We are in the last weeks of the P90X journey. It has been a difficult but rewarding experience. I will write more about it when we finish it completely (and will post some of the “after” pictures!) I find that the hardest part of the program isn’t the workouts but timing. Every day we get home around 8 pm and right when you’d think the day is over, I start preparing dinner and lunch for the next day. Needless to say, I am never in the mood to make anything creative or time-consuming on weekdays. I don’t want to eat at 10 pm; it would defeat the purpose of working out! This is when the mighty and hearty chickpeas salad comes to the rescue. It is so easy and fast to make if you think ahead and soak the chickpeas the night before. And this dressing is killer for the summertime!

Ingredients:

2 c dried chickpeas (soaked overnight and cooked)

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1 head of broccoli, lightly steamed

2 yellow bell peppers, chopped

Cranberries and walnuts for garnish

For the dressing:

1 tbsp hot mustard (I used home-made, yum!)

2-3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp dry basil

1 tsp dry cilantro

Black pepper to taste

Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing with a fork. Taste and adjust herbs if needed.
2. Toss all the vegetables with the chickpeas. Coat with the dressing.
3. Garnish with cranberries and walnuts. Serve warm.

This is such a great salad! It is so hearty that it can be eaten as dinner.This is a good post-workout meal because the protein provided by the chickpeas is balanced by the carbs in the vegetables. Carbohydrates help protein to be absorbed and utilized by the growing muscles more efficiently.  The dressing only uses 2-3 tsbp of oil for all of this amount of salad, so it is not high in fat. I found that this is a great, quick, and nutritious summer post-workout dinner and I will be making it often.

Make this salad for the #saladaday challenge and post if on Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook.

Today I wish you to have all the time in the world,

M