This Beet Quinoa Salad with goat cheese, apples, and walnuts is as tasty as it is delicious! It is a beautiful side dish or vegetarian main course.
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Love Beets for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Don’t you just love beets? If you can believe it, I never tasted them until I was grown but it was love at first bite.
The thing is, as much as I love them I don’t use them all that often. I am a train wreck when it comes to making messes in the kitchen as it is, but give me a beet to scrub and there are stains everywhere. Since with three kids I have enough messes to clean up after, I tend to stay away from them.
That’s why when Love Beets asked me if I wanted to try their all natural, freshly cooked and flavor-infused beets I jumped at the opportunity. Beets minus the mess is a real win for me!
These beets are gluten free, certified Kosher and contain no artificial colors or preservatives. Some of them are certified organic and they are working toward non-GMO certification on all of the products. (YAY!)
They sent me several varieties to try and I’ve got to say - I loved them all. I think my favorite were the Baby Beets Infused with While Wine and Balsamic Vinegar and the Baby Beets Dipped in Sweetfire Marinade.
In addition to the great flavor, I love the health benefits of beets. Some of you already know that I was diagnosed with Stage 3 hypertension in my early 30’s and turned to healthy eating as a way to cure it. (It worked!)
Beets contain both nitrate and Potassium which work in the body to lower blood pressure. Along with sodium, Potassium works to steady the volume of blood in circulation. When you have more sodium in your body, it means more blood volume, more water and higher blood pressure. Potassium helps to flush the sodium out of your system and in doing so lowers your blood pressure.
The natural nitrates in beets are converted by the body into nitrites. Some of these are converted into nitric oxide which improves blood flow, lowers blood pressure and promotes vasodilatation (the widening of blood vessels).
By widening blood vessels and increasing the blood flow, beets help to reduce the oxygen need by muscles. This enables them to work more efficiently. So, if you are interested in increasing exercise performance or stamina and allow your muscles to perform the same amount of work with less oxygen, beets are a great addition to your diet.
In honor of February being Heart Health Month, Love Beets’ Beet the Odds Facebook promotion is a sweepstakes to raise awareness of the heart health benefits of beets.
They will be posting 4 Love Beets beet recipes and ask fans to share their favorite in order to receive a free product coupon and be entered in a sweeps for a chance to win a grand prize. Even better, every time you share the giveaway with a friend you get an additional entry.
The grand prize includes a years supply of Love Beets (26 free product vouchers) and a free nutrition/healthy living consultation with nutritionist and cookbook author Ellie Krieger.
So head over their Beet the Odds page and vote for your favorite recipe! You will get a product coupon and who knows? You may be the lucky grand prize winner.
When you are done with that come back and make this salad - it is my latest obsession.
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Beet Quinoa Salad
Beet Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 8 oz beets roasted and grated or sliced thin
- 1 small Granny Smith apple diced
- 2 ounces goat cheese crumbled or nut cheese (optional)
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1/4 cup walnuts toasted
- Dressing
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine quinoa, beets, apple, goat cheese, cranberries and parsley.
- Make dressing by combining vinegar, mustard, maples syrup, sea salt and pepper in a blender. Add olive oil in a steady stream and process until smooth. Toss quinoa mixture with desired amount of dressing. Top with walnuts and serve.
Shannon Graham
I don't think I have ever had goat cheese!
Sarah
Delish! I used golden beets and some cilantro with the parsley. Wonderful-tasting and visually-appealing salad! Thanks for the recipe.
Wendy Polisi
So glad you enjoyed it Sarah! I will have to try this with golden beets. I bet I will love it.
Sheila
Made this using the Love's beets and we loved it!! I will half the recipe next time as I am only feeding two but it was good as left overs too. It is visually appealing and deliciously refreshing.
Wendy Polisi
So glad you enjoyed it! Aren't Love's beets amazing?!
LynnNM
Easy, delicious and healthful, too! We love this recipe!
Wendy Polisi
So glad that you enjoyed it!