Kale Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Roasted Chickpeas

Serves 4

Raw kale salads make great go-to lunches because you can dress them and they will stay sturdy and delicious for 1-2 days.  If you love salty, crunchy snacks like me, you’ll love these crispy chickpeas.  You can play around with seasonings to make a different high protein, high fiber movie-watching snack.  Keep the chickpeas out of the refrigerator and store them in an airtight container to keep them crispy longer.  To maximize time, put the chickpeas in while you eat your dinner, then finish up the rest of the salad post-dinner and you’ve got lunch ready to go.

for chickpeas:
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlicsalt and pepper to taste

for salad:
2 bunches leafy kale, stemmed and chopped into bite size pieces
1 lemon
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon maple syrup (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, thinly sliced
1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  On a parchment-lined sheet tray, combine chickpeas, grapeseed oil, granulated garlic, salt and pepper.  Roast until crunchy, about 45-60 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.

2. In a large bowl, combine the kale with lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.  Massage with your hands for about 5 minutes, until kale looks moist and softer and it has reduced in volume.  Taste and see if you need to add more salt, lemon or olive oil.  If it’s too bitter, add a little maple syrup.

3. Toss in sun-dried tomatoes and sunflower seeds.  Pack the salad and chickpeas separately to keep the chickpeas crunchy.  Toss chickpeas on top right before serving.