Lunch boxes
Taking a lunch box to school or work can be much healthier than buying meals and unhealthy snacks every day.
Vegetarian chickpea salad
Serves 4
Chickpeas, not only add protein and high-fibre starch to the salad, but a delicious texture as well. No cooking is required, making it ideal to prepare for a lunch box, especially when you are in a hurry.
Ingredients
Chicken
2 medium tomatoes, cubed
¼ cucumber, cubed
2 medium carrots, quartered and sliced
1 slice feta, cubed
2 x 410 g tins chickpeas or beans of your choice, drained and rinsed
1 avocado, cubed (when in season)
Salad dressing
1 tbsp (15 ml) red or white grape vinegar
2 tbsp (30 ml) canola or olive oil
1 tsp (5 ml) dried or 2 tsp (10 ml) fresh thyme leaves
½ tsp (2,5 ml) ground cumin
½ tsp (2,5 ml) sugar
¼ tsp (1,2 ml) salt
lemon juice and black pepper to taste
Method
- Mix all the salad ingredients together.
- Salad dressing: Mix all the ingredients together and season with lemon juice and pepper.
- Toss dressing through the salad. Keep the avocado separate and cut just before eating. Enjoy as a light vegetarian meal or as lunch at work. Pack a portion of fruit for a more filling lunch, and some nuts for a snack.
Tips
- For a different flavour, use orange juice instead of the vinegar in the salad dressing. Leave out the sugar.
- This salad will be delicious with herbs like mint, coriander and parsley. Add fresh leaves to the salad just before serving.
- Beans like red kidney beans, butter beans and cannellini beans work well in this dish. Use a combination of beans and chickpeas or just beans, if preferred.