Tag: Salads

Let go of using the leafy greens for just a slight moment as a salad base.

Instead open up a can of garbanzo beans.

This recipe, a variation from allrecipes.com, can actually be eaten by one person as an entire meal, or just double the portions and serve alongside a main dish.

Garbanzo beans, or chickpeas, are a legume and the USDA recommends we consume at least three cups per week. They’re chock full of folate, manganese, protein and copper. Iron and magnesium intake also gain check marks from the flavorful chickpea. Two cups of garbanzo beans contain the daily recommended intake of fiber, creating a fullness effect.

Here is what you need.

1 Can of Garbanzo Beans

10 Cherry Tomatoes

1/4 Cup of Chopped Red Onion

1/2 – 1 ounce of Feta Cheese

1/2 Lemon

1 Diced Garlic Clove

Ground Pepper

Ground Sea Salt

Italian Dressing or Seasoning

Open the can of garbanzo beans, rinse, and place in a bowl. Cut the tomatoes in half, and add in the chopped onion, garlic and Feta cheese. Squeeze the juice from the lemon onto the ingredients. Either sprinkle with Italian seasoning and stir in Sunflower oil and sea salt until desired taste is reached or use about 1/8 cup of Italian dressing.

Spanish explorers spread the taste of the buttery bean after Middle Eastern cultures began to cultivate them around 3,000 B.C. The benefits of the garbanzo bean are boundless and have proven to lower cholesterol.

If you prefer, add a cucumber then chill for 30 minutes to two hours before stirring and serving. When prep time doesn’t involve cooking the taste is simply stunning when summer is a couple days away.

If you prefer to use dried Chickpeas. Pre-soak in three times of the amount of water. Boil for two minutes, remove from heat, cover, and allow to stand for four hours. This reduces the oligosaccharides, which is Greek for simple sugars, or carbohydrates, and also chances for gas or bloating after or during digestion. Dried chickpeas are a more natural and healthy option.

Whichever packaged bean you choose, either is the base to shake up a summer salad.