Good morning!
Those Valentine’s Day recipes are looking delicious so far! Eric is going to have a very hard decision on his hands. I caught him drooling over the recipes this morning and he promptly told me that he might have to pick ‘10 or 30’ recipes, instead of 2.
Yesterday, I had a wonderful speed run. As I mentioned in my Tempo run post, I love intervals.
I used to hate the idea of speed work because I thought it was one long, exhausting sprint the entire workout, but that just isn’t true. Speed work is simply a succession of hard + easy intervals on the treadmill, road, or track, often run in 400 metre/0.25 mile intervals.
They are quick, productive, and are great for those days when you don’t have a lot of time!
Hal Hidgon explains:
1) If you want to run at a fast pace, you need to train at a fast pace several days a week.
2) An interval workout usually consists of fast repeats separated by walking or jogging.
3) Run the 400s at about your pace for 5-K, or 10-K.
Yesterday, my Speed training looked like this:
Jog Interval = 6.0 mph (10 min/mile) for 400 metres/0.25 mile
Speed Interval = 7.5 mph (8 min/mile) for 400 metres/0.25 mile
REPEAT 8 times for a total distance of 4 miles (37 mins). I paused for a water break in between each mile.
I really love the intervals because I get to ‘rest’ every 400 metres, so it really helps me push hard during my speed interval. I’m hoping the Tempo runs and Speed work will help offset the fact that I am training for this half marathon mostly indoors.
And after a tough workout, there is nothing more I love to do than to help my body ‘recover’…wink, wink.
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Red Quinoa and Black Bean Vegetable Salad
Light, fresh, and packed with protein and healthy fats, this tangy salad will have you dreaming of Spring and Summer.
Inspired by Epicurious.
Yield: ~5 cups
For the salad:
- 1 cup uncooked Red quinoa
- 1 (14oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 Green Onions, chopped
- 1 cup fresh corn (optional) *see note
- 1 small avocado, chopped into 1 inch pieces
For the dressing:
- 4-5 tbsp of fresh lime juice (Juice from 2 small limes)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
- 1/2 tsp Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin, or more to taste
Directions:
1. Cook 1 cup Red Quinoa according to package directions.
2. While quinoa is cooking, prepare the chopped vegetables and whisk together the dressing.
3. Allow quinoa to cool after cooking for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Add the beans and vegetables and toss well.
4. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with salt and pepper to taste. Bring salad to room temperature before serving. Keep fresh in a sealed container for 1-2 days. Makes about 5 cups.
Note: I defrosted and drained frozen corn before adding it to the salad, but the result was rubbery corn. I would suggest using fresh corn only, if the season applies, otherwise I wouldn’t bother with the frozen stuff.
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Grab that beautiful cup of Red Quinoa and cook it according to package directions.
Red Quinoa is so much more fun than the regular kind!
Chop your vegetables and rinse and drain the black beans…
Assemble the dressing ingredients:
Juice the limes to make 4-5 tablespoons.
Add all dressing ingredients into a bowl.
Whisk away!
When the quinoa is cooked, add in the chopped vegetables and beans and stir well.
I just dumped everything into the cooking pot, but I supposed you could transfer it to a bowl if you wanted to!
Pour on the dressing and mix. Serve at room temperature.
This salad is irresistible! It is light, fresh, and has a wonderful tangy kick from the lime juice. It also makes a great lunch and has a lot of staying power thanks to the protein-rich black beans and quinoa and healthy fats from the avocado and olive oil.
Store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Here’s to a healthy weekend ahead!
It’s time to have a productive Friday of work to kick off the weekend. Have a good one!
I was this close to making quinoa and black beans for dinner last night. Do you like red quinoa more than ‘white’? Is there nutritional difference?
I love the way I can print the recepies. Thanks so much. I will be having this tomorrow after my long run outside in the snow! But truth be told I love that part of living in Niagara!!!! Be well.
Have a great run and enjoy the recipe!
I definitely prefer red quinoa – so yummy. I love the Trader Joe’s brand!
Hi Ange,
This salad is right up my alley! Do you have the nutritional break-down for this recipe?? Thanks so much.
Tammy
This sounds lovely Ange!! I am adoring salads and quinoa lately – I think I’ve posted at least 4 salads on my blog this week but I can’t get enough!!! Might just have to make this one too. :)
Wow, so delicious and beautiful!! I love red quinoa! I am loving fresh salads lately. I need more quinoa in my life. I was on a kick for a while then stopped. It’s so delicious!
Haha, silly Eric ;)
Uhh I hate intervals, I am more of an endureance runner :p. My boyfriend’s in the army and always pushes me to do intervals with him, which have me near puking at the end. Fun times!
I cooked with red quinoa yesterday too! but I think I like the taste of the regular one better..
x sabine
Awesome recipe. I have to admit I have not tried Red Quinoa. This is right up my alley though.
Have a great day and weekend too Angela. :)
Haha, silly Eric ;)
Uhh I hate intervals, I am more of an endurance runner :p. My boyfriend’s in the army and always pushes me to do intervals with him, which have me near puking at the end. Fun times!
I cooked with red quinoa yesterday too! but I think I like the taste of the regular one better..
x sabine
Oops sorry for the double post!
I do love avocado. It tastes really good on the Wheat Berry Salad too. I added a few pieces to mine for lunch yesterday and it really helped keep me full all afternoon.
I made this salad the other day – it is amazing! Loving all the leftovers….
