Notes:

• To make 1 cup of cooked quinoa, place ½ cup quinoa and 1 cup water in a saucepan, cover with a lid and place over high heat. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes until quinoa is tender but still has a bit of a bite to it. Remove from the heat and set aside to steam for 5-10 minutes, then cool before using in the salad. 

• You could use some canned baby beetroot instead of fresh – simply drain well and roughly chop. 

• Precook a big batch of quinoa and store in an air tight container in the fridge to cut down on prep time during the week. Cooked quinoa will store in the fridge for 3-4 days. It also freezes well after cooking – simply defrost for an easy meal addition for another day. 

• Need some chicken? You could add some cooked shredded chicken to this salad. 50g will provide about 10g of protein and 200kJ.

• Use pumpkin or sunflower seeds in place of the almonds, or use another type of nut such as walnuts or cashews. 

• You could pack this salad into a jar for on easy lunch on-the-go – to put it together, add the dressing in the bottom and top with the beetroot then carrot and quinoa. Add other ingredients on top, and when ready to eat transfer to a bowl, or mix well within the jar (if large enough to do so).  

• To cut down on cook time, you could replace the quinoa with a microwavable pre-cooked quinoa and brown rice sachet from the supermarket. 

• If there are no avocados available (or they’re just far too expensive!!) serve with ¼ cup natural unsweetened Greek yoghurt instead.