Miso-Ginger Carrot Cucumber Noodles with Kale, Chickpeas, Sunflower Seeds, Quinoa and Avocado

Carrot Miso-Ginger Cucumber Noodles with Sunflower Seeds, Chickpeas, Kale, Avocado and Red Quinoa

Well, I was not expecting a giant rainstorm with ominously dark clouds to roll in...

Miso-Ginger Carrot Cucumber Noodles with Kale, Chickpeas, Sunflower Seeds, Quinoa and Avocado

Well, I was not expecting a giant rainstorm with ominously dark clouds to roll in RIGHT as I sat down to photograph this cucumber noodle salad, but thanks go out to the geniuses at Adobe for inventing Photoshop. Without it, these photos would look depressing, creepy, gloomy and sadly unappetizing. I think I did an OK job? I’ve been slaving away at practicing food photography, so I brought all my notes together, sucked it up and appropriately set my shutter speed, highered my ISO, dusted off the tripod and then fussed around in Photoshop for an hour trying to make this food look remotely as refreshing as it tasted. What do you think?

What a powerful plate of food – quinoa, as you should know, is a complete protein. Avocado is considered a superfood as well, sunflower seeds are packed with antioxidants, and the chickpeas and ginger keep you digestin’ right. Talk about texture… gritty miso ginger dressing, crunchy kale, and smooth avocado. Perfecto!

Wash this down with an iced green tea, and you’ll feel like a million skinny bucks!

For the record, it was raining sideways and into my apartment… but you’d never guess, would you? I’m quite the master of disguise. Tehe.

Carrot Miso-Ginger Cucumber Noodles with Sunflower Seeds, Chickpeas, Kale, Avocado and Red Quinoa

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 2

Ingredients

  • For the miso-ginger carrot dressing makes 3/4 cups:
  • 1/2 large carrot
  • 1 medium shallot minced
  • 2 tsp minced ginger root
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tsp canola oil
  • 1/2 tsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tbsp white miso paste
  • 1/2 tbsp water
  • For the rest:
  • 1 large cucumber Blade A
  • 1/2 cup chickpeas
  • 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
  • 1 avocado insides cubed
  • 1/8 cup red quinoa
  • 3 cups chopped kale

Instructions

  • Place 1/4 cup of water with 1/8 cup of red quinoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiled, cook for about 10 minutes or until quinoa is fluffy when forked with a knife and water has fully absorbed into the quinoa.
  • Combine the ginger, shallots and carrots into a food processor and pulse until carrots are minced finely. Add in the rest of the ingredients and pulse until creamy. Set aside.
  • Place your cucumber noodles, quinoa, kale and 1/2 cup dressing into a bowl and toss to combine thoroughly.
  • Put the noodles and kale into a bowl and top with sunflower seeds, avocado, and chickpeas. Enjoy!

Miso-Ginger Carrot Cucumber Noodles with Kale, Chickpeas, Sunflower Seeds, Quinoa and Avocado

 CARROT MISO-GINGER CUCUMBER NOODLES WITH SUNFLOWER SEEDS, CHICKPEAS, KALE, AVOCADO AND RED QUINOA

Miso-Ginger Carrot Cucumber Noodles with Kale, Chickpeas, Sunflower Seeds, Quinoa and Avocado

Miso-Ginger Carrot Cucumber Noodles with Kale, Chickpeas, Sunflower Seeds, Quinoa and Avocado

Miso-Ginger Carrot Cucumber Noodles with Kale, Chickpeas, Sunflower Seeds, Quinoa and Avocado

Miso-Ginger Carrot Cucumber Noodles with Kale, Chickpeas, Sunflower Seeds, Quinoa and Avocado

Miso-Ginger Carrot Cucumber Noodles with Kale, Chickpeas, Sunflower Seeds, Quinoa and Avocado

Miso-Ginger Carrot Cucumber Noodles with Kale, Chickpeas, Sunflower Seeds, Quinoa and Avocado

with love, Ali

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comments

  • Glad to find your blog! This dish looks wonderful--love the flavors. Beautiful pictures too.
    • Julia, thank you so much for visiting! I'm glad you like the recipe- definitely delicious :)
  • I just made the dressing and it is fantastic! I have been looking for a good sugar free version of this type of dressing and this one takes the cake. It tastes even better after the flavors marry in the fridge for a couple of hours. Because of what I had on hand: -Dark/red miso - this made it really salty -I used EVOO instead of canola oil - about half the amount, increased the water amount to a little more than half that to cut the saltiness of the miso and to make it less creamy/thick after refrigeration from the oils solidifying
    • Will, I'm so glad you liked the recipe! I love those suggestions, I'll definitely have to try that! Thanks for commenting :)
  • What is "Blade A"?
    • Ellen - check out my "How to Inspiralize" page for a tutorial and description of the blades! Blade A is the blade without the triangles - the one that makes ribbons. Hope this helps!
      • Oops, should have looked there first. The recipe sounds great! Thank you.
  • This recipe looks amazing. Trying it out today :)
  • You photograph your food yourself?! They always look fantastic!! I'm super impressed (and getting hungry reading your blog) :)
    • Thanks Micaela! :) Yes, it's been an uphill battle but I'm starting to see signs of improvement, so I'm happy!
  • Tired this recipe over the weekend and it was in one word-amazing.
    • William - thanks for trying one of my recipes! I'm glad you liked it!! It's one of my favorites, for sure.
  • This looks fabulous! I'm excited to make it for my lunch the next couple days. I'm confused about how it comes together in the end. You say the recipe makes 3/4 cup dressing but you only talk about adding 1/2 cup to the dish. Do I ever add the other 1/4 cup or does it just depend on my preference for how much dressing I like?
    • Also, if I'm taking it for lunch to work...do you recommend putting the dressing on right away or should I wait and put it on right before I eat my lunch?
  • looks gr8! 2 questions... is there something i can use instead of miso? and why 1/4 cup + 1 tsp canola oil? this exact amount into the dressing?... thanks :)
  • Thanks, It is good & tasty. Quinoa seeds are very healthy for a body It has a rich amount of fiber, antioxidants, and iron we provide the Organic Quinoa Seeds.so let's start to buy Quinoa seeds at Nourish you https://nourishyou.in/superfoods/quinoa-seeds/