Want to take a break from kale? Give chard a chance. It’s a nutritious green and makes a great warm salad. I made this super easy warm chard-red quinoa salad in less than 15 minutes for a quick lunch. Its loaded with garlic and I topped it with tomatoes to add some freshness. You can add other veggies for more color and taste, add an egg, grilled tofu…this has endless possibilities!
Ingredients
1 bunch rainbow chard (about 2 cups chopped)
1 large garlic clove – minced (about 1 tsp minced)
pinch of salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, or to taste
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Protein add-ins
cooked red quinoa (my favorite!)
chickpeas
boiled, poached or sunny side up egg
grilled tofu
Grated Parmesan (Oh yes, I did. I did just count cheese as my protein. 1 tbsp has ~2 grams of protein! It’s not much but every little bit counts. Oh and did I mention that I love cheese?
Freshness
cucumbers
tomatoes
Steps
- Cut off the stems from the chard leaves and chop the leaves into medium size pieces.
- Heat extra virgin olive oil in a small non-stick pan on medium-low heat.
- Add garlic and cook for a minute, be sure to not let the garlic burn/turn brown, you may need to lower the heat a bit.
- Add the chopped chard, salt, crushed red pepper and mix well. Cook for about 5 minutes. Taste the chard to test for doneness. You want it to be a bit crunchy, wilted chard won’t be so appetizing if you’re eating it solo.
- Add the cooked quinoa and mix well.
- Top it with tomatoes.
Prep time 10 minutes | Cooking time ~5 minutes | Serves 1-2
