Healthy and delicious salad packed with protein

Our body needs proteins for many of its crucial functions. From forming our bones to skin and muscles, and much more, they are the building blocks of our body.

Read more about proteins here

While we get our share of protein from plant-based and meat-based food sources, an average person’s body asks for 0.8 g per kg of body weight.

Read: How to add protein in your vegan diet’ here  

Read: Is there a too much when it comes to high-protein diet’ here

Happiest Health presents a protein-rich salad as a great way to get the daily dose of this important nutrient. This is a versatile recipe as one can make it with different ingredients.

Do you know what is its additional benefit? It can help you to manage your weight. A 2018 study suggests that protein-rich diets help in weight loss as they reduce hunger pangs. They have higher satiety than carbohydrates and fats. They improve metabolism – which is the amount of energy one’s body spends to support all its functions – further helping with weight management.

Ingredients for the salad:

• Chickpeas (commonly known as kabuli chana in North India and kabul kadale in the south) (soaked for 10-12 hours and cooked in water): 1/3 cup or 55 g
• Green gram, sprouted and cooked– 1/3 cup or 60 g

(Tip: Both the cooked seeds should not be too soft or too hard)

• Onion, chopped – ¼ cup or 15 g
• Yellow and red bell peppers, chopped – 1/4 cup or 38 g
• Tomato, chopped – ¼ cup or 45 g
• Cucumber, chopped – ¼ cup or 30 g
• Cubes of paneer (Indian cottage cheese) – 55 g
• 2 chillis, chopped – 8 g
• Roasted peanuts – 4 tablespoons or 30 g
• Lettuce, a handful – 1 cup or 75g

For the dressing:

• Olive oil – 3 tablespoons
• Lemon juice – 1 tablespoon
• Mixed herbs of one’s choice – ½ teaspoon
• Pepper powder
• Salt
• Coriander leaves

Making the salad

• In a bowl, put all the vegetables, cooked chickpeas and green gram, paneer (can be kept toasted with olive oil) chillis, chopped coriander sprigs and lettuce. Sprinkle peanuts on top.
• To make the dressing, separately mix olive oil, lemon juice, mixed herbs, pepper powder and salt in a cup and blend them well. Pour two tablespoons of this dressing on top of the salad in the other bowl and lightly toss the ingredients well. Share your nourishing salad or savour it alone.

Serving size: 2

Nutritional value

Calorie: 969.98 Kcal

Protein: 41.55 g

Fat: 61.16 g

Carbohydrate: 74.72 g

Fibre: 16.53 g

Potassium: 1293.1 mg

Sodium: 36.62 mg

Nutritional count is provided by in-house nutritionist Shohini Basu.