Sometimes when I’m just hanging around the house I come up with some great lunch ideas. Most of you already know I’m a creative thinker. To be honest, it’s really not rocket science. My favourite way to make a salad is to open the fridge and start hauling out ingredients from the vegetable drawer.

I had some fresh organic kale, spinach and some leftover cantaloupe lurking around so it looked good enough to me!

Oh and what about these kiwis? What about them? They were also just sitting there staring at me so I took my paring knife and made them pretty. Not as pretty as an avocado rose, but good enough. I also received a super cool melon baller from Zwilling Canada so I thought, hmmmmmmm ……….why not make a few cantaloupe balls to kick up the greens in this salad.

Salads are really the easiest lunches to make. But like really. What does it take to throw some lettuce on a plate?

Not too much right?

The issue wasn’t so much the bed of lettuce, it was the topping for this creation. I wanted to make something nice, crunchy and with the addition of added protein. What’s better than chickpeas that are perfectly seasoned and roasted? I mean.

These little babies are so addictive I found myself snacking on them all day. I’m talking about every hour on the hour, a handful here and a handful there. Hello “Chickpeas Anonymous”.

And what about the dressing? Also something that adds a bit of boom to any salad. I mixed up some store bought hummus, mustard, olive oil, lemon juice/zest, seasonings and agave – an absolutely perfect vegan dressing. (you can whip up your own hummus but I happened to have a roasted garlic one in the fridge, so why not?).

1, 2, 3 get ready to salad with me!

VEGAN SWEET CAESAR SALAD WITH ROASTED CHICKPEAS

Roasted Chickpeas -1 can chickpeas (750g) rinsed, drained and dried well -Olive oil -Sea salt -Pepper -Garlic Powder -Cayenne (optional)

Salad Ingredients -Kale -Spinach -Cantaloupe -Sliced Kiwi

Vegan Caesar Dressing -½ cup hummus, fresh or store bought (I used roasted garlic) -1 tsp mustard (I used sweet & spicy) -2 cloves of fresh garlic, pressed - *omit if using garlic hummus -2 tbs fresh lemon juice -zest from ½ lemon -pinch of pink sea salt -pinch of freshly ground pepper -2 - 3 tbs olive oil -1 tbs agave, honey or maple syrup -1 tbs vegan mayonnaise - optional but really makes this very creamy

1) Preheat oven to 450F. Line a large baking pan with parchment or non stick foil. 2) Rinse and drain chickpeas, then blot well with a clean towel or paper towel. Make sure you get every last drop of moisture off the chickpeas, otherwise you will end up with soggy ones.

3) Toss chickpeas in olive oil and season with sea salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne if you like them spicy.

4) Spread chickpeas on baking pan, place in oven for 30 -40 minutes or until crispy.

5) Wash and dry kale and spinach and place into large salad bowl. Add in about 1 cup of cantaloupe (balls or cubes is fine). 6) In a blender, combine all salad dressing ingredients. Blend until combined and adjust seasonings to your taste. I threw in some vegan mayonnaise to add some creaminess to the dressing. Totally optional but a really nice addition. 7) Place into a small mason jar with a tight fitting lid until ready to serve.

8) When ready to serve, shake jar of dressing well, toss salad with a few tablespoons of dressing, top with chickpeas and garnish with kiwis. Any leftover dressing stores well in the fridge for 3 - 4 days.

See ya next week!

debi @simplybeautifuleatingsimplybeautifuleating.com