foods any time.

But I want to tell you a little story about this one time I went on a cleanse and how it totally messed me up and totally illustrates a point that you should never deprive yourself of the foods you love.

Tri-Color Quinoa Salad - This healthy vegetarian salad is full of cleansing vegetables that help you "reset" when you need lots of nutrients | www.happyfoodhealthylife.com

So I’ve talked about some of my health issues in the past. How I’ve been struggling with figuring out what’s wrong with me, and I even went on a detox in hopes that I’d be able to figure it all out. It was four days of eating the same things over and over again. There were hopes of balancing out my hormones and cleansing my liver. In the research I’ve done, it appears that my system is totally out of whack and has been for a long time.

So I was determined to make this detox work and see it through those 4 days.

The problem though? During those days, I wanted to eat all.the.things! I was great for day one. Day two was good too. But by day four, I started to go nuts. Soup, salad, and fruit over and over just wasn’t cutting it for me.

You see, I’m fine not eating sweets… that is, until I’m denied the sweets. This is the exact same reason why diets fail. Because you’re told in the diet that you can only eat certain foods. So of course, you can only think of those foods that you’re not supposed to eat until you eventually go crazy and eat that food in huge amounts that probably make you feel sick, completely guilty, and like a failure to your diet.

And this is exactly what happened to me. I know my detox was for my health. I know it could’ve been good for me. But my mind does not like restriction in any way. So on day four, I woke up wanting Cracker Barrel breakfast, and it’s the only thing I could think of!! I don’t even like Cracker Barrel! But I just had to have it. So finally I did. And it didn’t stop there. I ate so much that entire day to make up for the prior three days. So what did I learn? No more restriction!

But I did learn something else. This salad that I ate three days in a row was super delicious and full of cleansing nutrients that made my body happy. I want to eat it often… just along with other foods that I love. I’ve since made this salad about 6 times since the detox because I love it so much. It’s super filling. It’s super colorful. And it’s super good for you. Perfect for when you’re feeling the need for uber-good-for-you-stuff. (you know, after a day of eating junk)…

Tri-Color Quinoa Salad - This healthy vegetarian salad is full of cleansing vegetables that help you "reset" when you need lots of nutrients | www.happyfoodhealthylife.com

[Tweet “Need a re-do meal after days of eating crap? This cleansing salad should be your go-to!”]

Cleansing Tri-Color Quinoa Salad

Cleansing Tri-Color Quinoa Salad

Yield: 0

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup tri-colored quinoa
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 head of red-leaf lettuce
  • 1-2 handfuls fresh spinach
  • 1 can chickpeas, , rinsed and drained
  • 2 large carrots, , peeled and chopped
  • 1 bunch radishes, , sliced
  • 1 cucumber, , peeled and sliced
  • 1 can artichoke hearts, , drained

Dressing:

  • juice of 1 lemon
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • apple cider vinegar

Do you like this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

© Holly Waterfall

Get all instructions and specifics on Food Blogger’s Conference Blog.

If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture, upload it to Instagram and tag me (@happyfoodholly) and use the hashtag #inspiredbyholly

Tri-Color Quinoa Salad - This healthy vegetarian salad is full of cleansing vegetables that help you "reset" when you need lots of nutrients | www.happyfoodhealthylife.com

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Filed Under: Vegan Main Dish Recipes

Comments

  1. Ashli says

    September 14, 2015 at 8:39 pm

    Holly,

    This is absolutely beautiful!!

    Reply
    • Holly Waterfall says

      September 15, 2015 at 7:30 am

      Thank you! You know what they say – eat the rainbow!

      Reply
  2. Kathryn @ Family Food on the Table says

    January 6, 2016 at 8:35 am

    I totally agree with you about just making healthy choices and using balance and moderation to guide your diet, instead of trying to adhere to a bunch of rules and regulations. Food and eating should be part of a lifestyle, and one that will work for you for all the years to come. And I’m pretty sure this salad is going to work for me for all the years to come – it sounds so delicious and so full of goodness! I’m a chickpea and a carrot addict, too, so it’s especially perfect for me!

    Reply
  3. Valerie says

    January 7, 2016 at 9:40 am

    Yummy! Not only is it beautiful but looks delicious too!

    Reply
  4. Liz says

    January 12, 2016 at 1:49 pm

    Only one word comes to mind: yum!
    Thanks so much for adding your recipe to the Delicious Dishes Recipe Party on Pocket Change Gourmet.
    ~Liz

    Reply
    • Holly Waterfall says

      January 12, 2016 at 5:09 pm

      i wish i had more of this salad right now! guess it’s time to make up another batch!

      Reply
  5. Liz says

    January 19, 2016 at 2:30 pm

    Looks like a nice healthy meal! Thanks so much for adding your recipe to the Delicious Dishes Recipe Party on Pocket Change Gourmet.
    ~Liz

    Reply
    • Holly Waterfall says

      January 21, 2016 at 10:40 am

      It’s one of my favs, Liz. It’s the best lunch that makes me feel so healthy and refreshed.

      Reply

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Hey there!

I'm Holly and I create real food recipes for real people. People who want to eat more than kale chips and tofu. People who are a little bit terrified of vegan food because - hello, what the F is tempeh and seitan, right?
People who want to go plant-based but can't even imagine a life without cheese or ice cream. I'm right there with ya and am here to help you every step of the way. I can't wait to show you around!

xoxo Holly

Dinner doesn't have to be difficult

even if you're plant-based.

Let me help you with a week of dinner recipes in my free e-cookbook, simple vegan family dinners.

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