Red Pepper and Chickpea Salad

This next recipe is a special one for me, it's has become one of my personal favourites, and I am really happy to share it with you today. This Red bell pepper and chickpea salad is a great way to get some nutrients and plant based protein in your belly, keeping it full and happy for a few hours. 

This salad recipe made it to the top of my list for many reasons, first and foremost it's absolutely delicious and so so beautiful! Seriously, it has a great presentation, the contrasting colours and the vibrant red of the bell peppers makes it really stand out.

The second reason for it being such a good option is, of course, simplicity! This salad is made with 7 ingredients, all easy to find and quite cheap. And the preparation is as easy as it gets, just mix all the cut veggies, herbs and the chickpeas in a bowl, squeeze some lime and season with salt and pepper and you got yourself a super tasty healthy dish!

Now that I mentioned healthy, which is the next reason, let me tell you all you can get from this colourful and filling salad. One of the main ingredients in it is chickpeas, which are a great plant based source of protein, you get about 11g of protein per serving, pretty good considering you only add 248 calories to your quota, leaving a lot room for some more tasty food. 

Aside from the protein, chickpeas have a lot more to offer, they are packed with folate, Manganese, Zinc, Iron, vitamins, B6, B12, C, A, K, they also supply good amounts of fiber and antioxidants, and they'll keep you away from snacking through out the day. 

Another ingredient in this salad, what gives it its pretty looks is red bell peppers which have much more to offer than what most people think. One of its big contributions is vitamin C, it has a LOT, so if you are in need of a boost to your immune system, reach out for some crunchy tasty peppers.

Particularly red ones are super loaded with vitamin C, for me, this was bit of a surprise since I had always related food containing vitamin C with a more sour flavour, but knowing that this sorta sweet pepper is also a great source I am thrilled to put it to work on many different dishes. 

That's not it, the fat, cholesterol and sodium levels in bell peppers are almost inexistent, and they are packed with fiber, antioxidants, as well as many other vitamins and minerals such as Iron, Copper, Zinc, Potassium, vitamin A, K and B complex. 

This two ingredients are a serious nutrient dense power bomb, and to finish it off we are adding parsley and cilantro, sometimes mistaken between each other but their flavour is quite different, and go really well when paired together.  

As you can see there are enough reasons to obsess over this light, fresh and super delicious dish.