There are many different theories or guidelines that explain to us what a balanced meal is. One of my favorite comes from Chinese medicine; I like it because it focuses on the relation between the human body and nature, rather than counting grams of fat, protein, or carbs. I would say that from all the information out there the one that resonates more with me is the one that explains the foundations of health based on the basic principals of nature, its complexity but also its simplicity…it just makes sense! It is nice when things sound like they were figured out with intuition. Oh yes intuition the most powerful guidance.

So the Chinese medicine principle says that our body synchronizes within the 5 elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water and each one has a corresponding color: green, red, yellow, white and black. Each of this elements and colors represent an organ as it follows: liver, heart, spleen, lungs and kidneys. What we are suggested to do is include all five colors in every meal if possible, or as often as we can.

Here is a delicious and simple recipe with all the 5 colors:

Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

- 1 cup quinoa

- ½ cup chopped celery

- 1 red apple small diced

- 1 cucumber small diced

- ½ cup sliced almonds

- ½ cup chopped basil

- ½ cup chopped parsley

- 1 tomato small diced

- 1 tsp black sesame seeds

- 1 tsp turmeric

Dressing:

- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

- 1 tbsp honey

- 3 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice

- 3 tbsp olive oil

- Salt

- Pepper

- 1 tbsp tamari

Preparation:

Soak the quinoa for at least 3 hours and rinse several times. In a sauce pan bring 1 cup of water to a boil add the quinoa and bring down to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes or until ready. You would usually know when quinoa is ready because a little white string comes off the grain. When cooked rinse with cold water, you want it to be still a little crunchy for this salad, (over cooked quinoa is best for stews or porridges).

In a bowl mix the quinoa and all the rest of the ingredients.

Mix all the ingredients for the dressing until they are completely smooth, then add to the salad and it will be ready to serve.

There are alternatives for this salad, you can add chopped celery, asian or other kind of pear or micro greens wich gives it a very nice green and crispy touch.