"Carrot Cake" Quinoa Salad

Admittedly, "carrot cake" salad sounds disgusting. And maybe you're thinking that adding quinoa to the mix makes it even worse. Well, all you skeptics are wrong. This easy quinoa salad gets its sweetness from carrots, raisins, and the dressing (which has honey), but it still has all the hearty goodness of quinoa. It's not quite sweet enough for dessert, but it's so yummy that you might want to eat it for dessert...and breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Some notes: I make the quinoa in my rice cooker which is even simpler than on the stove. You can vary the ratios of ingredients according to your tastes - these are just guidelines. And of course, this is easily scaled down or up depending on the number of people eating. Don't be afraid to make extra though, because it's great the next day too!

"Carrot Cake" Quinoa Salad (Gluten-Free)

Serves 3-5 as a side dish

Ingredients:

For Salad:

1.5 c. quinoa, uncooked

1-2 medium carrots, grated

1/4 c. toasted slivered almonds

1/2 c. raisins

For Dressing:

1/4 c. + 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 scant tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 tsp. spicy mustard

1-2 tbsp. honey

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Cook quinoa according to package directions or in a rice cooker. Meanwhile, plump raisins by soaking in water for a half hour to an hour. After quinoa has cooked and cooled, combine all ingredients for salad.

In a separate bowl, make dressing by whisking all ingredients together. Pour dressing over salad and mix to coat. Enjoy!