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Quinoa Salad-Filled Tomatoes

Prep 40 min
Total 40 min
Ingredients 12
Servings 5

Get more protein than any other grain with rice-like quinoa. What a way to fill vine-ripened tomatoes!

Ingredients

Dressing

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, minced

Salad

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
5 medium tomatoes
1/2 medium cucumber, chopped
1/4 cup chopped red onion
Leaf lettuce leaves

Directions

1

In small nonmetal bowl, mix all dressing ingredients until well blended. Refrigerate.
2

Rinse quinoa with cold water; drain well. In 2-quart saucepan, heat quinoa and 1 1/2 cups water to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 12 to 15 minutes or until tender. Drain; rinse with cold water to cool. Drain well. Place in large bowl.
3

Meanwhile, cut about 1/2-inch slice off top of each tomato. With grapefruit spoon or teaspoon, carefully hollow out each tomato, leaving shell of outer flesh intact. Chop tomato pulp; drain shells well.
4

To cooled quinoa, add chopped tomato pulp, cucumber, onion and dressing; mix well.
5

To serve, line serving plates with lettuce. Place tomato shells on lettuce. Spoon salad mixture into shells. If desired, garnish with fresh basil or chives.

Expert Tips

Qunioa (KEEN-wah), an ancient grain is indeed a whole grain. Eating at least 3 servings of whole grain daily may help reduce blood cholesterol.
When cooked, quinoa expands to 4 times its volume. Quinoa is lighter than rice, but it can be used in place of rice in both sweet and savory recipes.
To remove quinoa's bitter-tasting natural coating, rinse it thoroughly with cold water.
If large tomatoes are used, cut them in half and scoop out the pulp. Use half of a tomato for each serving.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories: 180

Calories from Fat: 70

Total Fat: 7g; 11%

Saturated Fat: 1g; 5%

Trans Fat: 0g

Cholesterol: 0mg; 0%

Sodium: 135mg; 6%

Potassium: 540mg; 15%

Total Carbohydrate: 24g; 8%

Dietary Fiber: 4g; 16%

Sugars: 6g

Protein: 5g

% Daily Value*:

Vitamin A: 60%; 60%

Vitamin C: 35%; 35%

Calcium: 4%; 4%

Iron: 10%; 10%

Exchanges:

1 Starch; 0 Fruit; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 1 1/2 Fat;