a lunchbox hit

This is another great lunchbox salad that promises to keep you full until dinner time.  Its  travels well, is dressed in advanced and even tastes better if made the evening before and chilled as this allows the flavours to develop.

For a complete lunchbox just add some cherry tomatoes and some fruit - pictured here is the French Summer fruit, Mirabelles which taste like small sweet plums.

For the salad for one person you need:

1/2 cup of cooked and drained chickpeas
1/2 large carrot julienned/grated
2 teaspoons of raisins
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds crushed
tablespoon chopped parsley

For the dressing:

1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil
2 tablespoons of lemon juice

To assemble:

Whisk dressing ingredients together the mix well through the salad, then chill overnight. If you like serve on a bed of green salad.

lite lunch with enough bite to keep you going through the afternoon

This is a lovely light simple to make Summer salad that gives you four of your five a day. The chickpeas are not only a good source of protein but because they have a low GI will keep you fueled through to dinner and hopefully avoid those afternoon cravings. The quantities double up easily.

For one person you will need:

1 cup cooked chickpeas(or from a can, drained)
5 cherry tomatoes
5 olives
1/2 a bell pepper chopped (red works best but today I only had yellow)
1/2 small red onion sliced
2 large fistfuls of lettuce (any green salad works, good with lambs lettuce or water cress, I used a butter leave salad), washed and thorn (if necessary)

For the dressing (makes 2 portions):

2 x teaspoons rapeseed oil
1/2 garlic clove crushed
4 x teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon runny honey

To make: 

First make the dressing by whisking all of the ingredients together.
The put all salad ingredients in a serving bowl pour over half the dressing and mix well through the salad.