March is Nutrition Month. This year’s theme is 9-5; healthy eating in the work place. We will have tips and recipes this month for improving nutrition in the work environment.  Do you pack your lunch to work?  If you do, try this roasted yam, chickpea, and kale salad with quinoa. It is packed with fibre, protein, antioxidants, and flavour.

I got this salad from a fellow dietitian and made some changes, like adding KALE. I made this salad for date night with these enchiladas from Sprouted Kitchen . My carnivore loving husband was initially reluctant, stating are we having “VEGETARIAN” tonight because I am hungry. First thing, he said was this salad is “good” and didn’t complain about being hungry. Guess what, he had this salad the next day for lunch too. This salad is nutrient dense with antioxidants, protein and fibre to satisfy carnivore and non carnivore food preferences. Avocado would be a nice addition, plus it would add some healthy fats. Another great thing about this salad is you can make it ahead when you are doing your weekly meal preparation and it will taste better the next day. Remember, the time I told you I wasn’t your kale loving foodie dietitian. Well, let’s just say this sturdy leafy green godess has been making a regular appearance on our dinner table.

Why is this salad the perfect take to work lunch? The combination of green leafy kale, sweet roasted yams, fibre filling quinoa, and protein dense chick peas will keep you full and productive for the rest of your afternoon. Not only is this salad super healthy but it tastes good.  Now I call that a winner! Bring this salad to your next work day lunch, you’ll be the healthy foodie in the office.

Roasted Yam, Chickpea, and Kale Salad

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Zest Nutrition

Yields 6

15 minPrep Time

40 minCook Time

55 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

• Salad
• 1/2 cup of quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups of yams, washed, peeled, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 cups of kale, washed, chopped,
• 1 can of chickpeas, rinsed, and drained
• 2 carrots, washed,peeled, and grated
• 1 red pepper, washed and diced
• 1/2 cup of parsley, chopped
• Dressing
• 3 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Toss yams in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes and stir . Bake another 10-15 minutes until yams are cooked.
3. While yams are cooking combine salad dressing ingredients.
4. In a large bowl, massage kale with 2 tbsp of dressing and place in fridge.
5. In a medium pot, add quinoa and 1 cup of water come to a boil over medium heat. Turn heat down to low heat, cover, and simmer for approximately 10 minutes. Turn off heat and cool.
6. Combine carrots, red pepper, chickpeas, parsley, yams, and quinoa with kale.Toss salad with the remaining salad dressing.
7. Enjoy!

Notes

1). If you don't like kale you can substitute any leafy green vegetable like spinach or chard.
2). You could add a little feta cheese for some extra flavour
3). To make this kid friendly, I would remove the chick peas if you have small kids

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https://www.zestnutrition.ca/roasted-yam-chickpea-kale-salad/