Super Colorful Quinoa salad with a citrus vinaigrette

After visiting Liza in Boston a few weeks ago which was loads of fun. Thank you lizik for being a wonderful host as always. One of the days Liza took us to this amazing Organic Vegetarian Cafe where we had some super fresh, healthy, colorful and yummy food. I decided that I wanted to resemble that dish as much as possible just with a little healthier dressing. This meal is full of fiber, complex carbs, antioxidants, protein, monounsaturated fat, vitamins, and minerals, basically everything that you need in a meal is here lol. I think the only thing I forgot to put in this salad is the sink its self hehehe :).

You will need the following ingredients for the salad:
1 1/2 cups quinoa
2 small beets (small beets roast much quicker than large beets)
4 medium carrots
2 green onions
1 avocado
1 mango
1 granny smith apple
A handful of cilantro

For the dressing:
1 orange
1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 tsp Cayenne( you can use less or more depending on how spicy you like your food)
Kosher salt and Pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 400F.

1) Wash the beets. Then put it into heavy duty foil paper and season it with a little bit of salt, pepper and 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Fold the foil in so there are no holes. Place the beets on a small baking dish and stick into the oven.

2) Wash and peel the carrots. Then put them into heavy duty foil paper and season with a little bit of salt, pepper, and 1 Tsp olive oil. Fold the foil in so there are no holes. Place the carrots on a small baking dish and stick into the oven.

3) Bake both Beets and Carrots until nice and soft. It took me about 45 minutes.

4) If you take a knife and put it in the center of the beet it should go down with ease and same for the carrots. If you like your beets/carrots to have a harder consistency you can take them out a little earlier. But beets are so much more delicious when they are tender.

5) While the veggies are roasting quickly make your dressing and Quinoa.
  -Squeeze all the juice out of the orange and lemon into a bowl.
  -Add honey, cayenne, kosher salt and pepper to taste and whisk together.
  -Add extra virgin olive oil slowly while you are whisking.
  -Whisk until everything comes together. Once done you can put the dressing into the fridge.

6) Heat up a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sized pan on medium heat, and then add Quinoa and toast for a few minutes then add in 3 cups of water or vegetable stock if you have. I used water since I did not have any homemade stock available. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pan and cook Quinoa for about 10 to minutes. All the water should be absorbed.

7) Once Quinoa is cooked let it rest for 5 minutes and then fluff it with a fork so it does not stick together.

8) After your beets cool make sure to peel the skin off. Unless you peeled it off before roasting them.

9) Now that everything has been cooked we are ready to put it all together.

10) Grate the beets and apples in a food processor or a standard home grater. Once grated it add it to a large bowl.

11) Then add in Quinoa, chopped mango, green onion, avocado, carrots, and cilantro. Mix everything together and add in the reserved dressing that you made earlier. Taste your dish and add more seasoning if necessary.

12) Here is how the final product came out.