Super grain salad

  
Hi everyone,

Today I have a very nice and simple recipe for a salad that will not leave you hungry like your usual chicken cesar! It includes 4 very popular items you can find on the healthy foods shelve in your local supermarket.   

Bulgur wheat – high in iron increases the level of oxygen in your blood 

Quinoa -this high protein seed contains magnesium, calcium and a lot of fiber 

Wild rice – rich in vitamin B supports your metabolism 

Ming beans – they are similar to lentils and are a great source of protein, fiber and antioxidants.   

This is a very easy salad that is perfect not only for lunch when you are dieting  but also makes a great side dish to any barbecue in the summer. The grains have different cooking time so it’s important you cook them in the order suggested in this recipe. I always cook them in one pot so there is a lot less washing up to do and since all of them will end up in the same salad there is really no point in cooking them separately 

I also don’t use salt for cooking the grains as we are going to season it anyway. 

  
Just to add some extra protein to this nutritious plate, on this occasion I served it with turkey skewers. The meat was marinated for few hours in a marinade made with sesame seed oil, garlic, fresh thyme, dried chilli and lemon juice.

 Ingredients:

Salad:

• 2 tablespoons of mung beans 
• 2 tablespoons of wild rice 
• 2 tablespoons of quinoa 
• 2 table spoons of bulgur wheat
• Half of cucumber (pealed and diced)
• 2 vine tomatoes tomatoes (diced)
• 1 small red onion (diced)
• 1 red pepper (diced)
• 1 yellow pepper (diced) 
• Bunch Flat leaf parsley (chopped) 

Dressing:

• Lemon juice 
• Extra virgin olive oil 
• Salt and pepper 

Method:

1. Fill a medium pan with water and bring to boil. Firstly add mung beans and cook for 6 minutes on a medium heat then add wild rice and after 5 minutes add quinoa and after another 6 minutes add bulgur wheat. Cook all together for maximum of 5 minutes. You want them to be cooked but not mushy. Drain and leave on the sive.
2. While your grains are cooking start chopping all the vegetable and mix together in large bowl. Add the grains once cooked and still warm and mix well. It will soften the peppers and onion. Add parsley at the end 
3. Add salt, pepper, lemon juice and few splashes of extra virgin olive oil. Mix it all up and serv with your choice of meat or fish.