Kitchen Concoctions

on a mission to help people gain confidence in the kitchen





  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Featured Work
    • Work With Me
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • Classes
    • Privacy Policy and Disclosures
  • Recipe Index
  • Crafty Concoctions
    • Crafty Concoctions
    • Party Planning & Entertaining
    • DIY Beauty Treatments
    • Gifts/Gift Baskets
    • Kids Crafty Concoctions
  • Holiday
    • New Year’s
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • 4th Of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
  • Fit Kitchen
    • Fit Kitchen
    • Fitness
    • Healthy Eats
  • Kitchen Adventures
    • Travel
    • Austin, Texas
    • Texas
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Foodie Field Trip
    • Date Night
  • Dishin’ It Up
    • Dishin’ It Up
    • Kickin’ the Bucket
    • Bites with Bloggers

Summer Vegetable Quinoa Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

July 17, 2014

I think the first thing you learn in culinary school is how to properly use salt. Yeah, seasoning with salt… so basic, so elementary. However, if you talk to any person in the culinary industry, this basic technique is so often abused. Using too much or too little salt is a common complaint, and finding that perfect balance, can take time and a lot of tasting spoons!

This post is sponsored by Sunkist.

We are taught that salt is needed to make food taste better, caramelize onions faster, preserve food for long periods of time, etc. and while this all may be true, I believe that most of us have gotten too dependent on salt. A lot of foods are naturally salty and have a such beautiful natural flavor all on their own. I strongly believe in letting these natural flavors shine through. Not only will adjusting the amount of salt used in everyday cooking expand your palate, a lower sodium diet will improve overall health.

Obviously my thinking is different than most; but with the right combination of foods and flavors, and a little retraining of your taste buds, I think you all might start to agree with me! That’s why I am excited to team up with Sunkist and share the Sunkist S’alternative®. Recent studies have shown that using lemon zest and juice, in place of some or all salt in cooking, is an all-natural way to cut sodium without compromising flavor. Check out the chart below on how you can replace salt with fresh lemon zest and juice; and then check out these fresh recipes. 

Inspired by the S’alternative, I wanted to come up with a healthy, feel good recipe. I love all the fresh from the garden (or farmer’s market) produce you find this time of year. I am sure many of you are like me and are needing recipes to use up all those fruits and veggies. Today’s recipe is basically a summer garden dumped on a plate, and covered in a scrumptious Lemon Basil Vinaigrette. While this salad is simple and contains little salt, don’t worry about it lacking in flavor. Trust me, things liking grilling the vegetables and tart lemon juice is what makes, as you will see, a tasty take on the summer salad.

Summer Vegetable Quinoa Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
by Heather H. of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com
Printable Version
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Serves: 4

A healthy salad loaded with char grilled garden fresh summer vegetables. 

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa
2 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
½ small eggplant, sliced lengthwise into
1/2-inch-thick rectangles
1 medium yellow squash, sliced lengthwise
1 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and halved
1 large tomato, diced
1 (8 ounce) bag mixed salad greens
¼ cup sunflower seeds
Lemon Basil Vinaigrette, as needed (recipe below)

Directions:

In a medium sized pot, stir together quinoa and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, and boil on high heat for 1 minute. Reduce to low, cover and continue cooking for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and keep covered for an additional 5 minutes.

Heat an indoor or outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Lightly coat the vegetables with olive oil. Working in batches, grill the vegetables until tender and lightly charred; about 6-8 minutes.

Allow vegetables to cool enough to handle. Dice vegetables and toss grilled vegetables with diced tomatoes and cooked quinoa.

Serve vegetable quinoa medley over mixed salad greens, topped with sunflower seeds and drizzled with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette.

Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
by Heather H. of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com
Printable Version
Prep Time: 5 minutes Yields: about 1/3 cup

A tangy lemon vinaigrette with a hint of fresh, sweet basil. 

Ingredients:

2 Sunkist lemons, juiced
1 Sunkist lemon, zested
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup loosely packed basil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt, if needed

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Use immediately, as desired, or refrigerate for use later.

Disclosure: This
is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sunkist. All opinions are 100% mine. Because of sponsors like Sunkist I
am able to continue to bring you all the content I feature here.
 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

3 Comments
Filed Under: Fit Kitchen, Healthy, Healthy Eats, Main Dish- Vegan, Main Dish- Vegetarian, recipe, salad, Side Dish- Salad, Sponsored, Uncategorized

« Skinny Berries Romanoff
Light and Fluffy Freezer Friendly Waffles »

Comments

  1. Heather of Kitchen Concoctions says

    July 23, 2014 at 9:35 pm

    Linking this recipe to Time To Sparkle Link Party #70 on The Gunny Sack: http://www.thegunnysack.com/2014/07/time-sparkle-link-party-70.html

    Reply
  2. Heather of Kitchen Concoctions says

    July 27, 2014 at 2:15 am

    Linking this to Strut Your Stuff Saturday Link Party – Week 157 http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2014/07/strut-your-stuff-saturday-link-party-week-157.html

    Reply
  3. Heather of Kitchen Concoctions says

    July 27, 2014 at 2:17 am

    Linking this to Pin It Thursday on Sweet Bella Roos http://www.sweetbellaroos.com/2014/07/23/pin-thursday-45/

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


Hi Y'all, welcome to Kitchen Concoctions!

We are on a mission to help people gain confidence in the kitchen and inspire others to cook, craft and create life long memories with friends and family around the dinner table!

Here you will find family friendly recipes inspired by rich southern flavors and Texas grown ingredients.
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Never miss a post!

Subscribe via email!

Blog Archives

©Kitchen Concoctions 2009-2022. All rights reserved. All photography and content are copyright protected. Material may not be duplicated or republished. Please do not use my images without prior written permission. If you would like to share a recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and provide appropriate credit with a direct link back to the original recipe on Kitchen Concoctions. Or simply link to the full recipe on Kitchen Concoctions. Thank you!

Site Design By designer blogs