Quinoa Salad with Pistachios, Cherries, and Honey Balsamic Kefir Dressing

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #KefirCreations #CollectiveBias This quinoa salad is sweet, crunchy and has a little Kefir tang! It’s super healthy, gluten free and makes a quick and easy weeknight dinner!

‘Tis is the season. The season for Kefir.

At least that’s what the word on the street is. And by “word on the street” I mean the word in my house. And by that I mean, Mr. FFF already drinks Kefir all the time…so it’s ALWAYS the season for Kefir.

I don’t know where this is going. As usual. You understand.

Moving on.

Kefir, do you know it? It’s the smooth, cousin of yogurt and it has ALL the probiotic cultures. You know what that means?

Drink it and you will have one :), balanced digestive system. Like I mentioned above, the huberskerdoo has a very 🙁 digestive system about 89.97% of the time, so he drinks this stuff on the reg’.

How-ev-er, he always buys fruity flavored ones so that he can add them into his daily orange smoothie making escapades. And, yes, they are escapades.

Every time the hub-o-rama is in the kitchen making something, it’s a BIG DEAL.

The other day, while we were perusing the refrigerated aisle at Winn Dixie, I noticed that among the strawberry banana and raspberry flavors, there was a bottle of plain Lifeway Kefir.

AHA! I had a moment. A “kefir-it’s-not-just-for-smoothies-anymore” kind of moment.

So, I made it into the easiest, 3 ingredient dressing that you will ever make in your life.

And then I threw it (read: poured. Do not THROW your dressing unless you enjoy cleaning the ceiling) onto the EASIEST of the eas quinoa salad.

You guys. I am in <3 with this for the rest of time. As in, I would marry it if I could.

And, yes, I told Mr. FFF that.

He understood.  Actually he didn’t. But that is neither here nor there.

Do they make wedding rings the size of grains of quinoa anyway? Things to ponder.

Just like in the Moroccan chicken skillet, You’ve got a little crunch action with some pistachios. And then there’s the mega creamy feta cheese to make sure it isn’t TOO crunchy. Crunchy like whoa.

Gotta keep those ‘stachios in line. Sidenote: My bag of pistachios has a mustache on the front, and it says “mustachio.” I die.

Back to quinoa salad.

The dried cherries and the Kefir pair up, do a little quinoa mambo and a little bit of sweet and tangy magic happens.

The CRUNCHY. The CREAMY. The SWEET. The TANGY.   Oh delicious quinoa salad, you make my belly and my taste buds smile.

Recipe

Quinoa Salad with Pistachios, Cherries, and Honey Balsamic Kefir Dressing

5 from 4 votes

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Serves: 4 -8

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 15 minutes

Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• For the salad:For the salad:
• 2 Cups Water2 Cups Water
• 1 Cup Quinoa uncooked1 Cup Quinoa uncooked
• 1/3 Pistachios shelled1/3 Pistachios shelled
• 1/2 tsp Salt1/2 tsp Salt
• 3/4 Cup Reduced-sugar dried cherries roughly chopped3/4 Cup Reduced-sugar dried cherries roughly chopped
• 1 Cup Reduced-fat feta cheese crumbled1 Cup Reduced-fat feta cheese crumbled
• 1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Fresh basil minced1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Fresh basil minced
• For the dressing:For the dressing:
• 1/2 Cup Plain Lifeway Kefir1/2 Cup Plain Lifeway Kefir
• 4 tsp Honey4 tsp Honey
• 4 tsp Balsamic vinegar4 tsp Balsamic vinegar

Instructions

• In a large pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Once boiling, stir in the quinoa. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook until the moisture is absorbed (about 15 mins.) Once cooked, transfer the quinoa to a[url href=http://amzn.to/1iXgTcf target=_blank rel="nofollow sponsored"]large bowland place it into the refrigerator until cooled.
• While the quinoa cooks, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Toast the pistachios in the oven until lightly golden brown, about 10-12 mins. Set aside.
• Once the quinoa has cooled, stir in the salt, chopped cherries, crumbled feta cheese and minced basil.
• Roughly chop the toasted pistachios and add them into the salad. Stir until everything is well mixed.
• To make the dressing:
• Stir the kefir and honey together in a medium, microwave- safe bowl. Microwave the mixture until the honey is melted and easily mixes into the kefir, about 30 seconds.
• Stir in the balsamic vinegar.
• Pour the dressing over the salad, mix will and DEVOUR

Nutrition Disclaimer

Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.

Author: Taylor

Course:Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine:American

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FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:

• Organic Quinoa
• Large Pot
• Mixing Bowls
• Small Baking Sheet

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