These salad cups rank with some of my favorite lunch recipes. Shrimp, avocado, quinoa and a simple lemon dressing come together for a light, delicious meal.
When most people think of diet food, the word "salad" tends to spring to mind. Then come the references to rabbit food, and thoughts of deprivation and large padlocks across the refrigerator lead most people to dive into the leftover helping of pepperoni pizza. Yeah, been there. But healthy eating doesn't need to be boring. Let's get something straight. Yes, I may have lost a good chunk of weight over the past six months, but I love to eat. If a meal doesn't have good flavor, I don't feel satisfied and that's where the trouble starts. For me, maintaining a healthy eating lifestyle means using a large variety of whole grains (such as quinoa), fresh and dried herbs, flavorful protein (like shrimp) and healthy fats (think avocado).
I like salads with lots of "goodies" - nuts, veggies, chicken, seafood, pasta, quinoa, dried fruit. If it's in the fridge or pantry, it's fair game. In the past, the one thing that stopped me from making salad every day was washing the greens. Am I the only one who can't stand washing lettuce? I have no idea why. It's just the way it is.
Now I limit the pain to one to two times per week. I throw the lettuce, cut into bite-sized pieces into my OXO salad spinner, wash it and spin it dry within a couple of minutes. Wrapped in paper towel and stored in a resealable plastic bag in the fridge, the lettuce stays perky and fresh for 4 to 5 days. All I have to do is reach in and grab a handful or two whenever I want to throw together a salad. Throw in some veggies that are quickly sliced on the OXO hand-held mandoline slicer and voila - a beautiful, healthy salad. Painful to painless.
The dressing is light and fragrant, with a lemony touch of spring and an herbaceous flavor from dried oregano. You may not need all of the dressing. Add about two-thirds of it, then taste to determine if you would like to add more.
The recipe:
Wash and spin four large Boston lettuce leaves.
In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse quinoa well and drain.
In a medium pot, combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn heat to low. Cook until all the water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff the quinoa and transfer to a cookie sheet, spreading the quinoa in a thin layer, to cool.
Set a large saucepan of lightly salted water over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp turn pink, 45 seconds to 1 minute.
Drain and immediately plunge the shrimp into ice water to stop the shrimp from cooking further.
In a medium bowl, mix together quinoa, shrimp, tomatoes and avocado.
For the dressing, whisk together lemon juice honey, oregano, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in olive oil.
Toss the dressing (you may not need all of it) with the quinoa mixture. Gently stir in Myzithra (or feta) cheese. Divide the quinoa salad between 4 Boston lettuce leaves, using the lettuce as a bowl. Serve.
Other quinoa salads:
Quinoa Chickpea Salad
Quinoa with Orange & Cumin Dressing
Quinoa with Blacks Beans, Corn & Chipotle, Lime & Honey Dressing
Printable Recipe
Salad Cups with Quinoa, Shrimp, Avocado & Lemon Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
The Salad:
- ½ cup quinoa
- 1 cup water
- ¾ pound large raw shrimp peeled
- 1 medium tomato cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 small avocado cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 ounce Myzithra or feta cheese, crumbled
The Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 large Boston lettuce leaves
Instructions
The Salad:
- In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse quinoa well and drain.
- In a medium pot, combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn heat to low. Cook until all the water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff the quinoa and transfer to a cookie sheet, spreading the quinoa in a thin layer, to cool.
- Set a large saucepan of lightly salted water over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp turn pink, 45 seconds to 1 minute.
- Drain and immediately plunge the shrimp into ice water to stop the shrimp from cooking further.
- In a medium bowl, mix together quinoa, shrimp, tomatoes and avocado.
The Dressing:
- Whisk together lemon juice, honey, oregano, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in olive oil.
- Toss the dressing with the quinoa mixture. Gently stir in Myzithra (or feta) cheese. Divide the quinoa salad between 4 Boston lettuce leaves, using the lettuce as a bowl. Serve.
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by OXO and they supplied me with some OXO products for my personal use and the giveaway. All opinions are my own. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
thejellyfishbar
This recipe looks great and healthy.
Barbara
Tried this recipe tonight and it was Amazing!!
Teresina Ortega
I follow oxo on Facebook and cooking Canuck on Facebook and Pinterest. This is an awesome giveaway.
Ashley
Hi there,
I am a full time college student and would love to take this for lunch.
Would you recommend keeping the dressing on the side until I am going to eat or does it last well if I take it pre-added?
I probably won't eat lunch 5-7 hours after I pack it.
Thanks so much!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Hi Ashley, typically I would recommend dressing salads right before eating. However, quinoa dishes do just fine when dressed ahead of time, even hours ahead. The benefit to doing so in this recipe is that the acid in the dressing (lemon juice) will help to keep the avocado from turning brown. I hope you enjoy it!