One of my go-to salad lunches is this chicken quinoa salad. It has all the elements that are must for a balanced mid-day meal and satiates your tastebuds with its delicious taste! A perfect win-win weightloss recipe!
During my weightloss journey I discovered this grain called quinoa. I mean I knew that it existed but never had the inclination or courage to give it a try (blame it on my ignorance!).
Then I started looking for a substitute for rice. I know what you may be thinking – that like many other fitness enthusiasts, I am also criminalizing rice! But trust me that is not the case for me!
I genuinely believe that rice is not a problem at all; it is just a simple carb and will give you sustainable energy during the day if you eat the right portion.
My problem with rice is a little different! I love to eat rice so much that I was having a real hard time controlling my portion of rice!
And rice being our daily staple for lunch, it was becoming a concerning issue towards my fitness goal as portion control is the primary key to healthy living (and I cannot emphasize it enough!).
Hence enters the weight-watchers’ delight, quinoa, into my life! Of course quinoa is not as tasty as rice which is why I can easily maintain the portion with this grain!
What is chicken quinoa salad?
Now you may ask if I eat this chicken quinoa salad daily. Answer is a straight and simple “No”. As mentioned, I have replaced rice with quinoa which means I usually consume our typical Indian meals with quinoa instead of rice.
Just once in a while when you want to eat a little fancy at home, this delightful chicken quinoa salad comes into existence and makes you happy with its simplicity!
This salad is a quick one to put together with whatever you have handy. Just follow this high level guideline – a good salad = good/complex carb + lean protein + good fat + fiber + a healthy dressing!
In my chicken quinoa salad, quinoa serves as the complex carb. Then you have boiled chicken breast for the lean protein, walnuts for good fat, onion & cucumber as fiber and finally my signature hung curd dressing to round things up!
If you keep boiled chicken breasts and hung curd handy, this salad won’t take more than 10 minutes to put together; hence it is one of the best options for your working day lunch!