I always enjoy whipping up a nice vegan quinoa salad almost everyday because I don't have to worry about counting calories and fat content. Quinoa is packed with protein and among other grains, it's the only one that can offer all 9 essential amino acids including lysine.

One of my favorites for supper is the quinoa salad recipe. Here are the ingredients:

1 cup quinoa
1 ½ cup cold water
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup snow peas or green beans
1 - 2 small carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 green or red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 medium ripe tomato
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or toasted cashews
¼ cup minced jalapeño pepper or cranberries (optional)

For the dressing you will need:

2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
Dash of finely ground black pepper
Pinch of garlic powder or dried ginger

This vegan quinoa recipe is so easy to make, all you have to do is soak the quinoa for 15 minutes in cold water. Strain the water and put in quinoa in a pot with water, salt and oil. Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn down the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow it to sit for 5 minutes while covered with a lid.

Steam the carrots and green vegetables for about 5 minutes and then rinse in cold running water. Chop the tomato, herb and cucumber and set the mixture aside. In a separate bowl, blend the dressing ingredients together and gently combine the vegetables, nuts and quinoa. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and chill. This vegan quinoa recipe makes a very good side dish.