This chickpea avocado salad is really light and refreshing, perfect for spring! Sometimes I really crave a salad, and it is only in the spring or summer. They are the perfect seasons for healthy salads and I try to eat them regularly. This recipe is so easy to make and is full of goodness. Salads are great ways to add a load of vegetables into your day.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. You can read the full disclosure here.

I eat a plant based diet to help manage my autoimmune disease; you can read about my reasons to eat a plant based diet here. Getting a good amount of leafy green vegetables is important in my diet as they are beneficial for gut health. Obviously if you eat a whole food plant based diet, you do not have to worry about eating enough fruits and vegetables. Processed food is limited in this diet so the vast majority of your food comes from pure goodness.

Everyone can benefit from eating more fruit and vegetables though, regardless of what diet you follow. I’m sure everyone knows this and that you try your best. Did you know though that rather than the recommended 5 a day, more research suggests that you should really aim for 10 a day. How many people can say truthfully that they get enough? You should also aim to make the majority of these from vegetables. Fruit is healthy but it does contain sugar, so be careful not to overload.

Ingredients

There are lots of ingredients in this chickpea avocado salad but the main ones have some major health benefits.

Avocados

I think I have talked about how much I love avocados enough lately, so I won’t repeat myself. However if you do love them too then check out my easiest guacamole ever and my chickpea and avocado smash.

The health benefits of avocados are huge; they give you a boost of heart healthy fatty acids, load you up with potassium and give you a boost of lots of different vitamins and minerals. They are also a really popular substitute for butter or spreads in sandwiches, a much healthier choice.

Chickpeas

These wonderful little things are actually legumes and can also be known as garbanzo beans or Egyptian peas. They are really versatile, you can chuck them on a salad, roast them to make a snack, blend them up to make hummus and even use the flour made from them to turn them into chickpea flour tortillas.

They are really high in protein so are really handy on a plant based diet. They are also high in fibre too, so they are filling, which is great if you are watching what you eat.

They are also mild in flavour so you can really jazz up the herbs and spices without worrying about it being to overpowering.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a great addition to this salad. They are so fresh tasting and really add some juiciness to the dish. Tomatoes are also a source of antioxidant’s that help reduce the risk of certain cancers and heart disease. They can however be troublesome for some people. In an anti-inflammatory diet, it is often recommended that you avoid nightshade vegetables altogether. I did this at the very beginning of my diet journey and then added them back in one at a time to see if they bothered me at all. Strangely, some did and some didn’t. I can eat tomatoes, potatoes and aubergine but I am very sensitive to everything to do with peppers, including red spices.

I think the take home from this is that if you are avoiding nightshades for health reasons but are not sure if you are sensitive to all of them then cut them all out for a while and then reintroduce them again one at a time. Pay close attention to how you feel. You may find that you can eat some of them after all.

How to make

This chickpea avocado salad is really quick and easy to make.

Start by adding a large handful of leafy greens to a serving bowl. I used lettuce and spinach but any greens would work.

Finely chop some red onion.

Chop an avocado into bite sized chunks.

Chop up some tomatoes into bite sized chunks, I used cherry tomatoes.

In a mixing bowl add the chickpeas, finely chopped red onion, tomatoes and avocado.

Sprinkle on some garlic powder, some salt and add some lemon juice and mix well.

Add this mixture to your bowl of leafy greens.

I served this with some sauerkraut on the side and I topped it with some vegan Greek cheese.

Enjoy!

Health and happiness,

Laura x