Cherry Quinoa Salad

This salad is a serious crowd pleaser.  Babies to Great Grandparents adore the sweet and savory mix.  Lucky for them it is also packed with nutrients and remarkably lean.

Cherry Quinoa Salad

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups quinoa (uncooked)
3 cups vegetable broth (canned, boxed or homemade)
2 cups cherries (any variety)
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cucumber
1 sweet onion
1/2 cup fat-free yogurt
1/2 to 1 tbsp cumin
1-2 tbsp garlic (powder or diced)
2 tsp stevia (if needed for bitter cherries)
salt & pepper (to taste)

METHOD:

(1) Cook Quinoa
Boil vegetable broth (3 cups) and add quinoa (1.5 cups).  Turn down to medium/low, cover and continue to cook for about 12-15 minutes or until all the broth is absorbed into the quinoa.  You can add a pinch of salt to the mixture.  Fluff cooked quinoa and take off of stove and cool.

(2) Chop Fresh Ingredients
(a) Peel cucumber and chop, along with onion, into dime sized pieces.
(b) Pit and cut cherries in half.
(c) roll spinach leaves together and chop.  Do about 8 leaves at a time.  This makes the spinach curl into strips and it mixes much more easily into the salad.

(3) Mix
(a) Mix together all fresh ingredients that have been chopped with cooked quinoa.
(b) Add cumin, garlic and salt and pepper.
(c) Add yogurt to help the salad stick together.
(d) Taste.  If needed, add stevia to sweeten any bitterness from cherries and add more garlic, cumin, salt and pepper to suit your audience.

(4) Chill & Enjoy
When you are satisfied with the taste put your salad in the fridge.  This salad is best if slightly chilled but not super cold.  You can make one-day in advance.

STATS
Time: 30 minutes 
Serves: 6 (as a meal) to 10 (as a side)
Calories: 225 (as a meal) / 125 (as a side)
Fat: 3g (as a meal) / 2 (as a side)
Carbs: 42g (as a meal) / 25 (as a side)
Protein: 9g (as a meal) / 6g (as a side)
Iron: 13% (as a meal) / 8% (as a side)
Calcium: 5% (as a meal) / 3% (as a side)