This weekend, we went on our first summery hike of the year. The weather was warm and the sun was shining.
It was our first hike of the year that we didn’t think we were going to: 1) freeze to death, or 2) sink 3 feet deep in the mud.
I didn’t even need a jacket!
Yes, I’m one of those hardcore people who lug their big camera on a hike. ;)
It was worth it though! I love taking pictures of nature.
This waterfall pic below was taken using a slower shutter speed (1/20). Slow shutter speeds create flowy and ‘creamy’ looking waterfalls.
This one below was taken using a faster shutter speed (1/400), which creates more individual drops and a broken up look. Cool, eh?
We hiked about 6k and then raced home to devour lunch.
Feature ingredient: strawberries!
I wanted to create a fruit salad with more staying power, one that was high in protein and healthy fats. I thought quinoa would be a fun grain to use in a fruit salad because it is so light in both texture and flavour. It’s also a complete protein source and gluten-free.
I added some protein and calcium-packed almonds along with a lightly sweetened dressing.
Open mouth. Inhale. Repeat.
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High Protein Quinoa Almond Berry Salad (Vegan & GF)
Yield: 2-3 as a main, 4-6 as a side.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup dry quinoa
- 1 pint strawberries, sliced (2.5-3 cups)
- 16 oz. fresh blueberries (1.5-2 cups)
- 1 cup cherries, pitted and sliced
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice (or lemon might work!)
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1/2 cup almonds, chopped
Directions:
1. Cook quinoa according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, chop the fruit and place in a large bowl.
3. Mix the dressing ingredients (maple syrup, balsamic, lime juice, salt) in a small jar and adjust to taste if necessary. Note: You may have to double the dressing recipe if your salad is quite large.
4. Fluff cooked quinoa with a fork and add to large bowl with fruit. Combine. Pour on dressing and mix well. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge until serving time. Serves 2-3 as a main or 4-6 as a side. Or if you are reeeeally hungry 2 people!
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The fluffy quinoa soaked up the fruity flavour from the berries and dressing, making a party in my mouth. This would make a great fruit salad to bring to a summer BBQ or gathering. It’s also good for a light & summery breakfast or snack.
That is, if you can share after you taste it!
We each gobbled down a couple heaping plates worth and stared in disbelief at the bottom of the empty bowl.
Who stole our fruit salad?!
Til next time fruit salad, til next time.
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{ 147 comments… read them below or add one }
Love it! I’ll have to try this soon, quinoa is a poor girls best friend :)
hehe yup…esp when you buy it by the 25 lb bag! I have quinoa coming out of my ears.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/the-food-fad-thats-starving-bolivia-2248932.html
Hi Margaret – I read this article a while ago. I buy fair trade quinoa by Alter Eco – I’ve written about this in the past on the blog. Quinoa is not the only problem; many products like chocolate and coffee are often overlooked too. I support fair trade whenever there is an option and luckily there usually is in the grocery store. That being said, I believe in using a wide variety of grains and not rely on any one in particular. I might eat quinoa once or twice a month, at the absolute most.
this would make a perfect breakfast! i love adding almonds to salads because they give the perfect crunch.
love the photos of the waterfall- beautiful hike!
Fruit salad doesn’t last long in our house, either ;) Love the addition of balsamic!
Wow those pictures are amazing. The waterfall shot is breathtaking! I miss being in nature so much living in Manhattan.
Wow! Your hiking route looks beautiful! I think I might just print out the 2nd picture of the waterfall and frame it! It is SO pretty!
As for the salad, I only have one word…YUM! I’ve been in love with berries lately! Nothing like a fruit salad you can have for a meal! :-D
That scenery is gorgeous and this salad looks delicious!
My mom just became a vegetarian and she’ll love this–thanks!
I hope she enjoys it!
Oooh that looks so good. Quinoa is by far my favorite grain and I love the fruit-twist on it!
YUM! That looks so good. LOVED your hiking pictures, by the way!
The hike was SO scenic. I love the pictures.
This salad looks delicious! I’ve never thought of incorporating quinoa into my fruit salads! Love this idea.
Have a fantastic week!
