Citrus Quinoa Salad & National Nutrition Month

A colorful and refreshing citrus quinoa salad to celebrate National Nutrition Month.

March is National Nutrition Month^® an annual nutrition education campaign created by The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Since each one of us holds the power to make healthier food choices, this year’s NNM theme encourages you to “Put Your Best Fork Forward”. 

The best bet to improving your health is to make small and manageable changes. Ones you’ll be able to stick to.  Here are 5 ideas to get started. Plus a look back at last year’s NNM post.

5 Healthy Eating Tips

Have an extra serving of vegetables

Adding vegetables to your plate doesn’t have to be boring. Use bright and colorful vegetables to add more flavor, nutrients and interest to your plate. Include a mix of cooked and raw vegetables, for an interesting change in texture.

Experiment with different cooking and preparation methods to find your preference. You may discover your not a fan of a vegetable when raw or boiled, but you like when it is roasted. Hello, brussel sprouts.

Play around with adding different colored vegetable and cutting food into unique shapes. Think of it as a fun challenge to creating a colorful plate.

Season with herbs and citrus 

Bottled sauce and dressing can be expensive and high in sugar and fat. Try mixing up your own. Using herbs (fresh or dried) and citrus fruits, to add flavor to a dish. 

Waste less & re-purpose leftovers

Batch cooking isn’t only for the start of the week’s meal plan. Make an extra batch of food during the week and practice the “cook once eat twice” method.

This can be used to have a complete meal ready to go for the next day. More simply, think of the oven like a dishwasher—and run it when it’s full. If the oven is already on because you’re cooking dinner for Wednesday night, can a food for Thursday night be added too? The butternut squash in this recipe can be prepared the night before.

Have a weekly plant based meal

Meatless isn’t only for Mondays. Fit in a plant based meal the day(s) of the week that works best for you. 

Meal plan around a plant based protein — legumes, tofu, edamame, quinoa, nuts, seeds—at least once a week for heart and health benefits. Need some menu ideas? Here are 50+ meatless meals to try.

It doesn’t even have to be a full meal. Start small and add a plant based snack to your daily routine. Try: Banana Nut Energy Bites

Keep a well stocked Pantry

When shopping, include nonperishable produce and proteins into your cart. Such as canned, frozen or dried options.

Once you get home, put groceries away in the right place. Store food in their optimal kitchen locations. Nuts & seeds keep well in the freezer. While onions, potatoes and winter squashes should be stored in a cool, dark spot. Dried seeds and grains store well in airtight containers in your pantry.

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Citrus quinoa salad recipe

Making this citrus quinoa salad is easy. It combines cooked quinoa and squash with fresh vegetables and flavored with a citrus dressing.

Many of the ingredients can even be prepared ahead of time too. It’s a great recipe to add to your meal meal prep menu.

Roasting butternut squash cubes

Getting cubes of butternut squash into this salad is the “hardest” part to this dish. The heavy and hard squash needs to be cut and cooked before it can be used. Unlike other recipes where it can be roasted whole—like this Fall Vegetable Soup recipe—the squash would get too soft if cooked this way.

Another option is to purchase ready to cook pieces of butternut squash. This is often available in the refrigerated section of the supermarket. If the squash is sold in large chunks, cut them down to bite sized pieces before cooking.

How to cut butternut squash into cubes

Start by peeling the skin off of the squash with a Y shaped peeler. Work slowly and carefully. Since the squash can get slippery, use a cutting board to support the bottom as you peel it. 

Lay the squash on its side. Cut off the top stem and bottom end. Discard these inedible parts.

Find where the long neck meets the round bulb at the bottom. Cut the squash to separate these two pieces. 

With the longer piece, cut the squash into strips. Do this by placing the squash (flat side down) on the cutting board making vertical cuts. Rotate these pieces and repeat to get strips. Stack a few strips together and cut into cubes.

To cut the bottom bulb piece: place one of the flat sides down on the cutting board. Cut around the seeds, like you would a bell pepper. (You could also cut this piece in half.) Use a spoon to remove any leftover seeds & save them to make this snack. Cut the squash into cubes. 

Baked butternut squash

Place the squash cubes on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with avocado oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Roast in a 400°F oven for about 40-60 minutes, depending on the size of your pieces. Mix halfway through to cook evenly.