Chick Pea Salad with Tomatoes and Corn

If you tuned in last week you'll know I'm on a mission to get more beans in our snacks and lunches. Enter.....

The bean salad.

I love the bean salad. So much protein. So much vegetable. So much healthy oil. All in one bowl. Get your family into the bean salad and you and nutrient dense meals will be one.

The bean salad is so versatile. Especially when the weather gets warmer and more pool side munchies are called for. Especially when the kids go on PB&J strike and need fodder for the lunch box. With a simple vinaigrette and whatever veggies you have on hand, any bean can be transformed into a tasty and nutritious side dish.

This salad is a melange I threw together with what I hand on hand. It's a mixture of black bean salad and french rice salad meets diced cucumber. I wished I had some fresh herbs to brighten up the flavors, some cilantro or parsley would have been perfect whizzed into the vinaigrette.

Chick Pea Salad with Tomatoes and Corn
ingredients
15 oz drained chick peas (garbanzo beans) or substitute other beans
1 medium cucumber diced
1 cup frozen corn (thawed)
1 medium or 3 campari tomatoes, diced

Vinaigrette
1 tsp dijon mustard
3 TBS Red Wine Vinegar or lemon juice (anything will do, white wine, balsamic, cider etc.)
3 TBS Olive Oil
Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Fresh parsley or cilantro (optional)

Directions
Whisk all ingredients together, until the mixture turns from transparent to cloudy. If you have fresh herbs, toss everything in the food processor and whiz it up.

Add diced cucumber, tomatoes, beans and corn to vinaigrette and mix. This salad will keep in the fridge for a few days.

Kid Appeal Tip If you have a hard time getting your kids to eat the food you send at lunch, try serving it at home for a few months before having it show up in the lunch box. Kids routinely will eat things WITH people that eat them (parents) that they won't eat on their own. My boys often come home with full containers of food they eat and enjoy at dinner time, but don't eat at lunch. I can guarantee that my son is the only kinder kid at the table with bean salad for lunch! If you continually see uneaten lunch coming home with your child, it's time to sit down and have a talk about lunch and learning. Let your child know that a big lunch is necessary for his brain to learn all day. Ask your child to focus on eating at lunch, and playing for recess. You may have to have this talk every day until your child starts eating more of what you send.

This post is participating in LifeAsMom's tomato ultimate recipe swap. Check out my Meats and Greens spaghetti sauce included in her tomato round up this week. This post is also participating in the Nourishing Gourmet's Pennywise Platter. What is more frugal than beans? If you're trying to eat healthy on a budget, eat. more. beans.