Though I am certainly not that annoying person who won’t go out to eat at a restaurant unless everything is organic, I have started to feed my family a mostly organic diet. In an ideal world, I would grow everything myself, but knowing there are no pesticides or antibiotics in our food is the next best thing I can do to ensure that what I serve at my table is real nutrition. It feels good knowing that we’re getting all the goodness of whole foods, not poisoning ourselves with obscure (and, in my opinion, unnecessary) chemicals, and contributing to a better, healthier planet.
I am very lucky to have an organic supermarket not that far from my house, Ekoplaza (and no, I have not been paid a single penny to endorse them; this is my honest and humble opinion). All of the products at Ekoplaza are beautiful to see — and to eat! The fruit-and-veg section is always full of seasonal and interesting new produce, the cheese section stocked with foreign and Dutch cheeses, and at the baked goods section, rustic loaves and sweet treats are temptingly displayed. You can find it all at the shop: from dairy products to cleaning products and everything in between. An added bonus is that the people who work there are just so darn friendly! Always a smile and ready to help. My husband and I really do enjoy shopping at Ekoplaza every weekend!
The following easy recipe, a vibrant quinoa salad, was created with some of the products from last weekend’s shop: quinoa, sundried tomatoes, red onions and pine nuts. I served it with grilled aubergine and tamruc falafel, though you can serve it just as is (as you see here) or top it with grilled halloumi.
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Easy Quinoa Salad with Sundried Tomatoes
Serves 3-4
- 250g mixed quinoa
- 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 200g container of sundried tomatoes, chopped
- 5 tbsps pine nuts
- salt and freshly-grated pepper, to taste
Boil the quinoa for ten minutes and let it stand for another ten. Allow to cool completely. In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, chopped sundried tomatoes, pine nuts and 4 tbsps of the flavored oil from the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and stir well. Delicious as is or with cubed feta, grilled veggies, grilled halloumi or falafel.