Cottage Cheese and Chickpea Salad with Balsamic-Orange Vinaigrette

One of my favorite foods is cottage cheese. It's just so versatile -- plain, with fruit, as a snack, in a salad -- yum! For this week's post, I also wanted to put together something super simple and packable for lunch. And, if you're vegan, go ahead and use quinoa in place of the cottage cheese. This will keep the protein level high without the dairy.

I pack my lunch for work every day -- who has time to go out anymore? -- and sometimes I just get bored of the same old same old. So, I threw together this salad that features cottage cheese and the nutritious powerhouse, chickpeas. Even though my husband wrinkled his nose at my suggestion of combining chickpeas with cottage cheese, he ended up requesting it for lunch the next day. Winner!

This recipe serves four and takes about 15 minutes to prepare.

Here's what you'll need:

Salad:

• 8 cups baby spinach, washed
• 2 cups low-fat, organic cottage cheese
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion

Balsamic-Orange Vinaigrette:

• 1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbs. orange juice
• 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp. crushed rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine chickpeas, green bell pepper, tomatoes, and red onion in a medium bowl.
2. Whisk together garlic, olive oil, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Pour over chickpea mixture.
3. Place 2 cups baby spinach in each of four bowls.
4. Place 1/2 cup cottage cheese on to of spinach.
5. Divide chickpea mixture into four and evenly distribute to each of the four bowls over the cottage cheese.

That's it -- an easy lunchtime recipe for a busy work day! If you are planning on transporting this dish, I would recommend packing the spinach, cottage cheese, and chickpeas separately and putting it together right before eating.

What's your favorite go-to meal for lunch? Share in the comments section!