This salad sounds so refreshing on a summer day. Love the idea of it! Your hike looks gorgeous!
This looks so pretty! And it sounds like you guys had a great time out hiking. It’s one of the things on my to-do list this summer for sure. Have a great day Ange!
Looks incredible! I’m in Prince Edward Island right now itchin for a way to use up these gorgeous island berries. perfection!
oh I love PEI!
This salad looks delicious- I’d eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
I love quinoa+fruit. This salad looks perfect! Your photos are amazing, too. :-)
Beautiful photos from your hike!! And I’m pretty sure your quinoa photos are just as beautiful ;)
I love salads with quinoa or wheatberries with fruit. This is beautiful!
I always plow through plain fruit salad because it never fills me up – and since berries can be kind of pricey, it’s great to have a way to make it more satiating and last longer. Sounds like the perfect summer recipe!
This looks fantastic :) Great idea!
I just picked some strawberries yesterday that are just burning a hole through my fridge to be used. This is such a good summery recipe, yum! I was wondering what lens you used on this hike, some pictures seem to be taken with a wide angled but others are great close ups! I loved them all.
Thanks! I used our canon 17-85mm lens. The close ups were just cropped in lightroom. :)
What a gorgeous hike!
The quinoa bowl is beautiful too. I love incorporating fresh fruit into my summer salads.
What a fun and healthy twist on the “traditional” fruit salad!
I’ve never had quinoa with fruit so I’ll definitely try this out ASAP.
I think this dish may also be quite convenient for a to-go meal (like for work, road trips, outdoor activities).
Taking pictures of waterfalls is so fun because you can play around with different effects :)
I love the waterfall photos, really beautiful! Great photography!!
THose pictures are breathtaking!! Definitely worth lugging the camera around!
Beautiful pictures and beautiful food! I am looking forward to making this soon! This would be great with a little pure almond extract too!
:)
mmm yes great idea!!
Beautiful pictures Angela! Looks like you guys had a great time, as soon as the weather starts shaping up around here I hope to get out and be adventerous too :)
Love the waterfall pics! I need to try this:)
How could you not love something so bright and colorful?! Looks like the perfect post-hike meal :)
Angela, looks like a wonderful hike. I love getting outside as much as possible this time of year. The fruity quinoa salad looks amazing!
Hiking is my favorite weekend activity – too bad I haven’t had a chance to get out for one yet this year!
That salad looks really delicious.
Your pictures are so gorgeous! They make me want to go hiking too!
I really need to try quinoa I’ve just been afraid to. I’m not sure how to prepare it/what to serve it with!
In addition to this being perfect for summer, the colors make it even more perfect for the 4th of July! Quinoa is one of my favorite grains. I love how it goes with absolutely everything. I should bring this over to the family BBQ on the 4th, and spruce up the food spread with a healthy dish! I love being the one who brings something healthy that everyone actually likes.
great idea!
That looks SOOO yummy! Gonna make that, for sure! :D
quinoa pairs so well with fruit. have you ever put dried figs in a quinoa salad? sooo good!
no I dont think I have but that sounds amazing! I love dried figs! Dates would be good too :)
I was just looking for green monster recipes, so the link comes in really handy :) thanks!
Your pictures are gorgeous! And that salad… mmmm!
Your waterfall pics are GORGEOUS! I love how you share the details about the camera speed/setting!! I don’t own a dslr….yet! Its definitely at the top of my Christmas list this year!!
Do you just top the salad with almonds or stir them into the dish???
The colors of the salad are very “Fourth of July”.
I love refreshing summer fruit salads!
Balsamic and strawberries is such a great combo.
Nice looking hike! My hike yesterday looked very different. We’re still playing in the snow!
LOVE THIS! I love incorporating summery foods into all my meals and this is the perfect way to do it! Too bad cherries are like 6.99 a lb at my grocery store right now….yikes!
It seems so backwards that I’m jealous of Ontario weather! We went on a VERY wet hike this weekend. Where is summer??
what a great way to use up the abundance of summer fruits I have in my fridge !
I love the looks of that salad! You are a genius.
Definitely worth taking the big camera! :) Looks beautiful!
That salad looks fantastic! :) On my way to check out the GMM site. I need some new flavor inspiration! lol.
