Tag: chickpeas

Lunch, Uncategorized

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Salad

I find it can be hard to think of things to have for lunch especially if like me you’re not a big fan of sandwiches. Many of my clients also struggle with what to eat at lunch time.

I’m a big fan of leftovers and often I advise people to make more of their evening meal and have it for lunch the next day. However this dish is good if you are working from home or maybe on a weekend when you have a little bit more time but don’t want to spend to long doing prep work.

For a long time I wasn’t a fan of roasted chickpeas, I just didn’t get it! However, I tried again recently and realised why everyone raves about them! I think the trick is to roast them on a high heat so that they go super crispy.

So why do chickpeas feature so heavily in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes?

Chickpeas are cheap, versatile and have many health benefits too. As well as being a good source of plant-based protein they are a great source of fibre which means they are great option for diabetics as they may help to improve blood sugar, insulin and lipid levels.

According to some research the high levels of fibre may also help to reduce cholesterol and are therefore a good option for people who are at risk of heart problems, however, they should be consumed in moderation by people taking beta-blockers.

Due to the high levels of protein chickpeas are great to add to vegetarian and vegan dishes.

Ingredients

Serves 2

  • 2 sweet potatoes
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 courgette
  • 150g button mushrooms
  • 1 tin chickpeas
  • 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • pinch chili flakes
  • 3 large handfuls of spinach
  • 1 lime
  • chili oil or olive oil

Method:

  1. Heat the oven to 200C/ gas mark 6. Put the oil on to two oven trays and heat in the oven
  2. Cut the sweet potato, mushrooms and courgette into large chunks
  3. Rinse and drain the chickpeas
  4. On one tray place the sweet potatoes and chickpeas, on the other place the courgettes and mushrooms. Sprinkle both with chili flakes and seasoning and shake well. NB I found that putting them on separate trays helps the chickpeas to go crispy
  5. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until the potatoes, courgette and mushrooms are soft and the chickpeas are crispy
  6. Cut the avocado into bite size pieces
  7. Place the spinach onto plates and then top with the remaining ingredients, drizzle with lime juice and chili oil, to taste

If you’d like more tailored information on how to fit healthy eating into your life then why not email me for a consultation?