I came across this recipe on Sprouted Kitchen earlier in the week and was so excited that I had every ingredient on-hand to make it. I was happy I had time to put this together last night. It has been a very busy week with a lot of quick meals and leftovers, though I have still been able to stick with the cleanse, which I am proud of. I am feeling incredible, today is day 12 of 14 and I feel light and so much less weighed down and “blah”. It definitely helps that in the last 12 days I have been able to make it to six 90+ minute yoga classes and I will be getting to 2 more in the next 2 days. Starting this new year out as healthy as I can be, has made me so happy and ready for everything that lies ahead. It is incredible what a cleanse does, not only for your body, but also your mind. The brain fog is lifted and you are left with an exorbitant amount of energy. You can’t believe it until you try it for yourself.

Beyond being beautiful to look at with all the colors, there are so many wonderful flavors in this salad and all of the textures work great together, the crispy crunch from the pomegranate seeds and pistachios finish it so nicely. The coconut flavor is subtle and the crispy shallots? OH MY! This recipe calls for salt in a few places, I still included it but went very light. I made this as a main course for dinner last night and had it again for lunch today, though it would make a great side dish or starter.

Coconut Quinoa and Spinach Salad
Serves 6 as a side, less as a main dish
Via Sprouted Kitchen

1 cup organic quinoa
1 cup light organic coconut milk
1/3 cup vegetable broth or water

2 large shallots
2 tablespoons coconut oil (If you don’t have coconut oil on hand, canola oil will work as an alternative, which is what I used)

1 cup fresh organic pomegranate seeds
4 cups (ish) organic baby spinach
1/2 cup toasted pistachio nuts

2 tablespoons orange juice (Lemon or lime juice will work here as well)
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt/Pepper

Combine the quinoa, coconut milk, water and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the liquid is absorbed, this will take about 10-12 minutes. Empty quinoa into a bowl and allow to cool. If you want it to cool quicker, you can spread it out on a cookie sheet in a thin layer.

Slice the shallots width wise into thin slices. Heat up the oil in a medium saute pan over a medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add in the shallots. They will begin to move around in the pan, once the edges turn golden flip them over or gently toss them around, they can burn quickly so watch them. Set up a double layer of paper towels, remove the shallots just as they turn brown and drain on the paper towels.

In a small bowl, mix the orange juice, thyme, olive oil and a few small pinches of salt and pepper.

Before you assemble the salad, be sure your quinoa is room temperature or it will wilt the spinach. In a large salad bowl, spinach, the cooked quinoa, the pomegranate seeds and pistachios with the dressing. Leave a bit of the pomegranates and pistachios to garnish the top with. Garnish the top with the rest of the pomegranate seeds, pistachios and all of your crispy shallots. Top with fresh ground black pepper and enjoy. You will love it.

* If you aren’t going to eat the salad in one sitting, which I didn’t, you can mix it up half at a time and leave the rest of the elements separate, this way you can mix it again the next time you serve it and it won’t be soggy.

By the way, I am fairly certain a pomegranate is one of the most beautiful and tasty things that nature has to offer.