Yum! That salad looks awesome! I love quinoa! Good way to amp up a fruit salad!
I was just creating a breakfast-quinoa recipe! i love your idea here with the almonds, cherries, and lime juice. :) Good idea for extra berries too.
What stunning Nature picutes too! I am glad it is warming up for you!
This looks absolutely amazing! As I write, Im enjoying a simple bowl of quinoa myself- sometimes that is all I need. I love quinoa, and pairing it with berries and balsamic sounds wonderful! And as you say, this would make a delicious breakfast too!
Oooh quinoa + berries?! I never would have thought of that but it looks like a winning combo! :)
Yea for berries :D I just whipped up your strawberry oat bars with some squishy local strawberries!! I like berries in quinoa too! just adds that POP of colour and taste.
Love the addition of quinoa to fruit salad! And what a beautiful looking hike! I wish I lived near trees and waterfalls :)
Yum, fruit salad with quinoa sounds awesome :D I love those pictures of the waterfall. What a perfect chance to experiment with shutter speed, thanks for sharing. I really need to do more of those kinds of experiments :D
Those pictures are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing the info on the waterfall pictures. I love looking at photography blogs and trying out the different settings on my camera :)
Looks like a nice place to hike, I’m in western Ontario…could you tell me where that waterfall is?
I will try the quinoa salad, see if the kids will like it with the berries!
I’m definitely making this salad ASAP! I plan on substituting the cherries for blackberries…then it will be my perfect sit-out-on-the-balcony-and-nosh meal =) Another winner from OSG (as usual)!
What a great hike! I know what you mean about all the mud. Our backyard is undeveloped (we just moved in last year) and we have the LARGEST mud pit. It’s horrible. Our German Shepperd got into the mud this weekend and then jumped in the car, silly Kevin for leaving the door open. I don’t think I have to finish the rest of that story… :|
I love the idea of amping up the nutrition content of fruit salad by adding cooked quinoa. Very nice!
So pretty! I wish I had berries here in France, but organic ones are literally nonexistent, sadly. And I miss quinoa, too. Thanks for posting such inspiring photos! :)
This looks so tasty and I love that it’s so easy to make!
Love the photos too!
I’m glad you lugged your camera on the hike, the photos are beautiful.
That looks great! Is it supposed to be served cold or warm?
Angela, your photos look post-card perfect.
Looks so so good and refreshing! Beautiful pics too =)
Angela the fruit salad looks awesome! Love the dressing you used…maple and lime and balsamic…mmmm, good! And that last pic, the blue bowl with those sticky bits of quinoa on it…if the goal of photography is to tell a story, you told a great one with that shot. I dig it.
And the waterfall/shutter speed pics. Very cool. Thanks for posting it. It’s way more dramatic to do shutter speed examples like that w/ waterfalls rather than the faucet and my kitchen sink. lol
:)
That is the most gorgeous salad ever!
Where did you go hiking?? I would love to check it out this weekend! So beautiful!
Hilton Falls…love!
Ohmygosh. A quinoa fruit salad? GENIUS!! I LOVE quinoa. I will definitely be trying this out! Thank you for another amazing recipe and for lots of fun pictures to look at as well! xo
Thanks for the photography tips I need to start utilizing my camera’s potential!
This salad looks SO good!! I will sure be trying out this recipe soon!!!
What a wonderful hike – and a wonderful way to use quinoa!
This looks wonderful, never tried quinoa in a sweet salad and I must! Thanks for the recipe.
that’s so interesting about the shutter speed! Love the photos, and nature ones are zee best! :)
I always save your posts until I have plenty of time to enjoy it! It’s one of my favorites to save. I love taking pictures of water with my camera and playing with shutter speeds. So fun and cool. I’ve been loving quinoa bowls too but I find the key is a good sauce!
Love the waterfall shots! Heck, I love all the shots! I’m hoping on getting a camera so I can just take beautiful pictures like yours and bother + annoy all my friends with it~!
I’m bookmarking the recipe, by the way ;)
This looks great!! I’ve often seen fruit and balsamic combined but never given a try
Looks awesome, both the salad and the hike! I wish we had some hills around here!
