Living La Vida Holoka


Quinoa and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Chicken

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If you’re looking for an easy weeknight meal or holiday side with lots of fall flavor and crunch, this Quinoa and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Chicken is it!


With the holidays just around the corner, I’ve been trying my best to eat wholesome meals and keep healthier snacks in the house. It’s not always easy to make better choices.  Especially with leftover Halloween candy (we didn’t get ANY trick-or-treaters this year) and heavier holiday dishes being tested in our kitchen.

Thankfully, my efforts to eat better before I gorge myself on our holiday feast has allowed me to eat the seasonal fruits and veggies that I enjoy so much. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – I love fall produce! 

Currently, I’m all about fresh Brussels sprouts.  My mom got me into Brussels sprouts when I was younger.  She used to buy the frozen kind that comes in a light sauce.  No one else in the house ate them besides us and I never really understood why.  I just love these little cabbages!  


Once upon a time, Brussels sprouts got a pretty bad rap.  So I’m so happy to see them standing out in more recipes these days – like this recipe! I made this Quinoa and Brussels Sprouts Salad for the first time last year.  It was easy to put together and it’s full of so many great fall flavors.  It’s a quick weeknight meal that’s filling and made with wholesome ingredients.

A Quick and Easy Weeknight Meal or Holiday Side Dish!

 
Quinoa is also one of those foods that I’ve come to truly love.  It’s delicious on its own, but I like using it to bulk up my salads.  Not only does quinoa keep you full and satisfied, but it’s a great source of protein and antioxidants.  Use it in place of rice in your dishes!

I would even go so far to say that if you ditch the chicken, you could probably pass this salad off as a holiday side!  It’s quick, easy, and all you would have to cook is the quinoa and bacon! 

Want to really make things easy on yourself?  Use Success’s Quinoa Boil-in-Bag.  Just drop the bag in boiling water and you’ll have cooked quinoa in minutes!  Plus, it’s just enough quinoa needed to make this salad!

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Quinoa and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Chicken

Quinoa and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Chicken

Ingredients

  • 3 cups fresh Brussels sprouts, grated
  • 1 bag of Success Quinoa Boil-in-Bag, or 1 1/2 cups tricolor quinoa
  • 1 lb. chicken tenderloins
  • 4 slices of bacon, chopped
  • 1/4 cup red onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup pecan pieces
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • Crumbled herb & garlic goat cheese, or cheese of your choice
  • Optional: Cranberry Pear balsamic dressing

Instructions

  1. Prepare the quinoa according to package. Once the quinoa is cooked, allow it to cool.
  2. While the quinoa is cooking, heat a skillet and add the bacon. Cook the bacon until crispy, about 5-8 minutes. Drain bacon on a paper towel.
  3. Wipe out the pan and add the chicken tenders. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until no longer pink in the middle.
  4. In a large bowl, add the shaved Brussels sprouts, quinoa, bacon, onions, pecans, and cranberries. Mix to combine ingredients.
  5. Top with chicken and crumbled goat cheese.
  6. Serve with your favorite fall dressing!
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This was another one of those recipes that I wasn’t sure if my husband would enjoy. Turns out, he thought it was “really, really good.”  I mean, what’s not to like about a big salad made with a bunch of fall flavors like shaved Brussels sprouts, quinoa, cranberries, and pecans? 

We topped our salad with a Cranberry Pear White Balsamic from a local artisan oil and balsamic vinegar shop.  Drizzle it with your favorite dressing and enjoy a truly delicious and filling fall salad!

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If you like this recipe, you might enjoy these as well:

Caprese Style Quinoa Salad

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This Caprese Style Quinoa Salad is a great way to use up garden tomatoes! It’s a healthy and delicious dish that’s full of traditional Caprese salad flavor!


Holy grape tomatoes, Batman!  Our grape tomato plant is popping like crazy right now and taking over our garden!  I’ve been dehydrating the majority of our tomatoes to make homemade sun-dried tomatoes and the rest have gone into salads.  It’s like we blink and all of a sudden there’s a whole new batch of tomatoes to pick!  I’m not actually complaining.  I love these sweet, little tomatoes!  They’re my “garden candy!”  But I had to think of another way to use them.

