Vegan Travel Food: Quinoa Tabbouli

I’ve been traveling a lot over the past few years, and the people around me travel A LOT, so I’m always on the lookout for great food that travels well, either on a flight or in the car.

Now this search certainly hasn’t been without its comic relief, trying to work around security regulations. You know what I’m talking about ~ when you try for a healthy light salad, and you’re pouring on the dressing at the last minute in the security line so it doesn’t count as one of your 3 oz. liquids, and it ends up all over you and your carry-on. And I won’t even tell you what I said to the poor TSA guy who had the nerve to take my pint of guacamole. Let’s just say that I told him to keep it… but not nearly that nicely. 😁

Over the years, I’ve come up with a few go-to recipes, that I make pretty much every time that someone around me (or I) travels. I’ll write a post with a list of my favorites soon, but here is one of my favorites in the meantime ~ quinoa tabbouli. The quinoa and hemp seeds make it a protein-packed dish that is incredibly light and fresh, and can also be made as spicy as you want it. And it holds up to traveling really well, so it’s a great one to take along. And it’s easy. Did I mention that?

Quinoa Tabbouli

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
• 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 regular or 2 small Persian or Japanese cucumbers (peel if you’re using a regular cuke)
• minced red onion to taste (I usually use about 2-3 tablespoons)
• 2 tablespoons hemp seeds
• juice of 1 lemon (or more if you like it lemony)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt to taste
• a couple dashes of cayenne pepper, to taste

My personal preferences in this recipe are Roma tomatoes (since they are less seedy and watery than regular ones), but heirloom tomatoes would also be great, and flat parsley (somehow I just like it better than the curly stuff).

Mix everything from the quinoa through the hemp seeds together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Taste and adjust any of the seasonings – lemon, oil, salt, or cayenne. This is a very forgiving recipe that holds up well, so it’s easy to adjust to your particular taste.

Makes 2-4 servings, depending on your serving size!