Something new I’ve been trying to do is eat less chicken and more plant based protein. I am not going vegan/vegetarian (to each their own, I support everyone) but with everything going on in the world, protein can be kind of scarce.
To change up my meals, I have been adding in more legumes/beans, chickpea pasta, and supplementing with a protein pasta where I need to so I am basically only eatin meat at dinner time most days. Sometime’s I will have an ounce or 2 of chicken with lunch if I am really low that day.
As a bodybuilder and performance athlete, protein is so important. I need to make sure I am getting complete protein in my diet so my body can fully repair itself. Protein consists of 20 amino acids. 11 of these amino’s are produces by the human body. To make sure we are in good health, we need to get the other 9 from the foods we eat otherwise called “essential amino acids”. When a food contains all nine of these, it is called a complete protein!
Some food examples of a complete protein include meat, eggs, poultry, fish, and dairy.
Plant based complete proteins include quinoa, hempseed, buckwheat, soybeans, and blue-green algae.
Plant based proteins do not contain very much protein in comparison to an animal protein.
In this case, it is good to include a variety so you can complete the proteins by eating different foods throughout your day.
Getting more creative with lunch/dinner ideas and making sure I am still getting a decent amount of protein in each meal means trying new combo’s out. Some are delicious and others I can’t even stomach.
I love chicken salads especially in the spring and summer. Chickpeas are a similar texture when pulsed in a bullet or blender just a little creamier.
On day one I tried this with turmeric and I was not a fan but that’s because I am not a fan of turmeric lol. I always want to like it more than I do.
Turmeric has so many great benefits for us like being an anti-inflammatory.
I’m including this one in the post even though I wasn’t a fan since I know others are! It was’t bad just very turmeric-y lol.
It’s also a good idea to use black pepper when using turmeric since the piperine (compound in black pepper) boosts the absorption of curcumin, a property found in turmeric. Curcumin alone, is poorly absorbed in our bodies.
The next day, I retried the recipe leaving the turmeric out. I used garlic powder on day 2 instead of chopping garlic up, onion powder, salt, pepper, and paprika.
I don’t measure these, sorry guys! I just did a little sprinkle and taste test lol.
Chickpea Salad
Equipment
- Blender or Bullet
Ingredients
Basic chickpea salad
- 150g Chickpeas (drained)
- 15g Light Mayo Sub for a vegan mayo if needed. You can add more if needed.
- Salt
- Garlic Powder Can use crushed garlic instead
- Onion Powder
Turmeric Chickpea Salad
- Black pepper
- Turmeric
Spicy Chickpea Salad
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Drain chickpeas and pulse in a blender or bullet. Leave mostly chunky like a chicken salad would be.
- Mix in mayo and basic seasonings. Add the turmeric and black pepper OR the spicy seasonings depending on the version you are making.
- Eat on a tortilla wrap, sweet pepper boats (pictured), toasted bagel or bread, with crackers, etc. The possibilities are endless.
Notes
7p, 24c, 6f, 7g fiber This would be a great summer appetizer as well!
I plan to make this as a summer appetizer for little get-together’s and BBQ’s. I’ll be eating so much more of this recipe with more combo’s like on an avocado wrap!
Are you a turmeric fan? I feel like it’s one of those flavors that are a hit or miss. Very black and white lol.
