Coconut Lime Quinoa Salad

This salad is fresh and so delicious!  Right now, I'm playing around with raw foods and sprouting so I've used raw sprouted quinoa but you could also use cooked quinoa.  The coconut, lime, and fresh veggies make for a breezy taste of the tropics and are loaded with healthy fats and enzymes.  Coconut is a rich beauty food and will help give you clear radiant skin, shiny hair, and strong nails.  If you are buying your coconut milk in a can, try True Native Organic Coconut milk which is my favorite.  You can also buy coconut milk frozen so that you can keep it fresh in the freezer and grab it whenever you need it.  Once you try this Coconut Lime Quinoa Salad, you will be addicted for life and will want to make it again and again :)

Ingredients:
Dressing:
1/4 cup full fat coconut milk (if you use low fat, it won't be creamy, it will be watery)
1 tsp lime zest
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp Siracha (or any kind of chili paste you have around.  I happen to put Siracha in pretty much everything)
1/2 tsp sugar (or if trying to avoid sugar, you can use honey or stevia)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (if you don't like cilantro (*gasp*) you can use basil)
Salad:
11/2 cups Quinoa (click here for cooking and sprouting directions)
2 tbsp shredded coconut (organic unsweeted)
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped cucumber (if organic, leave skin on)
1/4 cup chopped carrot
1 cup Spinach, remove stems and chiffonade
1/4 cup chopped raw cashews (if you do not like cashews you can use raw peanuts or raw macadamia)

In a small bowl, whisk coconut milk, lime zest, lime juice, sugar, salt and Siracha.  Once well whisked, add the chopped cilanto and gently mix and set aside.  In a large bowl, add the quinoa, 1 tbsp shredded coconut, bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, spinach, and cashews.  Mix well.  Add the dressing and toss well.  Add the remaing tbsp of shredded coconut to the top layer of the salad.  Refrigerate for 3 minutes to allow flavors to develop. Then enjoy!

✌ YUM