I try to use what I already have as much as possible although sticking to my goal of 10 different fruits and vegetables each day does keep me popping into the market often for produce. 

I mentioned yesterday, that my family has this crazy schedule this year. Often when I make a thoughtful dinner at night, my youngest daughter and I are the only ones who are home to eat it. I usually am sending leftovers the next day for either lunches or dinners for both of my kids and my husband. This is an example of one of those types of meals. 

I have had a hard time getting my youngest daughter (11) to eat quinoa and kale.. Although she's noticing that her taste buds are changing, I try to approach a dinner where I know she'll like a good portion of it and then try what she's unsure about. I made a big batch of the salad for the family and I also made an organic whole wheat pasta with organic tomato sauce as a bit of a backup. I'll have enough leftovers for the next couple of days so everyone can grab something. I removed all the stems on the kale and sliced it super thin so it camouflaged with the romaine. It worked, so don't tell her. :) The main salad dressing is tahini based. I know that both of my daughters don' t like it. I offered them the option of squeezing lemon on their salads with hummus on the side.My youngest daughter did in fact each most of the salad too! It turns out she likes it if there is hummus.

Serves 4-6

1 cup cooked organic quinoa (Costco has the best price)

2 cups shredded organic romaine lettuce

1-2 cups organic, stems removed super thinly sliced kale. 

Small orange bell pepper chopped

2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes halved

3/4 cup organic chickpeas drained and rinsed.

1/2 container the bridge tofu 

Dressing:

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup tahini (raw if you can get it)

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp water

1 pitted date

Options:

Hummus

Falafels 

Lemon juice

Salt & Pepper to taste

Arrange the chopped vegetables  and chickpeas in a large salad bowl. Leave the cooked quinoa aside. Cut the tofu into 2 slices. Heat an iron skillet to medium/high heat. I use avocado oil to lightly coat the pan so it won't stick. Cook for 2 minutes each side and cut into cubes. Set aside.  A healthier option is to steam the tofu. Cut it into squares before steaming 2 minutes.  Once the tofu has cooled a little add it to the salad bowl. 

Make the dressing. Add all ingredients into a high speed blender until smooth. 

To serve add the salad mix and then desired amount of quinoa to an individual serving bowl. Add 1/4 of the dressing and mix. Alternatively use hummus and lemon and if you don't like tofu use a store bought falafel. Please note that in order to keep the salad from wilting, I keep the quinoa and the salad dressing separate when I store it an assemble separately the next day. Enjoy!