Quinoa Salad

I mentioned a couple of days ago that I was going to do a cooking experiment to try to figure out a recipe that resembles the Publix quinoa salad that I have been really liking lately. It turned out really well (in my opinion) and Daniel rated it a 7 out of 10. He informed me that his scale was 1 being olives and 10 being pizza. Gotta love it! With a review like that I know you are all dying to have the recipe, so here it is.

Let me just tell you, due to my somewhat extreme OCD tendencies, making that little picture right there took me way more time than I should ever admit on the inter-webs. Oh well, hopefully this blogging stuff will get easier as I go. And here is the final product!

It made 11 servings (of 1 cup), which makes the price per serving just under two dollars ($2.02 based on the total price that I spent on ingredients, but I have leftover sunflower seeds and garbanzo beans, so that makes it slightly less). I then divvied it up into some smaller containers so that we could easily take it for lunches on the go.

I was very pleasantly surprised at how nutritionally balanced this recipe ended up being. The ratio of fats, carbohydrates and protein is 14%, 68% and 18%, respectively. This is a perfect balance for runners!

We need fat because it is an important energy source and help maintain our immune system. Fats are our secondary source of energy (behind carbohydrates). They also help us manufacture hormones, like estrogen and thyroid, and help us regulate our metabolism.

We need carbohydrates because they are our main source of energy and running fuel. They are used to maintain our blood sugar and quick energy stores. They are also an important source of fiber, B vitamins and iron.

We need protein because it helps our body to build and repair muscles and it is the building block of many of our major organs. Protein is also an important source of iron.

I must say there is something more satisfying about eating something when you put thought and time into the preparation as opposed to something that you mindlessly picked up at the grocery store. I definitely do not intend for this to be a “food blog” and I am not a nutritionist by any means, but I do plan to write some more posts about fueling, etc. as it relates to distance running. I have access to some great resources that I have and continue to benefit from and I want to share that with y’all!