Healthy Summer Salad: Blueberry, Kale and Quinoa

Yesterday was a perfect day for a cold salad on a warm deck with a chilled glass of white wine or iced tea.  I’d been traveling for 10 days and I could tell my body was craving “real” food so I turned to a favorite, Blueberry, Kale, and Quinoa salad.

Ingredients:

3/4c. dry quinoa cooked prepared according to package directions*

1 1/2 c. blueberries (p.s. the blueberries I got from HyVee yesterday were so good they almost didn’t make it into the salad!)

4-6 big handfuls of Kale from a bag of salad-ready Kale (it will be tender enough you won’t have to pre-cook it)  No Kale? Spinach works great too!

3/4 c. crumbled feta cheese

1/2-2/3 c. chopped pecans, lightly toasted (toss them in a dry pan on medium heat to lightly toast, you’ll know when they’re ready because they’ll get more fragrant)

2-3 T. Olive oil

Juice of one lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

*If you don’t have package directions, bring 3/4 cup quinoa with 1 1/2 c. water to a boil on the stove top. Cover pan and continue to simmer on low to medium-low heat 15 minutes.  If all water is not yet absorbed, cook a few more minutes.

Instructions:

Combine olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice to make dressing

Mix all ingredients together except for dressing

Toss with dressing to coat and chill for at least an hour to let flavors combine.  Adjust salt and pepper as needed.   Serve cold or room temperature.

blueberry salad