Healthy Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

Recipe from Beauty Bites 
Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen
Serves 3

I thought this salad was just scrumptious.  It’s pretty, colorful, full of good-for-you ingredients and would make a lovely dish for company.  You can prepare all the ingredients in advance and then toss the salad just before serving it up.  The recipe calls for raw beets.  If you’re not a beet fan, I will say that the other ingredients mask the earthy beet taste, so keep an open mind.  In the winter, when it’s acceptable to turn on the oven, go ahead and roast up the beets and add them to the salad instead of the raw beets.  (I cubed half a very large beet for the salad and then shredded the other half for sandwiches later.)

Ingredients
1 garlic clove, minced
½ lemon, juiced (I used the juice from one small lemon.)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon basil leaves, chopped (I used 1 Tablespoon pesto.)
2 scallions, sliced
1½ cups chickpeas, canned, rinsed and drained
1 cup cabbage, chopped, red/purple or green
1 cup arugula or power greens
1/3 cup olives, pitted and chopped
½ cup raw beets, peeled and diced (I’m sure you can substitute roasted beets if you prefer.)
2 Tablespoon feta cheese, crumbled (I used vegan feta cheese.)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste (Optional…the feta and the olives will be salty.)
1 Tablespoon walnuts, roughly chopped 
1 avocado, peeled and chopped

Instructions
In a large salad bowl, whisk the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and basil (or pesto).  Add the cabbage to the dressing and massage a bit until the cabbage softens up.  Add the rest of the ingredients except the avocado.  Toss well to coat.  Add the avocado and gently toss the salad. 

 
Nutrition Information: (1 of 3 servings) calories: 362; total fat: 21grams (saturated fat 4 grams); cholesterol 6 mg; sodium 305 mg; carbohydrates 37g; fiber 13 grams; sugars 9 grams; protein12 grams