This is a really easy and versatile recipe. This can be used as side dish, for stuff other vegetables like sweet peppers or potatoes, or you can use this as a full meal to make at the beginning of the week, that you can take everywhere with you!

There is minimal cooking, as you must cook the quinoa and beans, and if you aren’t using precooked corn, then you must cook the corn as well. The rest is just chop, chop, chop!

If you want to cut the prep time way down, you can cook the beans and quinoa the day before or a few hours earlier, then store the cooked items in the fridge in their own separate containers. Then, when you are ready to the cut the vegetables and add them to the dish, you will only take 10 to 15 minutes of cutting, and you’ll be done with your whole meal! Easy, quick meal tip!

So….let us begin!

You will need:

• 1 cup uncooked black beans or 2 cups cooked black beans
• 1.5 cups uncooked quinoa or 3 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 cup cooked corn
• 1 orange bell pepper
• 1/2 purple onion
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• juice of 2 limes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Step 1:

If you haven’t cooked the black beans or the quinoa, do so now. You can cook according to package directions. With quinoa, you use 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water, like rice. With black beans, you want to make sure the beans are in large pot with a good 2 or 3 inches of water above. Beans also take a lot longer to cook, so if you are cooking from scratch, be sure you have started to cook them at least an hour ahead of time.

Once the quinoa and beans are cooked and cooled, add them to a large bowl or container.

Step 2:

The next step is to chop all the vegetables and add them to the black bean and quinoa bowl! Thinly chop the onions and bell pepper, and cut up the parsley and cilantro. Add to the quinoa and black beans, along with the corn, lime juice and olive oil. Mix together thoroughly, and add some salt and pepper if you think it needs it.

Step 3:

Cover the bowl or container, and put into the fridge for about 15 minutes. This will allow the lime juice and olive oil to soak into the vegetables, which really adds to the flavor!

After about 15 minutes, take out of the fridge, and eat! This dish will stay good up to a week in the fridge, and it’s a great option to take to work for lunch, or to use as a side to accompany a main meal.

Enjoy!