Avocado Quinoa Summer Salad

Summer is cruising along at a blistering pace, and as we approach the halfway mark, it's a great time to slow down a bit and do a little self-assessment. With seemingly endless barbecues and weekend nights out, we've got more than a few monster burgers, margaritas, and sweet desserts under our belts (literally). This week, we're going to get back to that mostly-forgotten goal of building our summer bodies, with this Avocado Quinoa Summer Salad. Yes, salad. But thankfully, while this all-natural salad is packed with some of today's buzziest health foods—quinoa, avocado, spinach, and more—it still delivers on taste. Avocado and Greek yogurt combine to form a cool, creamy dressing, while the quinoa and mozzarella cheese add some great texture to what could otherwise be a bowl of mushy leaves. And it won't take you too long to make. So if you need a bit of a healthy day of eating after weeks of backyard BBQs and ballpark nachos, give this salad a whirl.

AuthorAbtCategorySidesCuisineAmericanCooking MethodBlending, Food ProcessorTags#foodprocessor, #salad, #summer

Yields12 ServingsQuarter (3 Servings)Half (6 Servings)Default (12 Servings)Double (24 Servings)Triple (36 Servings)

Dressing

 1 avocado

 ½ cup greek yogurt

 1 cup water

 2 cups cilantro

 2 small cloves of garlic

 1 tsp salt

 2 squeezes of lime juice

Salad

 2 cups cooked quinoa

 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

 2 cups spinach leaves

 ½ cup avocado dressing

 fresh mozzarella balls (or diced fresh mozzarella)

Dressing

1

Place all ingredients for the dressing into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

Salad

2

Cook your quinoa in advance in a rice cooker or a small sauce pot. Leave enough time for it to fully cool before making the salad.

3

Cut cherry tomatoes into halves and the fresh mozzarella into bite-sized pieces.

4

Add cooked quinoa, halved tomatoes, mozzarella, and spinach leaves into a large mixing bowl.

5

Stir with a large wooden spoon until salad ingredients are evenly tossed.

6

Once they're all mixed together, pour the dressing over the salad mixing it. Continue until dressing has been distributed evenly throughout the salad.

7

Add dressing to taste, garnish with additional cheese chunks, and enjoy!