Simple Summer Salad

Hel-loooo world,

I'm currently updating my blog. You'll notice my recipe style has changed a bit as my health has been changing as well. Although I still cook with chicken, steak, and pork, I've been creating more vegan-based recipes (I'm not vegan though). Recently, I decided to reduce dairy, gluten, and refined sugar. Not only do I feel a heck of a lot better, but I look better as well. I'd like to someday say I'm 100 percent free, but I'm working more on the 80/20 rule. 80 percent of the time I eliminate gluten, dairy, refined sugar. When we head out to a great restaurant, I'm not going to turn down something delicious (good thing we only eat out on the weekends). It's about making simple changes I can live with. Anyway, I'm keeping up my old recipes because I still love them, but I will be working on remaking and modifying them just to tweak the ingredients.

Today's Simple Summer Salad was just that - SIMPLE. Really. It took me less than 10 minutes to throw it together, I made a second one for lunch tomorrow. As part of my simple health change this month, I'm committed to "coloring my plate" (#coloryourplate) with an abundance of fruits and vegetables. Typically, I get stuck on eating the same things over and over (thank goodness for Juice Plus+), so this one simple change (#onesimplechange) has forced me to take a closer look at what I'm eating. After adding the veggies, I knew I wanted a protein - chick peas jumped out from my cabinet. Typically, I'd make hummus, but today I wanted a little crunch, hence the roasted chick peas. They add the best texture to this simple salad. Simply delicious!

What you'll need for 2 servings:
1/2 English Cucumber, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
2 slices red onion, diced
1/2 red, orange, or yellow bell pepper
small handful of parsley (or even cilantro), chopped
small handful of shredded carrots
Salt & pepper
Baked chick peas (see recipe below)
Lemon vinaigrette (see recipe below)

Combine all ingredients except chick peas into a bowl and toss with dressing. Serve in an individual bowl and top with chick peas.

Roasted Chick Peas:
Set oven to 400 degrees
1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper

Toss chick peas, olive oil, and ingredients into a bowl to mix. Pour onto a baking sheet and bake until crisp. This could take 30 minutes. I made mine ahead of time.

Lemon Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

I make my dressing in the Vitamix. You could use any blender or just give all ingredients (with chopped garlic) a good shake in a glass jar.

Throw all ingredients except olive oil into the Vitamix. Combine on low. Slowly add the olive oil. That's it. You're done. You can use this dressing all week.