Mom's Summer Quinoa Salad

My mom, Wendy, is an amazing cook. This recipe is remarkable not only because it is so tasty and healthy, but also because she actually wrote it down! She is very creative in the kitchen and cooks by instinct so it's not often that a recipe can be duplicated, even by her :)

My mom recently decided to cut some foods out of her diet to see if it would help with some of her health issues. Many of you know that I have cut gluten, eggs, and dairy out of my diet and that it has made a tremendous impact on my health and well-being. I am also on the path to cutting out corn and soy to see if it can alleviate some of my general symptoms further, as well as help stave off the development of my auto-immune disorder. If you are allergic to nuts you can always leave them out, but other than that, this is a very friendly recipe for anyone dealing with food sensitivites/allergies.

Thanks for the recipe Mom!

Salad:
1 cup pineapple chunks (save 1/4 cup of juice)
2 large skinless, boneless  chicken breasts cooked, then chopped in 1/2" chunks
1 cup of cooked red quinoa (you can use any quinoa)
3 cups of brown rice or brown and wild rice mixed
1 cup sliced or matchstick almonds, toasted
1 cup of chopped celery
1 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries
1/2 cup caramelized onions, chopped

Mix ingredients together then toss with dressing before serving

Dressing:
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 cup olive oil
1/2 - 1 minced shallot
1/2 tsp tamarind paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Whisk ingredients together then mix with salad

I am not sure what the nutrition values or Weight Watchers Points Plus values are yet. When I make it myself I will figure them out and post them (unless someone beats me to it, hint, hint) ;)

Enjoy!