Danielle's Red Quinoa

Today's Eat-Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook guest blogger is Danielle (Dani) Felip. She is a Certified Personal Trainer (Can-Fit-Pro Level 1) and is studying Applied Holistic Nutrition at the Institute of Holistic Nutrition in Toronto, Canada.  She changed her life by changing her diet and lifestyle to a whole-foods, plant-based diet and aims to educate and inspire others to empower themselves to make conscious choices with what they eat and how they live. Known for looking on the bright side of life and, her mantra is “be the change”, it’s even tattooed on her arm as a reminder to herself and those around her! Motivating others to be fit, happy and healthy is Dani’s passion with a special interest in the areas of mental health, sports nutrition and plant-based diets.

A few years ago, a friend showed me a picture of herself standing beside a beautiful, fit blond.  I asked who she was and my friend replied, “that’s Tosca Reno, my idol.”  Since then, Tosca has become my idol too.  My friends and I looked to her for motivation and inspiration and would share recipes from all of Tosca’s Eat-Clean books.  

As a nutritionist, I love the Eat-Clean movement, as a vegetarian I would often flip through the Eat-Clean Series wishing for more veg-friendly recipes.  Well my prayers were answered when I found out that Tosca Reno had written the Eat-Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook.  This cookbook is filled with healthy, Clean recipes I feel confident about making for myself and recommending to others.

There is somewhat of a belief that if you give up eating meat, you need to fill that void with processed, refined and unnatural foods to substitute for protein.  However this is not true!  There are so many clean and good for you sources of protein such as tempeh, free-run organic eggs, hemp and chia seeds, quinoa and Greek yogurt.  Protein powders have come a long way as well; two of my favourite brands are Vega and Sunwarrior which are vegan friendly and boast a substantial amount of protein per serving.

It’s easy to forget that green vegetables are a source of protein as well as being packed full of fiber to help keep you feeling full and regular as well as many micronutrients such as calcium, iron and vitamin C.  All are needed to create a healthy, strong body!

Give this clean protein-packed salad a try!

Red Quinoa with Spinach, Apple, Cranberries, Walnuts and Goat Cheese

Ingredients
1/2 cup red quinoa, cooked according to directions
1/2 apple, chopped (I used a delicious Honeycrisp)
1/4 cranberries (fresh not dried, sure they’re tart but cranberries are supposed to be)
1/2 cup spinach, chiffonade
2 tbsp walnuts, chopped
goat cheese (I used about 1/4” round and chopped it into cubes)
Dressing
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp raw honey
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cumin

Methods
1. Assemble all ingredients into bowl and mix.
2. In separate bowl, combine dressing ingredients and whisk.  Add dressing to quinoa mixture, mix again.
3. Divide and serve.