I just made a good green quinoa salad last night but I love the dressing you used for this!
I eat regular quinoa a lot but have never tried red quinoa. It looks so much prettier! :)
I have those same measuring cups! :D
I love quinoa and I have recently found the red kind! Love it! :D
Mmmmmmmmm that quinoa looks delish! I love the flavor that cilantro adds to things!!!! =D
I loveeeee red quinoa! Its one of my favorite, and this looks so tasty! Loving the photos!
What a fab looking recipe….I just loving using quinoa! Even my meat & potatoes loving hubby loves quinoa – which is awesome because I feel like I’m sneaking in all this healthy goodness he doesn’t even realize he’s getting ;-) Can you substitute something for the cilantro? Neither of us really enjoy it, but I never know what to sub instead.
That looks so tasty! Any time lime and avocado are paired, I’m in.
I love quinoa and beans together. Veggies can stay out of my salad. ;)
These combined so many of my favorite flavors – I will definitely try it soon!
Great run! you are speeedy!
Is there a difference in taste between red quinoa and white quinoa?
Yum, this looks so good! I make something very similar all the time and I too love it after a tough workout! Good idea adding an avocado – I’m definitely going to try that!
I had a similar 10k pace so I used your tempo run as the base for my workout yesterday and wow it was great! I ended up picking up the pace again on and off for a few min at the end to finish up 6 miles in about 43 min. Knowing that I was only doing each interval for 5 min at a time really helped and made the treadmill so much more pleasant and the miles just seemed to fly by!
Love the use of lime in this!
I love quinoa salads! Your looks so good. I recently started running and can’t wait to run longer distances!
This sounds so southwestern! I love the texture of quinoa and beans together…perfect!
I make a very similar salad and I agree, it’s delicious! In fact, I really want some right now… And red quinoa is just so much prettier than the white kind. I’m going to have to give your version a try!
Your red quinoa salad looks AMAZING! I have been addicted to quinoa lately… but I have yet to try the red variety!
“Here’s to a healthy weekend ahead!”<— Love it!!
Okay, so here goes:
1. I love red quinoa. LOVE it. And that salad looks awesome. I have made various versions of it before, but I bet the lime juice makes it totally kickin’. I usually use rice vinegar. Definitely going to put this on my menu again soon.
2. I used to LOVE tempo runs. I still love intervals. I couldn’t believe how they helped me increase my running speed. Especially when I started adjusting my speed for distance (so my 400’s were faster than my 800’s, which were faster than my 1600’s, etc.) Of course I’m injured now, so no running for me. I miss it. But I’ve been doing P90X, and it’s a similar thing…small sets of exercises so you can push it hard then get a break.
GORGEOUS salad. I love how often you use mason jars!
I love salads like this! Perfect to make a big batch on Sunday and bring to work for the rest of the week!
Perfect timing! I’ve got some quinoa at home and wasn’t sure what to do with it and now I do! ;-)
I was thrilled to find I had all these ingredients in my house today. Lunch was amazing! This is like an upgrade to the Black Bean Avocado and Lime salad you posted earlier (which I am also addicted to when it comes down to easy lunches). Quinoa just has the most wonderful taste and textures (chewy and nutty and subtle, yum!) and the red Quinoa just looks so beautiful in any dish.
Thanks for this recipe! It’s definitely helping me get through a pretty rough Friday work day. :)
I’m glad you enjoyed it Malorie! Yes it does remind me of the Black bean + lime salad from a little while ago- just amped up like you said! I love the flavour combo…just delish!
MMM that salad looks phenomenal. Will be adding limes and cilantro to my grocery list!
I’ve really been wanting to try the red quinoa, i need to see if I can find it at traders joes or the like so I can try this recipe. Black beans, corn and avocado with lime and cilantro always make such a flavorful combination. I made a salad like that last summer: http://semiweeklyeats.blogspot.com/2009/08/black-bean-and-corn-salad.html
and its vegan!
This looks like such a good summer salad. I miss summerrr!
This recipe looks awesome, and I have almost all the ingredients on hand! I will be making this soon!
xo
This salad sounds so yummy! I loooove red quinoa :).
WOW! Does this sound yummo!! I am making it this weekend!
It will be an “OH She Glows” week for me, (I make a weeks worth of breakfasts and lunches for work on Sundays because I leave the house so early during the week) and this is going to be great for Monday and Tuesday’s lunches. Making your Banana Cranberry Oat Bars to eat on the way to the gym, Green Monsters for after the gym, and of course Overnight Oats for breakfst each morning!
Thanks for the great recipies and workout tips. I am loving your site.
that salad looks amazing!!!
that salad looks so good. very pleasing to the eye also. I just had my first taste of red quinoa this week so i look forward to eating this salad soon.
Loving how colorful that salad is! Sounds so good :)
YUMMO! I make a very similar salad but add mango to the mix (or pineapple!)…so delish. here’s the recipe:
http://www.livewellfitnow.com/2010/06/black-bean-and-corn-quinoa/
Wow this looks so beautiful! Foods that have so much color are so much more fun to eat!
You should do a post on sweet potato fries if you haven’t yet! They are soooo delish.
Yummm — what a lovely dish!
I buy red quinoa (and most things that I can) in the bulk section — it’s usually a lot less per pound that way :) although I love Eden products
that looks so fresh, healthy, and YUMMY!!
Beautiful salad! I love red quinoa!
i have yet to try red quinoa, i need to pick some up next time i see any in store