Super Easy Chickpea (Chicken?) Salad

Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 2-3 for dinner; 4-5 for lunch
Overall Rating: 8

Firstly, I must apologize that this entry is for Super Easy Chickpea (Chicken?) Salad and not for the promised Macadamia-Encrusted Seitan with Broccoli Slaw. I bought the ingredients a couple of weeks ago and have been so busy (dog sitting for the 'rents and working on thesis) that the produce went bad before I was able to prepare it. It will certainly be feature in a future post.

Speaking of which, I must also apologize for the several-week span of no entries! I will work harder in the future to provide you with great vegan cooking insight on a more regular basis...ideally 2 to 3 times per week. Feel free to drop me a line and "kick me in the butt" if you're not seeing enough good stuff.

Anyway, deciding to be vegan meant I had to give up one of my favorite foods: chicken salad sandwiches! Chickpea Salad is a fabulous substitute and is a staple at our house...because it's so easy and so delicious. In addition, chickpeas are a good source of protein, calcium and iron. The recipe works well for lunch or dinner; add some of your favorite soup on the side to round it out.

Ingredients

• 3 19oz. cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed 
• Vegenaise (vegan mayonaise) to taste
• Onion powder to taste
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• Relish or diced pickles to taste
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• Baby spinach
• Pita pockets, such as Joseph's Heart Friendly Pita Bread

Mash the chickpeas into mostly small pieces. Ryan and I typically use a hand potato masher, but a few pulses in a food processor would also work. Add the vegenaise, onion powder, pepper, and relish to taste--I recommend that you start small, mix it up, and add more as necessary. You can also feel free to add finely diced veggies like carrots or celery to the mix.

Cut your pitas in half, line with baby spinach and tomato slices, then top with the chickpea salad. That's it! Enjoy.