Citrus Avocado Quinoa Salad

To celebrate blood orange season, I put together a citrus salad to showcase this beautiful fruit. I’ve made several variations of citrus and avocado salads before. The creaminess of the avocado and bright burst of flavor from the citrus pair great together. Putting avocado and citrus on a bed of quinoa instead of a bed of lettuce makes the dish heartier and ups the protein. It could be served as a light meal or you could toss some chicken or salmon on the side to make it even more filling.

Ingredients

For the quinoa base:

1 cup dry quinoa

zest and juice from half an orange

2 tablespoons of vinegar (I used champagne vinegar)

2 tablespoon of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

optional: chopped mint leaves and chopped shallot

Toppings:

3 oranges or grapefruit (I used naval and blood oranges), sliced

1 avocado, sliced

2 tablespoons feta

optional: chopped mint, sliced shallot, toasted nuts if no young children are eating it

Directions:

Prepare 1 cup of quinoa per package instructions. Once done cooking, mix in the orange zest, orange juice, vinegar and olive oil. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. If you have shallot or mint leave on hand, you can chop some up and mix that in as well.

Spread the quinoa in the bottom of a bowl. Arrange citrus and avocado slices on top of the bed of quinoa.

Finish by sprinkling feta on top. Chopped mint and sliced shallot can also be added as a garnish. Nuts are a choking hazard for young children, but for older audiences, toasted walnuts, hazelnuts or pistachios are a great topping.

Enjoy!