Chickpea Salad

This is a simple and inexpensive recipe from the American Heart Association’s Simple Cooking with Heart Program. It can serve as a vegetable side dish or be the main dish for a meatless meal or light meal. Each serving is low in calories, sodium and unhealthy fats, but is high in fiber. Fiber helps lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes and is essential for good health. Since foods containing fiber keep you feeling full longer, they may help in weight reduction. It is recommended that adults eat 25 to 30 grams of fiber each day

Ingredients

• 1 15.5 oz. canned, no-salt-added or lower-sodium chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed
• 1 cup chopped, fresh tomatoes (any type)
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• 2 stalk celery, chopped
• ¼ small red or yellow onion, sliced
• ½ cup chopped, fresh cilantro
• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil or canola
• ½ tbsp. balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
• ½ tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. sweet paprika

Directions

1. Add all the ingredients into a large bowl.
2. Stir to combine and serve.

Nutritional Analysis

Per serving

Calories: 168

Total Fat: 4.5 g

Saturated Fat: 0.5 g

Trans Fat: 0.0 g

Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5 g

Monounsaturated Fat: 2.5 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 48 mg

Carbohydrates: 25 g

Fiber: 6 g

Sugars: 4 g

Protein: 7 g

Makes four servings. Price per serving $1.45

Source: 2014 American Heart Association