Tomato, Basil & Cucumber Quinoa Salad (Vegetarian)

My husband used to be one of those Crossfitters who drank the potion and and never looked back.  He was slightly obsessed, insanely FIT and ate a specific Paleo Zone Diet.  So, being the good wifey I am, I weighed and measured ALL of his meals, taking care to make them tasty and perfectly block balanced.

For those of you who don't know about the rules of Zone, you eat portions (referred to as "blocks") made up of a perfect ratio of fat to carbs to protein, balanced in the way that your body most efficiently burns it.  And...you eat a specific number of meals each day based to your weight and activity level. The quick, very quick explanation, your body needs fat to efficiently burn fat and slow the absorption of carbohydrates, while your body MUST have protein to rebuild muscular structure.  Yep, it is a pain when you start literally measuring everything...everything...like counting out almonds and weighing your spinach on a scale...but being the OCD personality that I am...I actually loved it.  Plus, when I had reached a plateau after having the girls, and couldn't seem to get those last few pounds off...it worked like MAGIC!  I beat the plateau and then some!

Regardless of my tangent, and yes, I will have more coming on that diet process soon...this recipe reminds my of one of the meals I used to make him almost every single day.  Cucumbers & tomatoes with oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and fresh herbs.  But....the issue I always had was what protein to add to that...technically you can't have cheese on Paleo diet, so I always sent him some turkey or chicken breast on the side.  The addition of Quinoa solves that mystery and does it oh so well!

Here I did add some feta cheese...but if you want to keep it Paleo, leave it out, and if you want to keep it vegetarian, use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth.  You can always use water...but in my option the broth really adds more flavor!  Cheers!

What you need...
1 cup Quinoa, rinsed
2 cups broth (chicken or veggie)
1+ cups cherry tomatoes
1 heaping cup cucumbers, quartered
10-12 fresh Basil leaves
leaves from a few sprigs of fresh thyme
the juice of 1 lemon
1/8 cup raw vinegar
1/8 cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt

Place the Quinoa and north into a small pot with a lid.  Turn to medium heat and bring to a boil.  As soon as it hit a rapid boil, turn to LOW/Simmer and allow to simmer, covered for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, chop all veggies and add to a large container with a lid.  To a jar, or other dressing container, add lemon juice, vinegar, red pepper flakes, salt, olive oil and shake to combine.  When the Quinoa is done, add it to the veggies, top with feta and dressing and toss to combine.  Serve warm or cold!

The easy way to chop basil...stack...

roll....

chop...

perfect every time......