Ohhhh my world that looks heavenly! And perfect for all the freshly picked strawberries from this weekend!
Man, I am in a serious GREEN MONSTER withdrawal. Something needs to change ASAP!
I was thinking about your post of being in a rut and getting out of a rut. I’m in a rut…perhaps the GM will pull me out.
What a fabulous idea- it looks amazing!
Pretty hike! I feel like I’ve been there before… is that Hilton Falls?
Oh that looks so good! I bet that would make a great breakfast!
Please share where that beautiful waterfall is! I live in Ontario too and now I’m on a mission to go there! Lol
Hilton Falls :)
I have always wanted to try quinoa…will definitely be using this recipe, it looks great! Love your blog!
I will definitely be making this for an upcoming gathering! I love fruit salads. :-)
I love having quinoa like this for breakfast. I’ve made something like this with mangos. It was so good. The baslsamic vinegar intrigues me. I bet this tastes good
The pictures of the trees and waterfalls are stunning! I’m so jealous of your pretty, fancy camera. :-)
And the quinoa almond berry salad looks oh so delicious!
I absolutely LOVE those waterfall photos! It’s amazing what a difference a setting on a camera makes! Personally, my favorite is the first one. It really does look dreamy! I definitely am going to have to try the Quinoa Almond Berry Salad. All of my favorite things are in it!
Thank you!
Oh wow. Yum! What a great combination of flavours. Even though it’s winter here, I think I might try to re-create this soon :) Let’s hope I can make it work with frozen berries…
I’m originally from Ontario (I recently moved to Australia) and seeing the photos from your hike made me miss home! Beautiful! The quinoa salad looks so delicious! I just made your creamy avocado pasta tonight and it was so yummy. I’m happy I found your blog!!
After giving in to the green smoothies, I feel I should be eating anything and everything that you create. And this just looks beautiful!
Just out of curiosity, how long does it take you to set up for your “photo shoots” of fruit salad and other yummy things? It always looks lovely.
Where was your hike adventure located? … looks so organic!
What a great idea! I always wondered how quinoa would go as a breakfast item.. Will try this soooon!
I had plain cous cous for breakfast with tossed in blueberries and strawberriedswarmed with just a bit of maple syrup with magic mix of sprinkles on top ( almonds, sunflower, hemp, chia, flax seeds mixed and ground together) I really enjoyed it.
I made this quinoa/fruit delight this morning and had it for breakfast. Added some lemon zest to the dressing, too. OMG it was soooo good!! Thanks for the awesome idea! :)
I’ve never been to Hilton falls – would definitely like to! My dad, sister, and I tend to go to Rattlesnake Point for our hiking around here. Last time, we saw a bunch of people practicing rock climbing there. It’d be nice to see some falls this summer though, provided I can get my eating to a point that allows me to do some actual activity – and your quinoa fruit salad idea sounds like just the thing to help me along. (:
You’re such an inspiration!
This salad looks awesome! I have been making the same quinoa salad for a couple weeks and am sooooooo sick of it. I have cooked quinoa in my fridge and I’m going to try this one tonight!
I just put this salad together for a Summer Solstice celebration and it is FANTASTIC! Thank you for your wonderful recipes. More importantly, thank you for being an inspiration to live WHOLLY and FULLY!!!
made this and the strawberry almond soup for dinner. delish! thanks! do you mind if i post the recipes (with a link to your site) on our family’s recipe blog, greenereating.com?
Not all all…..go for it!
Oh my gosh- you have such beautiful scenery out there! I wish I had a waterfall to visit :) Love the salad recipe, too- so fresh and colorful!
Looks super…I love it when salads have lots of protein in them…true to my word, my last salad had quinoa in it, like you inspired me to do! ;)
OMG this salad was AMAZING! My boyfriend couldn’t stop raving about it! I’m looking forward to adding peaches to the mix when they are fresh here in Ontario :)
I made this on Tuesday and loved it! My friends loved it as well, and it was gone much too quickly! The cherries were rather expensive, but I’ll definitely be making it again – perhaps with some differents fruits to change it up a bit. Thank you!!!
