Quick Recipe: (Choose Your Own) Bean and Grain Salad

What do you do when you need to get out of the house quickly and there is nothing to pack for lunch?  Easy!  Super quick, bean and grain salad.  The boys and I were headed out for errands and the library this morning, and I knew we wouldn’t be back in time for lunch, so I needed to pack something quickly.  Usually I will grab some leftovers or veggies and dip, fruit,  etc.. but that was not an option.  So I went to my plan B.  Plan B never fails me.

I had some plain quinoa in the fridge that I had made a couple days ago without any specific intention.  I grabbed a can of Eden Organic’s black eye’d peas, a can of sliced olives, my favorite Annie’s salad dressing, a couple green onions, and an avocado.  Mixed it all together and it was delicious!  I actually ate it for breakfast and lunch.  The boys loved it too, they love anything with black olives in it.  It’s one of those magic foods that makes anything taste great.  But, a warning to anyone with kids.  When serving them quinoa, be prepared for a mess.  Those little grains go everywhere.  They are so small even the dog doesn’t think they are worth licking up.

This is a super easy salad that can be duplicated in SO. MANY. WAYS.

Choose Your Own Grain and Bean Salad

3-4 cups of cooked grain (millet, brown rice, buckwheat, quinoa, etc)

1  15oz can of beans (black, navy, kidney, aduki, garbonzo, etc) **

Salad dressing of your choice, amount to taste (make your own, or use your favorite bottled brand)

1/2 – 1 cup of extras, depending on your taste (artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, black or green olives)

fresh veggies – as much or as little as you like (bell peppers, green onions, diced carrots, cucumber, celery, finely sliced kale, chopped spinach, tomato, avocado)

Mix everything together, add salt and pepper if necessary, and enjoy!

**I recommend Eden Organic brand for canned beans.  They are processed in a gluten free facility and their cans are BPA free.