Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad

Cookbook Challenge Week 1 - Appetite for Reduction





I cannot tell you how excited I am to own this cookbook.  I've been skimming through the recipes, and I have to say, I can see myself making ALL of them.  They are all quick and simple, which is great for me, especially on busy weeknights when I get home from work after 6.

And... there are TONS of recipe ideas that are great for work lunches. One of my (silent) New Year's resolutions was to start packing more interesting, healthy lunches.  I was quite pleasantly surprised as I flipped through the book and was met with tons of great ideas for lunch, like in Chapter 1, for example: 

FULL ON SALADS 

"THERE WAS A TIME -- A LONELY, LONELY TIME -- WHEN SALADS were a pale and limp affair, relegated to the side of your plate, practically weeping.  I think those dark days were also know as the '80s.  Then all of a sudden, salads came alive... the line between salad and entree was blurred. The walls came down, and arugula came up".

Reading Isa's introduction MAKES me want to make and eat salad! Even in the cold, dead of winter, when the thought of a crisp and cool green salad makes me shiver...

So why not start at recipe numero uno?  (I had all the stuff on hand too)  

I give you: Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette:

Delicious! This is going to be my go-to salad for work for a while.  I decided to keep the quinoa and chickpeas in a separate container in my fridge, and then mixed them in with the greens and dressing each morning.  The quinoa and chickpea combo really adds nice bulk to the greens, which made me feel full the rest of the day.

Appetite for Reduction really has some wonderful homemade salad dressing too, great to keep mixed up in the fridge for salad variety anytime.  The Balsamic Vinaigrette that follows this recipe in the book uses soaked cashews instead of oil, to give a creamy body to the dressing. L O V E! Cannot wait to make more...