Sunshine Bowl: Quinoa, Egg, & Spinach Salad
I first heard of “Buddha Bowls” from Green Kitchen Stories, one of my favourite food blogs.
A filling salad of fresh veggies and perfectly cooked quinoa, topped with a poached egg, not only is this easy healthy recipe a quick lunch option, it is guaranteed to put some sunshine in your day!
Now, David and Luise’s version contained sauerkraut, tahini, different veggies, and sesame seeds, which would be delicious. I rarely have sauerkraut at home (though I want to get better about including more fermented foods into my diet) so my salad represents what I typically have at home.
Top it with seeds, or your favourite oil or dressing, experiment with a bit of sauerkraut, different proteins, possibly some nuts. This is a salad that you can really have fun with and incorporate your favourite flavours into, enjoying different combinations of salad ingredients with the same delicious results throughout the week.
This is the wonderful thing about Sunshine Bowls for me: you can use whatever you have on hand. For me, as long as it has plenty of greens, a bit of quinoa, and a hot & fresh egg, I’m happy.
More than happy.
Knowing how to poach and egg and cook quinoa are essential to a great sunshine bowl.
How to Perfectly Cook Quinoa
- Boil the water first – this makes sure that the grains don’t spend too much time cooking or absorbing water
- Immediately turn the heat to simmer and cover once grains are added
- Do not stir! It seems counter-intuitive, but just let the grains do their thing — they will not burn if you added enough water, turned the heat down, and take them off at the right time
- Avoid lifting the cover to check on the quinoa – this releases steam, and thus the water that the quinoa is cooking in, which can result in your quinoa not fully cooking
- Take off the heat to finish cooking – the water, the quinoa, and the cooking pot will still be hot enough to finish cooking the grains without risking it burning. I generally take 1 cup of uncooked quinoa off of the heat after 12-15 minutes.
How to Poach an Egg
- Add a small amount of vinegar to a pot of boiling water – at least one tablespoon for 2 cups of water.
- Crack each egg into a small bowl, tip the bottom of the bowl into the pot, and gently roll the egg out of the bowl into the water.
- After the egg has started to cook a bit, stir the water to cover the egg yolk with the white. (This is a technique I’m still working on.)
- Remove the egg and drain excess water by briefly placing on a piece of paper towel.
- If presentation is important, cut off any “wispy” egg bits.
Sunshine Bowl: Quinoa, Egg, & Spinach Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
- Generous handful your preferred greens (kale, baby spinach, etc)
- 1/2 cup cooked or fresh veggies
- 1 ripe avocados, diced
- Coconut oil, to taste
- Lemon juice, optional, to taste
- Sea salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 fried or poached egg
Instructions
- Cook your quinoa using our perfect quinoa directions (above) and prepare the rest of the salad, leaving the egg poaching to just before serving (it cooks fast).
- I used baby kale and arugala for my greens, and cooked 1 sweet pepper and half an apple for my veggies; cook in coconut oil until soft and slightly browned.
- Mix the greens, veggies, and quinoa together and season to taste using the oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Poach your egg using our tips and place it on top of your sunshine bowl. Break the egg yolk just before eating for a luxurious texture and taste.
- Customize your sunshine bowl however you'd like.
Check out our other Vegetable Recipes here:
I never thought to add a poached egg to a salad before. Seems interesting. I eat it all the time in salads hard boiled, but not sure if I’d like it this way. You never know though.
Oh yum, this would be such a nice healthy dinner for us. It seems low in fat but there is plenty of protein!
That Quinoa, Egg, & Spinach Salad looks so yummy! It’s like combining all of my favorite things into one dish. I’ll definitely be trying this recipe out soon <3
This is my kind of meal! I could have quinoa and avocado everyday and this bowl looks amazing! Pinning right now and will make soon:).
Yum this looks and sounds just incredible. I think my kiddos would even love this so it would be a great meal for us!
Confession- I have never cooked or eaten quinoa. However this bowl looks super yummy and I need to try is asap!!
Yummy recipe. Love this one. So Awesome!
This is my kind of dish. To be honest, I put quinoa into the rice cooker and it is pretty cool and delicious – great for any dish
Hmm I have never had an egg cooked this way on a salad but it does sound yummy! What a creative idea! Also thanks for the step by step directions for cooking quinoa!
Avocados and eggs are such great additions to a recipe! This looks fantastic.