I am making this tonight for book club… cannot wait to taste it!!
I just made this recipe for next week breakfasts in our house. I can’t stop eating it… it’s just SO good. It’s a keeper, that’s for sure. Thanks Angela for those amazing recipes.
OH MY GOSH. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED.
I have been looking for a quinoa berry recipe and I just bought all fresh berries today. I’m so excited I can’t even express it to you.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
enjoy!
My friend introduce me to your website. I just started including Quinoa into my diet. This is by far my fav recipe yet!
Thank you so much :)
glad to hear that! :)
I’m always looking for new ways to use quinoa, and this is perfect. I love every ingredient in this.
This berry quinoa salad is SOOOOO good! I have been eating it for breakfast and it is the perfect combination of protein and fruit. It easily holds me over until lunch. Now, I just need to buy up all the local, organic berries in central Illinois and freeze them so that I can make this in the winter :-)
So glad you enjoy it Brooke!
I hope to freeze lots of berries too…better get on that stat!
I made the berry quinoa salad (my first time ever cooking or eating quinoa!) last night. It is sooooooooo good! I might use the same basic idea and do some raspberries and peaches instead of the strawberries, cherries and blueberries next time just to change it up. Thank you SO much for posting this recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it Leanne :)
This is so good I can’t stand it. I had to halve the recipe because I didn’t have quite enough berries, and I am staring at an empty bowl in dismay right now. I whizzed up some dried cherries with water and used that to cook the quinoa, which gave another layer of cherry flavour to the salad.
Can anyone tell me why my quinoa looks tan in color and ‘gloppy’?
Made this for breakfast this morning – DELICIOUS! Will now be a huge morning staple!
Glad to hear that Lauren!
This was absolutely amazing!!! Thank you so much for this yummy and super healthy recipe!
I just made this and before beginning I was a little skeptical of mixing the balsamic with maple syrup but it is absolutely delicious! I would never think to mix quinoa with fruit but I love it! I can’t wait to share it with my family, thanks so much!
just wanted you to know I made this for a 4th of july cookout, using raspberries and blackberries in lieu of the blueberries and cherries, and it was AWESOME. fantastic recipe!
Glad to hear that Jules!
Do you think agave would work in place of the maple syrup?? I’m about to make this for a 4th of July bbq and don’t have any syrup!! oh no!!
I made this using leftover coconut quinoa (using coconut milk, water, and coconut). I used agave nectar instead of the maple syrup. YUMMO! Thanks for posting the recipe. I was getting tired of eating leftover coconut quinoa, so this came at a wonderful time to try it out.
I made this fruit salad yesterday and it is just awesome! The recipe really makes a big bowl, and I am happy for that, lol. I wasn’t sure how the addition of balsamic vinegar would taste with the maple syrup, but it really works. I’ll definately be making this again :) Thanks for the recipe!
I just made this recipe. Unfortunately I did not have all the fresh fruit on hand, but I did have dried blueberries, cherries and cranberries. It turned out delicious. I Can’t wait to try it with the fresh fruit. The dressing is a perfect sweet and savory mix with the balsamic vinegar.
This was absolutely delicious and so refreshing! For the first time, I finally cooked the quinoa to perfection. Everything turned out great.
Thak you for sharing tis wonderful recipe. I by chance had all of the ingredients in house and made it late last night. Yummy! I am not a maple syrup lover so I was unsure. I had a pure jar of maple syrup in the cupboard use for this. It was perfect and not overwhelmingly maple. this will be my new goto dish to bring places. thank you for sharing.
I made this for dinner tonight. It was wonderful. Thank you.
The recipe looks delicious! Would you happen to know how many grams of protein are in the recipe. According to Kashi, I need 84g of protein and quinoa would give me a big boost! God Bless!
Just pinned this! Never thought about doing fruit with quinoa.
This looks amazing. I”m going to have to try it this summer. I’m trying to get my kids out of a cereal rut.
Made this last night for my wife and I. AMAZING! You’re a food genius!
Not a fan of cherries..what can I sub them with since its 1 cup or just leave it out?
I searched for a recipe to use quinoa with and made this one. Very good. I love simple recipes that are full of flavor. Thank you!