When you’re in the midst of moving, prepared foods and dining out become the name of the game. And what I ended up craving the most was fruits and veggies. It’s not that you don’t eat them at all, but the volume is diminished as a result of cost. It makes you feel a bit dehydrated and craving something a little less dense.

When we got settled in, the first thing I did was head to the store and load up on veggies. I went with a simple salad that boasted an array of colors and textures. I chose to roast the chickpeas because it gives them a lot more flavor, especially if you’re using chickpeas from the can. If you do, I recommend Eden’s Organic because it’s one of the few canned varieties that’s free of BPA. Eden Foods has been BPA free since 1999. But just because it’s organic doesn’t mean it’s free of synthetic hormones. Muir Glen, Amy’s, Bionaturae, and W Organic all use BPA in their canning process.

As the weather cools down, nothing says fall like your favorite root vegetables. They’re inexpensive, hearty, and nutrient dense. Take turnips for example–they’re a great source of vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, manganese, pantothenic acid, copper, thiamine, potassium, niacin, and magnesium.

A simple lemon vinaigrette makes this dish ever the more tasty. I regularly use this recipe because I almost always have the ingredients on hand. It’s much healthier and tastier to make your own salad dressing because you can control sodium and preservatives.

Roasted Turnip, Beet, and Chickpea Salad with a Lemon Vinaigrette

1/2 large turnip, skin removed, chopped into 2-inch cubes
1/2 large beet, skin removed, chopped into 2-inch cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup minced purple onion
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
1 cup arugula. washed, rough chopped, and stems removed
Garnish with lemon vinaigrette as needed

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Spread the beets and turnips out on a cookie sheet. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, sea salt, and pepper. Toss with your hands.

3. Bake for 15 minutes or until a fork easily punctures the skin. Remove from heat and let cool.

4. At the same time, heat up a skillet to medium and add in remaining olive oil. Saute onions until fragrant and add in chickpeas. Cook until the chickpeas are roasted and a little brown. Set aside and let cool.

5. In a medium sized bowl, add roasted vegetables, chickpeas mixture, and greens. Top with about a tbsp of lemon vinaigrette and toss well. Serve immediately.

*Do not overdress, it will ruin the salad. It usually takes a lot less than you would have thought before tossing the salad.

Lemon Vinaigrette

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped assorted herbs
1 tbsp Nama Shoyu
Sea salt and pepper to taste.

Method

1.Whisk together until well combined.

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