ChickPea Salad with Avocado and Almonds

I made a delicious feast for Thanksgiving full of fatty foods and sugars and it was great! That was over two months ago now. And just a few weeks after when December rolled around something happened...

I decided to stop eating sugar. Not just artificial sweaters or food with added sugars, I decided to stop eating all sugar in all forms. This meant no fruit. This meant no honey.

I'm sure you are thinking I am crazy and you're trying to figure out what in the world is left to eat if I took all sugar out of my diet! And you might be wondering why in the world anyone would do this.

It all started with a conversation I had with my husband about one of our nieces who has been suffering from low energy levels on top of other ailments.

As we talked about her ailments I was quickly reminded of a time when I was in high school where I too had similar complications. It was 1996 and I was running cross country for Coral Gables High School. I was coming home after practice everyday craving bread and feeling too tired and weak to study. I was so lethargic and I just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep the rest of my life away.

My mom being the hippy she was (and still is) rarely gives in to modern medicine, so she took me to a homeopathic doctor, like every good hippy from the 60's would do. The doctor quickly diagnosed me a Candidand Dissorder.

 

Candida: How To Reclaim Your Body and Mind (Digestive Disorders: Leaky Gut Syndrome, Candida and Diverticulitis Book 2)

Basically I've been living on caffeine and sugar and feeling the lack of greens in my diet. And knowing myself if I don't do something drastic, I won't do anything at all. Normally I do a juice cleanse to get rid of my icky-lack-of-greens-feeling. But this time I called my mom and asked if she still had the Candida book we bought 20 years ago and if she'd bring it at Thanksgiving when she came to visit!

And well, yep, she had it. Remember, this is my mother who loves family heirlooms if you read my  bio, and well she loves books too and when she gets a good one she holds on to it! So she brought it with her.

If you are interested in learning more about Candida there are lots of new books and recipe books available. I doubt this book from 20 years ago is even in print still. Just click here for Updated Books.  

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So starting the beginning of December, I stripped out all sugars and white grains and breads and began eating vegetables and meats. Would you believe me when I tell you I've been drinking my coffee BLACK! And I love it!

I put creamer in it a few days ago for the heck of it and felt like I was being poisoned by all the preservatives! Crazy how quickly our body adapts to new normals.

I did eat a banana today and I have added some sugars back into my diet, and put honey in my tea from my dads homemade honey from Key Bee Honey. If you love honey it doesn't get any better than straight from island paradise. You can place an order for yourself right off his facebook page.
 
I've added a little fruit into my diet too. But mostly I've been snacking on nuts and bell peppers dipped in hummus. Our family has been eating lots of delicious meals lately like spaghetti squash and Edamame Pasta!.

And so here is a Chickpea Salad Recipe I made last night I wanted to share with you! It was delicious! And I hope you try it and love it too!

Chickpea Salad With Avocado And Almonds

what you will need :

- 2 cans of chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 1/2 of a small red onion finely chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper finely chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks with leafy tops chopped
- 1 tomato finely chopped and seeds rinsed out
- 1 avocado sliced into squares
- 1/2 cup of Almonds (chopped, sliced or whole)
- 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon of garlic salt
- 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (I used Lemon Olive Oil we got for Christmas)
- salt and pepper to taste

directions:

1. Combine chickpeas, onion, peppers, tomatoes and celery into a large bowl.
2. Pour red wine vinegar and olive oil into the bowl, adding crushed red pepper flakes, garlic salt and salt and pepper and stir all together.
3. If you made more than you will eat store remaining salad in an airtight container and put in fridge.
4. Add avocado and almonds only to the portion you will be eating as you want these two ingredients to remain fresh.
5. Enjoy, smile, and share! 😉