strawberry quinoa salad

i've been trying to bring something new to work each week so i don't get too sick of my lunches, but this is the second week in a row that i've made this strawberry quinoa salad!

strawberry quinoa salad adapted from here

1 cup (uncooked) quinoa

2 cups water
1 pint strawberries, sliced
1/3 cup chopped mint
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped basil
2 cups baby salad greens
1/2 cup ricotta salata, crumbled
1/3 cup roasted and salted sunflower seeds
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp raw honey
salt and pepper


cook your quinoa first. place quinoa and water in pot and bring to a boil. once boiling, turn the heat down to low/simmer, cover the pot, and cook for about 15 minutes. after the 15 minutes, remove pot from heat, but keep it covered for about 5 more minutes. remove top and fluff quinoa with a fork.

once the quinoa is cooled completely, add it to a large salad bowl with the sliced strawberries, mint, scallions, basil, and salad greens. top the salad with the ricotta salata and the sunflower seeds.

in a separate bowl, whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. if you're not eating the entire salad at once, separate the dressing and use only as needed to avoid sogginess.