During the holiday season everyone is a little more stressed out than usual, which can weaken our immune system which helps us fight off colds. It’s important to eat foods that are rich in antioxidants to help support healthy immune function and keep us from being over-exhausted and down on energy when there is a lot of good (and bad!) going on in our lives.

The foods in this tasty recipe that are high in antioxidants are cranberries, walnuts, sunflower seeds and spinach. It looks so beautiful on the plate and tastes so delicious you won’t even realize that’s is good for you too!

Antioxidant Rich Red Quinoa Salad:

1 cup Wild Oats organic red quinoa

1 teaspoon Wild Oats Italian organic herb seasoning

A dash of Wild Oats organic garlic powder

2 cups Wild Oats organic chicken broth

1 cup celery, sliced thin

2/3 cup dried unsweetened cranberries

2/3 cup raw walnuts, crushed

1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds

The juice of ½ a lemon

1 large handful fresh organic spinach per person

Extra-virgin organic olive oil to drizzle on top

Grated Parmesan Cheese for garnish

Rinse quinoa. Bring the chicken stock to a boil over high heat. When it boils, add the quinoa, celery, cranberries and Italian seasoning. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes until almost all of the water has absorbed. Add the sunflower seeds and walnuts. Add the lemon juice to the mixture. Mix over the heat for about one minute. Turn off the burner on the stove and let sit.

On one salad plate per person, put one handful of raw organic spinach. Drizzle organic olive oil on top of spinach.

Add a heaping of quinoa mixture to the center of the plated spinach. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.