Chickpea Quinoa Salad (V/GF)

Lately I've been making something new for my lunches. I'm the type of person who doesn't mind eating the same thing for lunch every day, but the previous lunch I'd been making had stretched out over many, many months, so I decided it was time for a change.

I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest lately, browsing recipes for ideas, and while I didn't find this specific recipe there, I'm sure it was inspired by ingredients I viewed in a wide array of recipes.

I'd previously made a vegan quinoa stir fry, and I loved the roasted hemp seeds I used in that recipe--which happened to be a sample randomly picked up some time ago, so I bought a new bag at the store. I was looking for some crunch in this dish, and in addition to the hemp seeds, I added some raw celery and red and yellow bell peppers. (This week I was out of peppers but used raw carrots instead, and I think I like those even better!). The chickpeas, quinoa, and hemp seeds all have good amounts of vegan protein, and just about everything has lots of dietary fiber (so, maybe let this "digest" before going for a run).

The following recipe makes about four servings of lunch for me:

1 can chickpeas, rinsed
2 c. cooked tri-colored quinoa (Whole Foods has this pre-mixed in the bulk bins)
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped -- OR 1/2 red bell pepper and 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
3-4 scallion stems, chopped
olive oil, salt, pepper, cayenne, cumin, and rice or balsamic vinegar--all to taste (sorry, I don't measure these things)
sesame seeds (optional)

Mix everything together after the quinoa has cooled, and store for the week!

Comments

shirley said…

It looks so pretty! I'm a fan of 'if food looks good it has to taste good'

September 13, 2013 at 6:26 AM

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