This recipe was featured in the video above, “Low Calorie, High Protein Vegan Recipes”. Watch the video and scroll down below for the written recipe.

 

This Quinoa & Kale salad is an amazing low calorie, high protein vegan dish that is flavourful, delicious and packed full of super foods. You can have it as a meal because it is still filling thanks to the quinoa and dressing being protein rich. I also like to keep it in my fridge for a few days and eat it for a few days as a side to many of my meals.

You can, of course, customize the dressing or anything else, for that matter, to suit your needs. I wanted to make a peanut butter dressing but wanted to add some more healthy fats and protein in it, which is why I added the tahini.

Because this is so packed full of vitamin-rich vegetables, I feel like you can eat a giant plate of this and have 0 guilt whatsoever. It also takes a while to eat because of the crunchy vegetables (kale, broccoli) so you really have to chew! This is great for those of us (including myself) that like to eat super quickly. Eating fast is not good for weight-loss because your body takes around 20 minutes to realize it’s full! So if you eat super fast, then you’re not letting your body realize that it’s eaten enough so you may end up eating a lot more than you needed to.

I feel like this is a big reason why salads tend to be such a great addition to a meal (if not an actual meal). Don’t get me wrong – I’m definitely not someone that eats salad as a meal on a regular basis. But if I do, it probably will look something like this!

Watch the video above and scroll down for the written recipe.

 

Quinoa & Kale Salad With Peanut Tahini Dressing (Vegan & Gluten-Free Option)

Ingredients (2 servings):

• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 cups of chopped kale (stems cut off)
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 cup chopped broccoli
• Dressing:
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 2 tbsp powdered peanut butter (or regular peanut butter – powdered peanut butter has less fat)
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 tbsp soy sauce or gluten-free equivalent

Instructions: 

1. Add chopped kale into a large mixing bowl along with lemon juice and salt and massage the kale with your hands until the leaves become more tender and darker green.
2. Add in the quinoa and chopped broccoli and mix.
3. In a smaller bowl, add in the dressing ingredients and mix until well-combined.
4. Add in the dressing (as much or as little as you wish) and toss.
5. Enjoy!!!