I eat a lot of salads (and hopefully you do too). One problem with eating lots of salads is that it is easy to get bored with what you are eating:
spinach, grilled chicken, olive oil….ugh
That is why I’ll go weeks at a time on a spinach boycott. This forces me to great creative with tastes and flavors. I came across a great vegetarian protein packed salad recipe that you’re sure to love if you are getting tired of the same old chicken and spinach dance. To make this recipe a little simpler you can skimp on stuff like mint and chives but know that the flavor will suffer a little.
- 3 cups cooked large limas or Christmas limas
- 1 pound ripe tomatoes, cut in 1-inch dice or wedges (it looks nice if they’re cut about the same size as the beans)
- 1 green pepper, cut in 1-inch slices
- 1 small cucumber (preferably a Persian cucumber), sliced (peeled if waxed)
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or mint
- 2 ounces feta cheese, diced or crumbled
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups arugula
I’m not a huge lima bean fan so replacing them with canned low sodium Cannellini beans is a great option. This salad also uses arugula with is one of my favorite leafy greens. It has a distinctive taste that is great with just a little lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.
The above recipe can make 4 servings which are about 350 calories a piece containing 12 grams of fiber and 15 grams of protein.