I’ve been slicing up our meaty beefsteak tomatoes in Caprese salads.  Caprese salad will forever be one of my favorite summer salads.  It’s so fresh, really easy to make, and best when made with tomatoes and basil straight from the garden.  This year, I’ve become a huge fan of quinoa salads, too.  Quinoa makes such an awesome base for salads.  It’s a superfood that’s high in protein and fiber, and works well in so many dishes!  So I figured, what better way to use up some our grape tomatoes than in a Caprese Style Quinoa Salad?!


This salad goes way beyond a basic Caprese salad.  Traditional Caprese Salad is sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil with a drizzle of good olive oil.  It’s a simple salad, but full of fresh flavor.  This quinoa salad recipe includes all of those ingredients, but we brought a few friends to the party, too! 

Even though quinoa is already high in protein and fiber, I love to add chickpeas to my quinoa salads.  They’re a match made in health food heaven! I also had some black olives in the fridge to use, so I sliced them up and tossed them in.  We have red onions growing in our garden, as well, so I diced one up and added it, too!  

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Caprese Style Quinoa Salad

Caprese Style Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rainbow quinoa
  • 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 1/2 cups mini fresh mozzarella pearls
  • 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
  • 2/3 cup red onion, diced
  • 1/3 cup black olives, sliced
  • 2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 tbsp. prepared pesto
  • 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • Optional: red pepper flakes
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Cook quinoa according to package. Once cooked, spoon quinoa into a large bowl and set aside to cool.
  2. Add chickpeas, mozzarella, tomatoes, onion, olives, and basil to the bowl.
  3. In a small bowl, stir together the lemon juice, peso, and olive oil. Add a pinch of red pepper, if desired.
  4. Pour pesto mixture into the quinoa bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Stir to combine and serve immediately.
  6. If not serving right away, cover bowl and store in fridge.
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Our grape tomatoes definitely aren’t slowing down anytime soon!  This quinoa salad was a delicious way to use a bunch of them up!  This is the kind of salad that gets better as it sits.  If you feel like it needs a little more dressing after a day or two, whip up another batch of the pesto, olive oil, and lemon juice dressing!  It’s even great with a drizzle of balsamic!  It’s also great for meal prepping!  Make it at the beginning of the week and enjoy it all week long! 

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If you liked this quinoa salad recipe, you might enjoy these posts as well:

Grilled Watermelon & Feta Salad

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When it’s just too hot outside to crave anything heavy, whip up this refreshing Grilled Watermelon & Feta Salad in just minutes!


Have you ever grilled a watermelon?  I have, just recently, and it’s kind of awesome!  Since it’s grilling season, I’ve been experimenting with all kinds of different foods on the grill.  I remember reading a whole article in Rachael Ray’s magazine (I think it was last year) about the different foods you can grill.  Watermelon was one of them!  

You know when it’s just too damn hot outside to want to eat?  That’s how this salad recipe came about.  We’re in the middle of our first heatwave and it’s no bueno.  For me anyway!  But this salad is really good on a day like that!  I mean, there’s nothing better than biting into a juicy watermelon slice on a really hot day!


Summer’s about the simple things in life.  Right?  Running through sprinklers.  Putting your toes in the sand.  Getting your hands in the dirt.  Watermelon juice running down your face after biting into a slice.  That simplicity is also reflected in the lighter meals we eat this time of year.  

So I figured that I’d take the simple joy of eating watermelon on a hot summer day and turn it into a salad!  Watermelon isn’t just the quintessential summer fruit, but it’s super hydrating, too! When it’s pushing 100 degrees outside – and we’ve been there already – slice up a watermelon and enjoy it in this refreshing salad!

I also love the sweet and savory aspect of this salad.  You’ve got sweet, juicy watermelon dressed with fresh lime juice.  Then, we break out our inner  “Salt BAE” and sprinkle on a little sea salt and some crumbled feta cheese.  Toss on some fresh mint and a pinch of cayenne (totally optional, but so worth it) for an insanely delicious summer salad!

WHIP UP THIS REFRESHING GRILLED WATERMELON & FETA SALAD IN JUST MINUTES!

