A simple, no-garbage salad built for real nutrition — lean protein, good fats, and a light vinaigrette instead of croutons and creamy dressing. Serves 2. Ingredients • 4 cups chopped romaine or mixed greens • 8 oz cooked chicken breast, sliced • 1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved • ½ cup cucumber, diced • ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil • 1 lemon, juiced

Three-bean salad is a staple for picnics, cookouts, and potlucks. It’s easy to make and tote and goes well with everything. This slight adaptation from a recipe on The Mediterranean Dish website is richer in protein, with chickpeas and cannellini beans joining the red kidney. Add crumbled feta and it’s a meal in itself. Save time and use bottled dressing. Serves 8. – Susan Puckett Vinaigrette: · 2 garlic cloves, minced · 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard · 2

Cauliflower surely ranks as one of the most versatile veggies on the planet — not to mention the healthiest. It’s low in calories, high in fiber and myriad nutrients, and filling enough to stand in for meat. This one-dish dinner, adapted from Christopher Kimball’s “Milk Street Shorts”, joins those florets with protein-rich chickpeas, a dose of curry seasoning, and whatever other hearty veg you wish to throw onto the sheet pan. Rev up the protein by topping it off with a cream

A flavor-rich, nutrient-loaded bowl with chickpeas as the protein star and bone broth for extra flavor and nutrition.

This fuss-free, protein-rich vegan entrée piques the senses in a way that even carnivores who love Chinese food would find hard to resist.