The South American quinoa salad

Breakfast: A strawberry and almond butter smoothie

Lunch: The Mexicana quinoa salad

Dinner: Leek and potato soup a la Putin with greens and the good bread

There's a lot to be said for just throwing leftover things together in a bowl and taking it for lunch; in fact, some of my best recipes have started out that way. I'm not exactly the best morning person, and if I do get up, I'm likely to spend my time pouring over the Guardian website than doing what I'm meant to be doing. This results in the aforementioned method of making lunch.

Thankfully, this method throws up some great recipes, like this one. The previous night's spinach and chickpea leftovers got thrown into the tupperware with some leftover quinoa and black beans and whatever sauce was on hand...and BANG! Top lunch!

You'll need:
(Feeds 2)

1/2 cup quinoa
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1 handful spinach
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup chickpeas, tinned
3/4 cup black beans, tinned
soy sauce
sweet chili sauce

Method:

Put the quinoa in a pan with 3/4 cup water, bring to the boil then simmer for 15-20 minutes, until cooked
Tear the spinach and place it in a hot frying pan for 2-3 minutes, til just wilted
Drizzle soy sauce on the spinach
When the quinoa has cooled, place all the ingredients in a bowl then toss with sweet chili sauce to your taste
Serve!

You don't need to cook chickpeas and black beans from the tin, and I prefer them cold. If you want this as a warm salad, then cook them together in pan for 5 minutes with a little soy.

This feels very decadent, and strangely like a burrito at times, but the combination of beans and the quinoa will leave you feeling satisfied until dinnertime. And of course, consuming quinoa is never a bad thing!

Tweet