Crunchy Cabbage Quinoa Salad!

Plant-protein packed recipe 💚💚

The past week or so I’ve intuitively been leaning much more plant-based. When I eat *more* vegan, I realized there is such an intentional shift in how I feel and eat. First, I feel calmer. There isn’t an urgency I feel when I’m eating more protein. I also feel there is an ease and expansion in wanting to eat more abundantly and eat more of the foods that physically nourish me and see them for how they are healing me rather than restricting how much I eat. There is a softness, grounding and youthful beauty that sets in. A buoyancy and levity of spirit. I fall in love with simple foods again. I’m not fully vegan, since I don’t want to box myself in and I do feel drawn to fish and meat and certain times, but I do love the way I feel when I eat more this way. And when I do eat this way, quinoa is my one true love. It’s protein and fiber rich, hearty, delicious and has the ability to completely transform with any dressing and seasoning. I love pairing it was raw veggies to increase the volume and nutrients and make it into a fun hearty salad. The dressing here is a simple sesame vinaigrette that the quinoa soaks up to perfection. The trick with quinoa is since it is a seed you want to soak it for at least an hour to help make it more digestible. Keep in mind, the longer you soak, the quicker it will cook and less water it will need so you’ll need to eyeball it. I also like to dry “toast” the quinoa in the pan over heat to make it more flavorful before cooking.