summer beet and chickpea salad

Have you entered my Rudi’s Gluten Free giveaway yet? The giveaway runs until Thursday @ 6 PM. Get it while its hot frozen!

Well, I think I did pretty darn well for the first night of my “no grocery challenge” — if I do say so myself.

The whole “no grocery” thing has been going well. I’ve learned a few things in the last two days.

1. It’s okay to hide the last banana from your husband in the fruit bin if you want to have banana oats until Friday.

2. It’s also okay to steal a roll of paper towels from your mom as you’re running out the garage door after being her messenger (Guilty. Sorry Mommasita.)

3. I miss almond milk. Like — really miss almond milk. Imagine me having the shakes and having delusional images of Almond Breeze dancing in front of me, just taunting me with their creamy deliciousness.

But, throughout it all — I have survived. And this time after eating beets, I didn’t even think I was dying. It was quite a miracle, if I do say so myself.

I also have to tell you that the Husband would not have touched this with a ten foot pole even if I tried to get him to eat it. He has this weird thing about colors of his food. They must be tan, brown, beige, or gray… sometimes green, but not always. The stark red of the beets mixed with the yellow of the Mmm Sauce was more than enough to make him back away and beg me to go grocery shopping.

However, I will persevere — and continue to feed him frozen pizzas because I’m a horrible wife.

Because wifey over here has two more beets she needs to cook up.

This dish is really simple — it was on the stove and on the table in about thirty minutes — less if you’re using a different kind of rice (which you shouldn’t — if you only have to cook rice for 10 minutes, nutrients have been stripped away. Go big or go home.).

Summer Beet and Chickpea Salad (serves 2-3 main dishes)

• 1 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 large (or 2 small) beets and beet greens
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 5-6 fresh basil leaves
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

Directions: You will first need to cook your rice according to the package directions. My rice takes about 35-40 minutes to make, so this needs to be done first. While the rice is simmering over low heat, begin to dice your vegetables. I cut up my onions and garlic first, followed by my beets — just because beets are so messy when you cut them up. Set your beet greens aside for later use.

Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large sauté pan and add your onions and garlic. Stir frequently for 2-3 minutes and add your beets. Add approximately 2-3 tbsp. water to the pan, cover, and lower your heat to medium (5-6 on the stove reading). Stir every few minutes until the beets are tender (about 15 minutes). Once the beets are finished, add your chickpeas and cover again to heat through. Make sure your beet greens are washed thoroughly (no one likes sand in their dinner) and add them until wilted.

Serve this on top of rice or by itself and top with some Mmm sauce! This beet salad would also be great cold on a warm summer day!

This made a lot more than I was anticipating — which is why I ate it again for lunch today, and I might be eating some more of it for dinner.

 
Chelsey: 1

No Grocery Challenge: 0

I play hard and dirty folks. Things are about to get scary.

Question: Does your significant other/family eat differently than you? How do you combat this predicament? OR What’s your favorite way to eat beets?

Tagged as: beets, chickpeas, cooking, grocery shopping, no grocery shopping challenge, recipe, sauteed beets, special diet, summer salad