Chickpea & Chicken Salad Recipe

No more boring chicken salad! Notch up chicken salad with chickpeas, olives and Indian-style spices in a yogurt dressing. Hearty and delicious with tons of protein, this is definitely a "savory" chicken salad. For Weight Watchers? It's very Freestyle SmartPoints friendly, all the ingredients except one (olives) are zero points!

Chickpea & Chicken Salad ♥ KitchenParade.com with Indian-style spices in a yogurt dressing. Very Weight Watchers Freestyle friendly!

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COMPLIMENTS!

"... love the spice combination, 'different' but not weird, if you know what I mean ..." ~ Anonymous

The new food pyramid unveiled last spring by the U.S. Department of Agriculture offers, well, modest improvement. It does include daily exercise and emphasizes vegetables by separating them from fruit.

But MyPyramid.gov (2014 update, now ChooseMyPlate) is filled with useful tips about food choices and portion sizes.

Vegetables are sorted into easy-to-remember groups including green vegetables (broccoli, spinach, leafy greens), orange vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, squash) and starchy vegetables (corn, peas, potatoes).

Dried beans crop up twice, first with vegetables and then as a protein source under "meat and dried beans".

Beans are a great meat extender, especially if your aim is to limit cholesterol and increase fiber.

Me, I’m happy to have an unusual mélange of flavors and textures that makes up easily, "tastes" good to me and is good "for" me too.

That's because while food advice may change, what doesn't change it the need for quick, healthy and economical suppers made from common pantry ingredients. Chickpea & Chicken Salad? In spades, people, in spades.

All that and when the entrée is so virtuous, feel free to tempt you and your family with a dessert of what the USDA calls "discretionary calories"!

SERVING SUGGESTION Funny thing, I do like to serve this salad with hummus on the side! Usually it's the wonderful Roasted Eggplant “Hummus" (Eggplant & Chickpea Dip & Spread) but some times it's my Crazy-Smooth Crazy-Good Hummus. I do love-love-love good hummus!

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QUICK SUPPER: CHICKPEA & CHICKEN SALAD

Hands-on time: 25 minutes
Time to table: about 2 hours
Makes 6 cups

15 ounces canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1 cup (246g) non-fat yogurt (Greek or plain either one)
Zest & juice (about 2 tablespoons) of fresh lemon or fresh lime
1 teaspoon caraway seed or ground caraway
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (key ingredient, don't skip or skimp!)
1/4 teaspoon (or to taste) cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 cup (132g) good olives, pitted and halved

3 cups (375g) cooked chicken, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste

Rinse chickpeas in running water and drain in colander. While chickpeas drain, mix all the remaining ingredients except the chicken in large bowl. Add chicken and chickpeas and combine well. Taste, then season as needed with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 90 minutes for flavors to meld.

ALANNA's TIPS For cooked chicken, use leftover grilled chicken breasts, leftover Fast Roast Chicken or my favorite, a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. A whole rotisserie chicken usually yields exactly three cups of cooked chicken.

If the yogurt is a little wet, drain it in a strainer first.

I love to cook chickpeas from dried chickpeas (it makes especially good homemade hummus, see How to Cook Dried Chickpeas Especially for Hummus aka "Jerusalem Chickpeas") but for this salad, I prefer the firmness (to say nothing of the convenience) of canned chickpeas.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Cup: 217 Calories; 6g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 46mg Cholesterol; 622mg Sodium; 16g Carb; 4g Fiber; 3g Sugar; 23g Protein.

WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 4 & PointsPlus 5 & SmartPoints 5 & SmartPoints Freestyle 1

CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = 2/3 cup (8g protein).

This recipe has been "Alanna-sized".