This is a delicious fruity quinoa salad recipe perfect for summer or autumn when plums are in season. It is extremely easy and cheap to make and great for all the family.
If you follow Slimming World, Weight Watchers (WW), Noom (paid link) or any other weight loss plan you can usually count this as free or easily within your allowances, of course always check your plan for advice.
Should you have this quinoa salad recipe hot or cold?
This is a great recipe because it is delicious both hot and cold. This makes it a great lunch to take to work for your lunch the day after enjoying it for your dinner.
Lunches can be so difficult for work if you do not have access to a microwave and don’t fancy taking a flask. Check out all these other ideas here.
Just Average Jen is an independent blog. It is not connected with any weight loss plan. The reader is responsible for checking nutritional values, Slimming World syns and WW points. Information given is approximate to the best of my knowledge.
What makes this quinoa salad perfect on Slimming World
If you follow Slimming World you will know that cooked fruits are synned, but don’t panic. Even when you syn the fruit you still have a tasty low syn meal that is perfect for a Slimming World lunch or main meal.
Quinoa is a really healthy grain with so many benefits, that combined with the vegetables and chickpeas in this recipe means you really have an amazing plate of nutrients.
The only syns are in the cooked plum which is minimal and you will love the recipe so much you don’t mind. It is a great way to enjoy the seasonal autumn fruit too.
Adaptions you could make to this recipe
If you enjoy this recipe and fancy making a few adaptions to it here are some great ways you could alter it to be a little different with the same delicious flavours.
Adding 50g of whole almonds to the recipe at the same time as the chickpeas is a great addition to this recipe. These organic Sicilian almonds would be perfect but if you have any almonds in the cupboard they will do the job too. 50g of almonds is 15 syns if you are a Slimming World follower so around 4 syns a portion. Alternatively, double the weight of almonds and count 25g per person as your healthy extra b choice.
If you would like to add a dressing to this recipe a simple olive oil dressing would be perfect. If you follow Slimming World you would need to count the syns though. A simple recipe is 3 tbsp olive oil, tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp dijon mustard then seasoned as required. This would make enough for 4 portions to have a drizzle on and works out as 18.5 syns in total and 4.5 syns each.
The choice is yours whether these adaptations would suit you. Why not give them a try and see what you think?
Other recipes you may enjoy
I have quite a few quinoa recipes you will love including a quinoa breakfast bowl, quinoa burgers and even quinoa stuffed peppers. This salad is by far my favourite though!
If you are looking for new lunch recipes then I have a whole 4-week meal plan full of lunches here. Alternatively, check out my lunch directory here.
If you are vegan or vegetarian and are looking for new meal ideas do check these other recipes.
Fellow blogger Terri has shared lots of plum based recipes to help you out if you have a plum tree! I love plums!
I have a lot of weight loss guides and support if you want to exercise including if you have a condition like fibromyalgia.
Have a good look around and see how I can help you achieve your weight loss goals. Request my free resources to get you started too!
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Delicious easy fruity roast plum, sweet potato and quinoa salad family recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 MInutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 Portions 1x
- Category: Main Meal
- Method: Hob and oven
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
Delicious fruity roast plum, sweet potato and quinoa salad which is really easy to make for all the family to enjoy and tasty whether hot or cold so perfect for a packed lunch.
Ingredients
120g Dry Quinoa
600ml Boiling water
6 plums (stones removed and quartered)
400g Sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
300g can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1.5 tsp Cumin seeds
1.5 tsp Balsamic vinegar
150g Baby spinach
Olive low-calorie cooking spray
Instructions
Preheat oven to 200°c/Gas 6
Cook the quinoa using the boiling water then strain and set aside
Using a large oven dish roast the sweet potato chunks sprayed well with olive oil low-calorie cooking spray for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and add the rinsed chickpeas, cumin seeds, plum quarters, balsamic vinegar and stir to mix the flavours then return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.
Stir the cooked quinoa and raw baby spinach into the plum mixture and serve hot. Alternatively leave to cool and serve cold.
Notes
It is best used within 48 hours of cooking.
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About Author
Hi, I’m Jen Mellor; I live in Nottingham, UK. and use my knowledge and experience in weight loss and confidence to help you become your own cheerleader and best friend. I am usually seen wearing colourful leggings and love to wear bright colours. Wear what you love, and be proud of your style and choices!
I don’t mean to be rude but I think somewhere the quantities are off… I made it for one and have literally three times as much as I could manage. Plus it needs more flavour somewhere as it was so bland…I ended up spraying it with the Heinz dressings (low syn) to add some sort of flavour. Had been looking forward to this all day and am really disappointed…sorry
This does state it is a recipe for 4 so I’m not sure whether you followed the above recipe and thought it would be for one or reduced the quantities?
I’d honestly never thought about adding plums to a salad before – wow – they tasted great. Will defo have this again!