Who Keeps You Healthy? Asian Quinoa Salad Recipe

My healthy Hero: Joe "Josh" Warzin

Recently, the American Recall Center (http://www.recallcenter.com) launched a health awareness campaign:  Who Keeps You Healthy? They are asking bloggers across the country to profile who their health hero is in their every day lives.  I am by no means, a healthy holly.  I enjoy eating more than working out, and  I believe wine is always appropriate. (Or light beer, no cool craft brew connoisseur here).  However, I have some healthy habits I try to stay true to.   I adore vegetables, and love to explore recipes.  I also like to make as many recipes  I can from scratch. And although I am not consistent about it, I do enjoy running and doing yoga.

The most important influence in my life when it comes to health though, is my husband, Josh.  He has a job with a demanding schedule however, he always prioritizes his health over other things.  What I find most endearing about his health choices is that they are not for vanity's sake.  He just wants to be on the this earth healthy and happy as long as possible.  But he is no prude, he just has an amazing balance of being indulgent but not overdoing it.  Or if he does over do it, he can take a step back and add some more exercise or healthier choices for moderation.

Our Wedding Day

Josh has been an amazing influence in my own life and health decisions. I have learned to overcome many bad habits over the years with his help.  He is very encouraging in helping me to exercise, and although my attitude was a little rough to start, we actually enjoy and look forward to working out together.  We also like  juicing and making challenges for ourselves, like a week of vegetarian or vegan recipes.  However, the biggest reason he is my healthy hero, is that I want to try to take care of myself so that we get as many years as possible together.  Each healthy choice I make, helps make our eternity a little bit longer.

As homage to my healthy hero, I wanted to showcase one of the lighter recipes, that is a frequent request of his, an Asian Quinoa Salad.  There are several versions out there  on the world wide web but this is the combo I enjoy. Looking through Pinterest and various food websites will give you inspiration in creating your own.

Asian Quinoa Salad

Time: Approximately 20 minutes, prep and cook.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Red Quinoa
• 2 cups Water
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Asparagus Spears, Chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen Edamame , shelled
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup Chopped carrots
• 1 15 oz  Garbanzo beans; rinsed and drained
• 2 cups Romaine Lettuce, cut into strips

For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup low sodium Soy Sauce 
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Steps:

1. Add water, quinoa, and salt to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.
2.  Add the garbanzo beans, carrots, red pepper, asparagus, corn and edamame to the quinoa. Cover and set aside.
3.  In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, honey, ginger, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
4.  Pour the dressing over the quinoa salad and stir to combine.
5.  Plate on top of romaine lettuce.