Quinoa Pesto Salad with Sundried Tomatoes (Vegan, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free)  

Serve for 2

Preparation: 10 minutes

Nutritional information (per one serving, about 110 g): 248,1 kcal, Protein: 6,3,9 g, Net Carbs: 24,8 g, Fat: 12,1 g

Ingredients*

For the Salad:

• 1 cup cooked quinoa (look at the package instructions. Usually you need 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water and cook it for 15 minutes)
• about 10 chopped sundried tomatoes (Hack: use scissors to cut the tomatoes)
• handful of spinach

Rocket pesto:

• 4 bigger handfuls of fresh rocket leaves
• one handful of fresh basil leaves
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• pinch of pink Himalayan salt & black pepper
• 100 g cashew nuts
• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese (optional, if you’ re on a paleo diet or your body doesn’t tolerate it, then use an extra handful of cashews to balance it up)
• about 6 -10 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

Instructions 

1. Make the pesto. Blend all the pesto ingredients. Add some extra salt, pepper or olive oil when needed.
2. Mix cooked quinoa, sundried tomatoes & spinach leaves. Add about 3 – 4 tbsp of pesto. Keep the leftover pesto in a small jar covered with extra virgin olive oil.
3. Serve the salad right away.**

*If you don’t serve the salad as a side dish, then you can always add some smoked chicken or other meat to serve it as a quick lunch. 

** If you don’t want to serve the salad right away, then add the spinach leaves just before serving.