Meal Prep :: Quinoa Salad

The last couple weekends have been anything but relaxing. Fun and productive? Yes. Relaxing? No. I long for the days of lounging on the couch and watching all the shows I have saved on DVR. Exhausted!

What do your Sunday nights usually consist of? I spend a lot of my time on the weekends food shopping. I literally cannot keep myself out of markets. I went to 3 on Sunday and 1 today. I constantly think of new things I want or need. By the time Sunday night rolls around, I am ready to start getting our food ready for the week. Because I make breakfast and pack our lunches every day, I try to get as much prepared the night before to save time in the morning. I get up at 5:30am and I refuse to set my alarm for one minute earlier - and my routine is pretty much packed to the limit so this is my only option! Well, or eat out every day and consume a lot of extra calories and dollars. 

Louis eats a wrap with meat and veggies every day for lunch because he has to eat on the run. He needs something simple and not messy. I on the other hand eat at my desk and have a fridge at work to store my food in, so I usually like a salad of some sort. Tonight I made a big batch of quinoa salad with chicken and prosciutto. I did a taste test and it's delicious.

Here's what you need:

1 cup quinoa

1/4 cucumber

2 raddishes

1/4 bell pepper

large handful of heirloom tomatoes

1/2 jalepeno (seeds removed)

1 chicken breast

2 slices proscuitto

Here's what you do:

Put quinoa and 2 cups of water into a pot, bring to boil, lower heat and cover, simmer for 15 minutes

Chop all veggies into tiny pieces

If your chicken isn't already cooked, you can use this simple recipe. Once done, shred chicken.

Cut prosciutto into small pieces and heat over low heat for about 8 minutes until it gets a little crunchy - you don't need any oil or anything in the pan

Let quinoa cool, add veggies, chicken and prosciutto

Add dressing or oil/vinegar to taste. I used Amy's Tuscan Italian.

*Season with crushed red pepper for an extra kick!

Serve over field greens or salad of some sort! Remember, a serving of quinoa is about 1/4 cup, so divide this into fourths for each day. Quick and easy to make, super delicious and filling.

Hope you all had a great weekend and are ready for a new week!