Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with cucumber and feta cheese is a perfect summer salad recipe that is quick and soothing for the body. At the same time, this high protein, high fiber salad is perfect for a weight loss diet as well.
Chickpea salad is quick, easy, and a diet food for me. I have added this to my diet now since I'm targeting to lose some extra pounds. Also, in the summer, we don't want to spend hours in the kitchen cooking delicious spicy food for ourselves.
Summers mean less spicy food for me as spices increase the body heat too much and we feel hotter then. So to keep our body temperature in control, we should intake more cooling foods like cucumber, watermelon, and other juicy watery fruits that will keep us well hydrated.
At the same time, chickpeas are rich sources of protein. And as we know how high protein helps in weight loss. So while having this delicious summer salad, you can manage your weight and even lose some extra weight. This is a rich source of protein for vegetarians and vegans.
Other than that, salad is a dish that helps in weight loss many times (except for pasta salads, potato salads, and salads with heavy creamy dressings). Salad keeps us full for longer. So we don't crave other snacks more.
If you are on a diet, then replace your snack with some healthy salads made with fruits or vegetables. Adding protein-rich chickpeas is an added advantage.
What vegetables can you add to your protein salad?
When we are looking for a weight loss salad, many high fiber vegetables are a good choice for this. Some basic ingredients for such salads are cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, cabbage, lettuce, salad leaves, kale leaves, spinach leaves, other microgreens, etc.
Also, add some fruits like apples, Granny Smith apples, lots of berries, pomegranate, citrus fruits, melons, etc. to your salads. You may also add some good nuts to your salad as they are rich sources of vitamins and minerals.
Salad dressing for this salad
Don't use mayo-based dressing as it's fatty and adds more weight even if you are on a salad diet. If you want a creamy texture, use protein-rich Greek yogurt or any non-dairy yogurt.
Use vinaigrettes for dressing. Otherwise, a simple seasoning with salt, pepper, and lemon juice is also enough. Adding olive oil is also beneficial to get good fat from your diet.
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
This no-cook salad is one of the most straightforward recipes. This is just like another Greek chickpea salad. I have added cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion, parsley leaves, and dill leaves here. You may add arugula or any favorite greens. Parsley or cilantro is best for me.
Feta cheese: Add crumbled feta cheese. To make this vegan, either omit feta or add vegan feta cheese
Seasoning: Mix olive oil + red wine vinegar + salt + pepper + lemon Juice
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 1 can (15oz) chickpeas
- 1 cucumber finely chopped
- 1 tomato deseeded & chopped
- 1 bellpepper finely chopped
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 1 green chilli finely chopped
- 2 tbsp parsley finely chopped
- 2 tbsp dill leaves finely chopped
- ยผ cup crumbled feta cheese or vegan feta cheese
For Dressing
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ยผ tsp salt or salt to taste
- ยฝ tsp black pepper powder
- ยฝ tsp oregano (optional)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- If you are using canned chickpea or leftover chickpeas, then just wash off and keep in a large salad bowl or mixing bowl.
- Mix all ingredients in the bowl.
- In a small bowl, add all ingtredients mentioned above uder salad dressing.
- Drizzle the dressing over salad.
- Give it a nice gentle stir mixing all ingredients.
- Leave it for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
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