When you first start off working at an office, you'll ask yourself two things: why is everyone on a diet here? And, I spent HOW much this week on lunch?! With that in mind, don't think just to save money on lunch you have to resort to tuna and cruskets, you could be a little more creative. How about: Quinoa Salad with Cherries and Feta?



The following recipe serves between 4 to 6 so, keep that in mind with ingredients (but it's the perfect dish to share with friends on the weekend, and to keep throughout the week!)

Hit up your local grocer and get:
2 cups of cherries
Kosher salt
2 cups of quinoa
3 tablespoons of minced shallot
3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of minced flat-leaf parsley
1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup toasted almonds

Then...

1. Pit the cherries and set aside in a bowl (pitting means taking out the seedy things inside, after you wash and drain the cherries in a colander) while you make the quinoa
2. Bring a pot of salted water into a boil, while you add the quinoa to a strainer and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Add the quinoa to the boiling water for 7 minutes or barely "al dente" - strain it using a strainer
3. Add an inch of water into the pot, and set the fine mesh strainer in the pot. Make sure the water doesn't touch the quinoa. Turn the heat up to high and cover it with a dish towel to keep the moisture in, let it steam for 3 to 5 minutes
4. Turn the quinoa out and into a large mixing bowl, and fluff it up with a fork
5. Slice the cherries into thin rounds 
6. Add the minced shallot, red wine vinegar, olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the bowl of cherries. This is to ensure we make a bit of a dressing from the cherry juices. 
7. Drizzle this over the quinoa, and add the parsley, feta and almonds. Toss and combine
8. Put this bowl on a clean contrasting work desk, arrange your notebooks at a creative angle, add some accessories and viola, the perfect Instagram flatlay.