Grilled Watermelon & Feta Salad
Serves 2
When it's just too hot outside to crave anything heavy, whip up this refreshing Grilled Watermelon & Feta Salad in just minutes!
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Ingredients
  1. 6 watermelon slices
  2. 1-2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  3. 1 lime, halved
  4. Sea salt, to taste
  5. Crumbled goat cheese
  6. 1 tbsp. fresh mint, chopped
  7. Optional: cayenne pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
  2. Lightly brush the watermelon slices with olive oil.
  3. Once the grill is hot, place the watermelon on the grill.
  4. Cook 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
  5. Remove from grill and allow to cool.
  6. Cut watermelon into cubes and divide evenly between two bowls.
  7. Squeeze half of a lime onto each bowl and season with a little sea salt and cayenne pepper, if desired.
  8. Sprinkle crumbled goat cheese on top of each bowl and finish with fresh mint.
  9. Serve immediately or chill before serving.
Living La Vida Holoka https://www.livinglavidaholoka.com/

This salad is best when eaten immediately after making it.  Then again, when you’re hot and hungry, you probably won’t have a problem with that!  If you’re still too hot to even eat this salad, you might want to try making a Watermelon & Mint Slushie instead! 

So if you’re currently in the middle of a heatwave, don’t forget to keep your body hydrated and nourished.  Watermelon is basically the perfect food for that!  Stay cool, my friends!

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What’s your favorite way to eat watermelon in the summer?

Red, White, and Blueberry Ambrosia

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Make your 4th of July even more festive with this easy Red, White, and Blueberry Ambrosia recipe! It’s a patriotic take on classic ambrosia fruit salad!


Ambrosia is one of those old school fruit salad recipes that has stood the test of time and taste buds.  It’s a classic dessert that just reminds me of summer gatherings with the family.  It’s probably one of those dishes that you either love or hate.  But me?  I love it!  Then again, what’s not to love about fruit, marshmallows, and nuts in a creamy whipped topping?  

My mom makes a pretty bomb ass ambrosia salad!  She’s made it for as long as I can remember and it’s always a nice surprise when I find it on the dessert table.  It’s a great, no-bake dessert for barbecues and celebrations because it’s so easy to make.  You basically dump the ingredients into a big bowl, mix, and serve!  If you make it the night before, it’s even better the next day!


With the 4th of July just a week away, I decided to give this classic dessert recipe a patriotic makeover.  I’ve swapped out mandarin oranges and grapes for blueberries to make an easy red, white, and blue dessert. 

Traditional ambrosia recipes usually have either walnuts or pecans in them.  For my recipe, I used sliced almonds instead.  The almonds give this recipe a nice, little crunch and a sweet, nutty flavor.

Red, White, and Blueberry Ambrosia
Make your 4th of July even more festive with this easy Red, White, and Blueberry Ambrosia recipe! It’s a patriotic take on classic ambrosia fruit salad!
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Ingredients
  1. 1/2 bag mini marshmallows
  2. 8 oz. Lite Cool Whip
  3. 4 oz. sour cream
  4. 2 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained
  5. 1 pint fresh blueberries, washed and dried
  6. 1 jar maraschino cherries, drained
  7. 2 oz. bag of sliced almonds
  8. 2 cups coconut flakes
Instructions
  1. Add mini marshmallows to a large bowl.
  2. Stir in the Cool Whip and sour cream.
  3. Next, add the pineapple, blueberries, and cherries.
  4. Finally, stir in the almonds and coconut flakes.
  5. Keep refrigerated until serving.
Living La Vida Holoka https://www.livinglavidaholoka.com/


Normally, I wouldn’t mess with a classic, but I’ll make an exception for the 4th of July.  This is a dessert recipe that is so simple to make, doesn’t require an oven, and feeds a crowd!  It’s truly a summer favorite!

And if you’re lucky enough to have blueberries growing in your backyard, like we do, it’s a great way to use some of them up!  You could even swap out the cherries for raspberries or strawberries, if you wish.


Is ambrosia a family favorite in your house? Give this classic fruit salad a patriotic twist for your 4th of July gathering this year! It’s a fun dessert that both kids and adults will love!  And if you’re like me when it comes to ambrosia, you’ll be digging in for seconds!

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If you like this patriotic recipe, you might enjoy these as well:


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