Being that it is the school holidays, it must be time for our traditional family ladies lunch! I am so thankful for wonderful women in my family and being able to meet with them still 🙂

This was the delicious salad we shared …. Just quietly, I may have made extras so there would be dinner leftovers 😉

• 1 medium gold sweet potato
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup pepitas
• 1 packed cups spinach
• 1 cup quinoa (which ever colour you prefer)
• 2L hot water plus 1 tsp stock powder
• 1/2 large ripe avocado
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Pink salt flakes
• Ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp aquafaba (liquid drained from a can of chick peas)*

*replace the aquafaba with water for legume free, the dressing will just not be quite as ‘fluffy’.

Soak the quinoa in a pot of water for 1 hour then drain and rinse it really well.

While the quinoa is soaking, heat the oven to 200C.

Peel the potato and dice it in to roughly 3-4cm cubes. Place them in a baking tray and drizzle with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place in pre heated oven and roast for about 45 minutes or until golden.

Remove the potato from the oven, add in the seeds, and toss to coat them, then return to oven for a further 10 minutes.

Cook the quinoa in the weak stock by bringing it to the boil and simmering gently for about 15 mins, the drain and set aside.

To make the avocado lime dressing, place the remaining tbsp of olive oil, the lime juice, pinch of salt, maple syrup, aquafaba (or water) into a blender/bullet/thermal cooker together the the avocado and blend until smooth and light (speed 4, 8 secs, scrape down, speed 5, 10 secs)

Chop the spinach, and fold it through the warm quinoa.

Top with the potato and seeds.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad and then sprinkle the cranberries over the top.

Serve immediately and enjoy 🙂

For a delicious variation on this dish we use pumpkin in place of potato, pomegranate seeds in place of cranberries and slivered almonds in place of pepitas.