Today please welcome Christy from The Blissful (& Fit) Chef!
I’ve known Christy for quite a while and have, from my very first review of her ebooks back in 2010, loved her recipes. You might also remember Christy from the review I did of her stellar cookbook, Blissful Bites, or the recent “Six Degrees” post in which she shared the incredible Oil-Free Carrot Hummus pictured below. In recent years, Christy has begun a new chapter in her wellness journey with work as a fitness trainer. Go, Christy!
Today, Christy has dropped by with yet another wonderful recipe for RH readers while I continue to ease back into blogging (I’m working on my next Hippocrates post–coming up!). It features one of my favorite foods, quinoa. Hope you enjoy!
Coming from Texas, I consider chipotle peppers are kind of a thing. And for good reason. They add a smoky, slightly spicy, rich, and deep umami flavor to dishes. They are good used in sauces, soups, chili, and even dressings. I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t actually know that chipotle peppers are ripened jalapenos that have been smoked. The spicy hot green peppers known as jalapenos are picked before they are completely ripe (thanks Wikipedia). Once fully ripened they turn red and are left on the bush as long as possible till they lose moisture and start to shrivel up. Then they are moved to smoking chambers and turned into the delicious chipotles we know and love.
I used to call myself the “Wimpiest Texan in Texas” because I couldn’t handle any kind of spice. No jalapenos, no sriracha, no chili sauce. It wasn’t until I traveled around Southeast Asia that I started to build my tolerance for spicy food. Now I can pour sriracha all over my plate with the best of them. Raw jalapenos still elude me and make my whole face burn in pain, but there isn’t a chili sauce I haven’t met and loved since my travels.
Chipotle isn’t that spicy though, so even the wimps can handle it. This recipe is a great way to dress up leftover grains. If you are anything like me you batch cook quinoa on Sunday and have it in the fridge at the ready. I do that with beans as well (cooked from scratch in my pressure cooker). So throw this together and let me know what you think!
Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Creamy Chipotle Dressing
Makes 2 to 3 servings
For the Salad:
1 cup (240 ml) cooked quinoa
1 cup (240 ml) chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup (120 ml) cooked black beans
Handful chopped cilantro
1/2 cup (120 ml) Creamy Chipotle Dressing (below)
For the Creamy Chipotle Dressing:
1/2 cup (120 ml) raw cashews with 1/4 cup (60 ml) goji berries, soaked in filtered water for 2 hours
2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce [for ACD: be sure there is no sugar in ingredients!]
2 Tbsp (30 ml) lime juice
1 Tbsp (15 ml) apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp (15 ml) nutritional yeast [can substitute with 2 tsp miso paste for early stages of ACD]
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) garlic powder
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) cumin
1/2 (2.5 ml) fine sea salt
Dash liquid smoke
Black pepper, to taste
Place cooked and cooled quinoa and remaining salad ingredients except dressing, in a medium bowl and stir to combine.
To make the dressing, drain water from cashews and goji berries. Place them in blender with the remaining dressing ingredients and blend until smooth and no chunks remain. Season with salt and pepper, as needed.
Fold 1/2 cup (120 ml) or more, to taste of dressing in with the salad ingredients until everything is well coated. Season to taste. Save dressing in a glass container in the fridge up to 7 days (it’s great on tacos!).
Suitable for: ACD Maintenance and beyond, sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free, soy-free, nut free, vegan, low glycemic.
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Christy Morgan, known as The Blissful (& Fit) Chef, has been tantalizing taste buds for years as a vegan chef, cooking instructor, food writer, and cookbook author. Christy’s mission is to show that a whole foods vegan diet can be delicious, easy and will bring more energy and bliss into your life! It wasn’t until 2013 that she became obsessed with fitness and is now a certified personal trainer spreading the message that you can be strong (and sexy!) with a plant-based diet. She can show you how to reach all your health and fitness goals to reach optimal health!
Christy has been seen on VegNews.com, One Green Planet, Daily Candy, Fox Good Day, From A to Vegan, and is a guest on numerous radio shows and podcasts including Martha Stewart Living Radio, Vegan World Radio, and the Dr. Don Show. Check out her new online magazine for plant-powered women, Definition Magazine.
Find out more at TheBlissfulChef.com. Be sure to follow her on Facebook – Twitter – Instagram.
Hi! I'm Ricki, cookbook author, professional recipe developer, holistic nutritionist and anti-candida crusader. Let me show you how easy it is to eat plant-based, sugar-free, gluten free food that tastes great! 
Great to see Christy here- I’m a long-time reader of the Blissful Chef and am so enjoying following Christy’s fitness journey on instagram too.
This salad looks perfect and so easy!
Thanks, Emma! Yes, so easy–and the flavors work so well together, too! 🙂
Hey Emma! <3 We need to find a way to work together!
Sounds delicious! I haven’t been able to find canned chipotles without additional unhealthy ingredients, so I would just sub dried chipotle powder in this recipe.
Good idea, Stephanie! Thanks. 🙂
It adds to the creaminess of the dressing so you may need to make a few adjustments. But definitely let me know how it works out!
is there any substitute you could recommend for the goji berries? I live in a small town and can’t easily buy them, but otherwise have a well-stocked pantry.
It would probably be fine if you left them out completely. There isn’t really anything you can substitute for it by try one medjool date chopped.