Is Quinoa Paleo? Technically it’s a seed so it should be a big yes. But it’s actually a fence sitter. Quinoa isn’t paleo because it does funky things to our insides due to the anti-nutrients, phytic acids, lectins and all that jazz. It’s also fairly high in carbs so we don’t recommend including it in a paleo weight loss diet. BUT in saying these things, we actually do include Quinoa in our paleo lifestyle every once in a while. We include it because a. it’s delicious b. it adds a little variety and c. it’s high protein and full of nutrients.
We made this Healthy Quinoa and Pumpkin Salad the other day for lunch and it was oh so yum! We used a funky tricolour quinoa (honest to goodness brand) bought from SupaBarn, they have an amazing health food aisle… FYI!
We enjoyed this Healthy Quinoa and Pumpkin salad with our Mum and Dad for lunch. We served it as a side to our Paleo Coconut and Macadamia Crusted Salmon. Talk about a great lunch!
If you like the sound of this salad but don’t want to include the quinoa just swap to caulirice! Get a caulirice recipe here! Equally as yum!
Hope you enjoy the recipe! We’d love to see it pop up on social media, just tag us so we don’t miss it with #TheMerrymakerSisters
Always merrymaking
Emma + Carla
ps. you might also like this pumpkin salad recipe or what about this one!
p.s this recipe features in our Make It Merry cookbook along with 70 other quick, easy and delish recipes to boost your health and happiness!
- 3 cups pumpkin cubed
- 2 zucchinis diced
- 1 chilli finely diced
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1/2 cup fresh coriander chopped
- 2 tbs. macadamia oil
- 1 tsp. cumin
- salt and pepper
- Preheat oven to 180*C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
- In a large bowl coat the pumpkin and zucchini with oil, cumin and season with salt and pepper.
- Lay out the pumpkin and zucchini on the prepared trays and pop into the oven for 40 minutes or until cooked.
- Meanwhile add the quinoa and water to a saucepan, bring to the boil, cover and lower the heat to simmer for 15 minutes.
- To finish, in a large bowl combine the roasted pumpkin, zucchini, cooked quinoa, coriander, chilli and lemon juice. Toss carefully, DELISH!