Friday, January 4, 2008

Chick Pea and Tuna Salad

I know a lot of people like to make new years resolutions that involve dieting and losing weight. I lost weight last year by NOT eating out, cutting back on portions, and increasing my fiber intake! This salad is a great low fat dish that packs a fiber punch!


Chick Pea and Tuna Salad


I love chick peas because they are so versatile. This recipe calls for half a can so you can whip up some hummus with the other half.

The recipe calls for fancy canned tuna, I just roll with the good old stand by


Save the tuna juice from the can for your dogs



This is knife porn for cooks...I got a Shun knife for Christmas from the SO. I can complain that he doesn't eat but he sure does spoil me.




I actually ended up exchanging that one because it seems they sold the SO a floor model as the blade was dinged and scratched. I got my new one today and it is AMAZING. Seriously, having a good knife makes cooking so much easier and safer. A dull knife makes you work harder which could lead to more accidents.




I buy olives from the olive bar at the local grocery store that lets me get as much or as little as I want. Using salad and olive bars for fresh ingredients is great so you don't get stuck with a lot of leftovers that may go bad before you use them.


I chopped my veggies in advance and just let them hang out in the fridge until I was ready to eat.


Veggies in with the chick peas


Tuna in the mix


I added paprika because I love it!


Lemon juice. This is where I deviate from the recipe. Lemon juice is delicious but I really like a tart punch in my salads so I added some White Wine Vinegar. This would also be delicious with some red wine or balsamic. You can just use the lemon juice if you are not so much of a tart and tangy fan.


Lay out your greens, mine are spinach as usual.


There you go! It is light, delicious and super easy!


The required extreme close up! Enjoy!

17 comments:

  1. Wow... Who needs to eat out when you can eat at home like that? You even make it look beautiful on the plate.

    I'm making the tomatoe soup tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.

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  2. Ooooohhhh...that looks really great. All my favorite ingredients! I will have to try it for sure.

    And I agree...a good knife really makes a huge difference!!

    michele ;)

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  3. Okay what does a chick pea taste like? I don't believe I have ever had one. The commissary on post has an olive bar but not a good selection of cheese. Geez

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  4. That looks fantastic! I'll need to try that one!

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  5. Dang, that looks tasty. I'll have to try that one too!

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  6. You're making our mouth's water! yummmmmmmm

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  7. Why would they sell him a floor model knife? I would cut off my finger with a really good knife. Do chick peas taste like garbonza(sp) beans? I wonder how black beans would taste?

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  8. J1 is scared of ultra sharp knives as she just KNOWS she'd chop her fingers off. She might try this without the tuna as she doesn't eat fish. J x

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  9. The only thing missing in this recipe from my list of favorite things to eat is cheese. I'm a chickpea addict. Ever have them roasted? I tricked Scott into trying them once by calling them "Garbanzo nuts". He said "Yum! Wait...aren't garbanzos really chickpeas???". I tried.

    BTW...see your inspiration:
    http://jennyfern.blogspot.com/2008/01/inspired-to-cook.html

    Go Steelers!

    Jen

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  10. Oh my gosh - that looks delicious! I must try it! (Bonus is that it appears to be easy!)

    Maryann

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  11. I am definitely going to be trying this. It looks so nice. I love salads.

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  12. I have the same knife - only mine is the smooth blade!!!! (I also have the paring knife, which is equally awesome.)

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  13. I decided to wait to make the soup and instead made the chickpea salad today. Yummy!! I made a double batch and I'll be taking it for my lunch a few times this week. I immediately filled out a recipe card and filed it with my favorite recipes. I love how easy it was to make too.

    Love your blog, Jessica

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  14. Salad looks great and easy too! One question, why do you save your tuna juices for the dogs? Do they like it really?

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  15. I just made this for dinner tonight. It tasted as good as it looked. Instead of spinach, I put this on romaine lettuce (I like the crunch). I also couldn't remember if you used a scallion or shallot, so I used both (again a nice crunch). I also used a balsamic vinagrette with just a squeeze of lemon. Thanks for a great recipe!
    Lacey

    ps. Comet and BLU are mad at me for using the tuna that comes in pouches, as there was no tuna water for them.

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  16. Thanks for this low fat dish! My mom is goingto make it tomorrow. I let you know how it was!
    Have a good night
    Veronica

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  17. I made this to take for lunch last week and it was great. Instead of the added olive oil, I just bought tuna in olive oil. I'm not a big fan of lemon so I left that out as well and put in some balsamic vinegar instead. Thanks for sharing!

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