Salmon Salad (& Chili Roasted Chickpeas)

[spiralicious]

Salmon Salad from this Instagram post by ZestMyLemon.

flaked salmon (I baked a salmon filet and flaked it over the top of the salad)
chili roasted chickpeas*
romaine lettuce
cherry tomatoes
cucumber
feta cheese (I used a basil and tomato flavored feta)
kalamata olives (I actually used a mix of kalamata, green, and black olives)
red onion

dressing:
olive oil (I had to sub in avocado oil, because that is all there was)
lemon juice
splash of red wine vinegar

I more or less prepared the veggies like they appear in the Instagram post, except I crumbled the feta and thick sliced the olives instead of leaving them whole. For the dressing, I found a small dish that looked like it would be around the amount of dressing for the amount of salad I made and mixed the dressing ingredients to taste. I dressed and tossed the salad before adding the chickpeas and the salmon.

The combination of everything was tasty.

*Chili Roasted Chickpeas
The recipe for chickpeas in the salad was on the ZestMyLemon website here.

Ingredients:
1 can of BPA free chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 400 F or toaster oven to 425 F. Spread the chickpeas on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet. Dust the chili powder and sea salt (or whatever other seasonings you prefer), then spray with a light coating of oil spray. Bake for 15 – 25 minutes depending on desired crispness.
They can be stored in a zip lock bag in the fridge for 2-3 days.

If I were to make the roasted chickpeas again, I would spray them with oil first and toss them with seasoning in a bowl before putting them on the baking sheet. I just think they would be coated better.

They were great in the salad and as a snack later (I had about half the can left after I made the salad). I do wish I had gotten them a bit crisper. (I did them in the oven at 400 F for 20 minutes.)

Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Oats

[spiralicious]

Link to recipe here.

Ingredients:

Wet:
½ medium banana, mashed
2 tablespoons peanut butter, creamy
1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt, plain
3/4 cup almond milk, unsweetened (I ended up using whole milk)
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry:
1 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:
1. First, mash 1/2 banana in a large bowl. Then add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.
2. Add in dry ingredients and mix again.
3. Place in the refrigerator, covered, for at least 2 hours or overnight. Serve cold.

I missed the note in the recipe where it says it makes two servings, until I was trying to find a container for it to put in the fridge. Mine was in the fridge overnight and it got extremely thick, like I turned the container upside down and it didn't even think about moving. The spoon stood up in it. I'm not sure if it was the whole milk over the skim milk or if it was supposed to be that way. I've made other overnight oats recipes and they didn't get quite that dense. It did make it a bit difficult to eat (eating it cold was almost a thick, dry paste), though it did have a good flavor. The next day, I heated up the second portion and stirred in a little bit of milk, it was more palatable, for me personally, that way. On the website, there is a variation with chocolate chips in it that sounds promising.