Grilled Vegetable Quinoa Salad

 Grilled Vegetable Quinoa Salad is grilled veggies with quinoa, beans, & lettuce topped with avocado dressing is a delicious bite! Weight Watchers friendly- 3 SmartPoints!

It’s officially starting to feel like Summer here in Indianapolis, and y’all I’m ready for the warmer weather!  Something about warm weather makes me want to eat lighter meals.  My Grilled Vegetable Quinoa Salad is a light and filling meal perfect for a weekday lunch or hearty dinner!  Grilled squash, bell pepper, and onion mixed with fluffy quinoa, black beans, and lettuce topped with creamy avocado dressing is a delicious bite!  This is a Weight Watchers friendly recipe and each serving is 3 SmartPoints.

The last few weeks have been hot here!  I really shouldn’t say hot… because I am from Texas after all and my old definition of hot was anything over 95 degrees (for the record, it was like 85 degrees here).  A few weekends ago, a nice warm front came through Indy and it was the best weather we’ve had in a long time.  It was perfect timing too because my parents came from Houston, Texas to visit my husband and I.  That weekend was not only Mother’s Day, but also my 1 year wedding anniversary! It was their first time in Indy, so we had to show them a good time!

So far, we’ve lived here in Indy for 9 months or so.  We’ve had a few visitors and my husband and I have a pretty nice site seeing agenda each time we have guests.  We live about a mile from the heart of downtown which is awesome.  My parents arrived on Friday and we took them to lunch then on a stroll down the Canal Walk.  There is a canal that runs through the heart of downtown Indianapolis and connects to the White River.  We love the Canal Walk and it’s a great place to ride your bike, walk your dogs, or go on a jog!  On Saturday, we surprised my parents with tickets to go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to see the Grand Prix.  My parents have followed Nascar for years so we HAD to take them to the Motor Speedway!  It was amazing!

Sunday was Mother’s Day and it was so great to spend the day with my mom!  Sunday was also my 1 year wedding anniversary.  It really is hard to believe that I’ve only been married a year.  So much has happened in the last year…. The big event was that we moved from Texas to Indianapolis.  It’s been an unforgettable, amazing year and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.

The weekend my parents were here was so fun and we definitely showed them a good dose of Indianapolis.  My husband and I traveled for the majority of April and we are now back into the regular routine of things at home.  I can finally get back to eating healthy food and cooking!  Being on vacation is fun and all, but eating not so healthy food can get old.  Now that we are home, all I want to eat is salads and lighter meals!

I love making quinoa salads, mostly because I can make them way ahead of time and eat throughout the week for lunch or dinner.  Quinoa is one of the best things because it’s so versatile.  You can mix it with just about anything and it transforms into a different recipe.  I love making quinoa salads or casseroles.  If you haven’t tried my Quinoa Tabbouleh Spinach Salad or Tex-Mex Turkey Quinoa Casserole, you MUST add these to your next week recipes 🙂

Quinoa Tabbouleh Spinach Salad

Tex-Mex Turkey Quinoa Casserole

I absolutely love grilling vegetables.  We don’t have an outdoor grill just yet, so I just use my cast iron griddle/grill.  I like to grill vegetables on Sunday and have them on hand all week for this salad, or a quick veggie taco!  This recipe is easy to follow and would be great to make on Sunday so you can have all the ingredients on hand and ready for a weekday salad!  To start, prep the vegetables to be roasted.  Remove the seeds from a red bell pepper and cut in half, cut yellow squash in half, and dice a red onion into quarters.

Using an indoor grill pan, heat the pan over medium heat and brush on olive oil.  Let the grill heat for 10 minutes.  You can totally use an outdoor grill too!  Place the veggies on the grill and let them cook for 8-10 minutes, then flip and repeat.

These veggies are so delicious grilled and perfect for this salad!

The next steps are super easy!  In a large bowl, mix cooked quinoa, black beans, tomatoes, spices, then slice up the grilled veggies and toss them in.

Grilled Vegetable Quinoa Salad is so delicious that those “non-salad” eaters will like this!  Packed with perfectly grilled veggies, quinoa, spices, and topped with a creamy avocado sauce is a great weekday lunch, hearty dinner, or even a great dish to bring to a backyard party!  Serve this salad on a bed of baby greens topped with feta cheese and a drizzle of Quick & Easy Avocado Crema.  I like to squeeze lime juice on top to really step up the flavor!  Only 3 Weight Watchers SmartPoints per serving!

I hope you enjoy these bites of flavor!

Serves 4

Grilled Vegetable Quinoa Salad

3 SMARTPOINTS per serving

10 minPrep Time

40 minCook Time

50 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

• 1 Medium Yellow Squash
• Half Red Bell Pepper
• ½ Red Onion
• 1 Teaspoon Olive Oil
• ½ Teaspoon Salt
• ½ Teaspoon Pepper
• 2 Cups Cooked Quinoa
• 1 ½ Cup Canned Black Beans
• 1 Teaspoon Chipotle Chili Powder
• ¼ Teaspoon Oregano
• 2 Teaspoons Cumin
• ½ Teaspoon Salt
• ½ Teaspoon Pepper
• 3 Tablespoons Cilantro
• 1 Cup Grape Tomatoes
• 4 Cups Baby Mixed Greens
• ¼ Cup Fat Free Feta Cheese
• Lime Wedge, for garnish
• Serve with Quick & Easy Avocado Crema

Instructions

1. Cut squash in half-length wise and set aside.
2. Cut red bell pepper in half, remove seeds and stem and set aside.
3. Cut onion in half, then into quarters, and set aside.
4. Brush cut side of squash, bell pepper, and onion with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
5. Heat a grill pan on the stove over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
6. Place squash, bell pepper, and onion cut side down on grill. Grill for 8 minutes.
7. Flip red bell pepper and onion and cook for another 5 minutes.
8. Remove vegetables from the grill. Once vegetables have cooled, slice squash into ½ inch slices.
9. Slice bell pepper and onions.
10. Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
11. In a large bowl, mix together, quinoa, cilantro, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper, black beans, tomatoes, and sliced vegetables.
12. Fill each bowl with handful of baby greens, quinoa veggie mixture, garnish with lime wedge, feta cheese and drizzle with Quick & Easy Avocado Crema.

Notes

Nutrition is based on the NEW Weight Watchers Freestyle Program guidelines. Nutrition calculated using Weight Watchers calculator.

NUTRITION: Serves 4 - (3 SmartPoints Per Serving) CALORIES: 119 FAT: 1.9 SATURATED FAT: 0.2 CARBS: 19.8 FIBER: 2.6 SUGARS: 0 PROTEIN: 5.8

7.7.0.1

141

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