Hello first week in December!
Why does that always make me feel panicked?
Oh, it’s because I haven’t started my Christmas shopping and my house is no where near clean enough to even think about putting a Christmas tree up.
The older I get the more I understand why my mom had a love-hate relationship with Christmas when I was little.
I always dreamed that I’d be this perfect mom baking holiday cookies every day. (In a cute outfit with a perfectly pressed apron.) Holiday songs would be playing on the radio and we’d all be sipping hot chocolate that I’d made from scratch.
Now I’m not saying that scenario never happens (minus the attire unless my best sweat pants and a wrinkled apron that has been washed too many times counts), but it never seems quite like I imagined it. You see in my vision I was calm, relaxed and had everything under control. I never got frustrated when my carefully measured ingredients got dumped on the counter and I had to start over because I was testing a recipe and needed things to be right. And I most certainly was not stressed by the holidays themselves.
One of these years I’m gonna be one of those freaks organized people who have everything done by Thanksgiving including a freezer full of food already prepared. But in the meantime I’m channeling Dory (from Finding Nemo) and trying to “Just keep swimming….just keep swimming….”.
Really, these times with my boys are way to precious to miss.
One thing that really helps me with all of the holiday craziness is doing my best to eat healthy. Thought I most certainly indulge in all the yummy food of the season, I’m making an effort to make sure that at least 70% of what I eat is clean, healthy and nutritious.
Like today’s Roasted Chickpea Salad.
If you haven’t tried roasted chickpeas – you MUST. (Whether you make this recipe or not. There are lots of great recipes for just roasted chickpeas onPinterest.) They are so delicious in tacos, for a snack or in any salad. Even my oldest likes them!
I simply tossed the salad in a little sweetened lime juice, but if you want a real dressing for your salad I think this one would be amazing. (That Mexican Quinoa Salad, by the way, is probably in my top 5 most loved quinoa salad recipes on the entire site.)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 1 can)
- 1 ½ cups frozen corn, thawed
- 1 red pepper, seeded and diced
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 ½ cups cooked quinoa
- 1 large tomato, seeded and diced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped fine
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar or maple syrup.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In bowl combine chickpeas, corn, red pepper, taco seasoning, lime juice and soy sauce. Toss until well combined. Add chickpeas to baking sheet and roast for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring often to prevent the vegetables from burning.
- Combine lime juice and agave nectar in a small bowl. In a large bowl combine quinoa, tomatoes, jalapeno, cilantro and chickpea mixture. Toss with lime juice and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Servings 4, Calories 243, Fat 2.8g, Carbohydrates 46.9g, Protein 10.4g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 630mg, Fiber 4.3g, Sugars 10.2g
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