Hey friends! I’m glad so many of you are liking the reci-preview idea. I must admit that a lot of my recipes are not pre-meditated and are sort of created on the fly. That being said, whenever I create a recipe ahead of time, I will definitely give you a reci-preview. Capeesh?
A Special Getaway
On June 11, Matty and I will celebrate our 4 year anniversary! We have never taken a vacation together – just day trips here and there. With our opposite work schedules, it can be really hard for us to arrange a day trip, let alone a vacation. We’re also not exactly overflowing with money. 
Last night, we made it a priority to sit down and plan a getaway for the two of us. We found a great deal on Living Social for a two-night stay at a hotel in Riverhead, NY, a town located on Long Island.
Photo courtesy: LivingSocial
The Hotel Indigo East End looks like an incredibly romantic and modern hotel – just our style – and boasts an on-site bistro that serves locally grown food and houses live entertainment. The Living Social deal also provides us with two complementary massages. Neither of us have been pampered before, so we’re pretty stoked! The hotel is also close to hiking trails, beaches, wineries, local farms, and an outlet mall! These past couple of years have been a little rough for us and we are really looking forward to get away just the two of us for a little R&R.
If any of you are familiar with that area and have suggestions for us, we are certainly open to them!
Workout
It’s another crappy and rainy week up here! Days like these make it really hard to find motivation to get out of bed. I used my “You never regret a workout” mantra to drag my bum downstairs and, per usual, was glad I did! I completed Tone It Up’s Bikini Body MAX Burn and followed it up with my Ab’s on Fire Pyramid.
I forgot how much that truly burns the abbies. Whew!
Lunch
Today, I was scheduled to work at my retail job starting at noon. Such a random time, huh? I made sure to eat lunch beforehand and decided to go with collard wraps stuffed with Trader Joe’s tomato-basil hummus, sauteed broccoli and carrots, and quinoa.
Times four!
Excuse the poor cell phone shot. My camera’s battery died. Whoops!
I went grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s yesterday and couldn’t wait to try their quinoa and tomato-basil hummus, my favorite Trader Joe’s product. It takes everything in me not to eat the entire container in one sitting!
Rosemary-Roasted Chickpea Salad
Last Saturday, I had the entire afternoon to kill before heading to work. No committments? No school work? What’s a girl to do? Make a new recipe of course! My mom’s mouth watered as the rosemary-roasted chickpeas baked in the oven – and for good reason. They’re stinkin’ delicious! So delicious, in fact, that they lasted less than 24 hours in my house. Turns out they make a pretty phenomenal snack too.
Rosemary-Roasted Chickpea Salad
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 1 can organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 8 cups organic kale, rinsed and chopped
- 16 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tsp. rosemary
- 2 tsp. nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp. Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning (or garlic powder)
- 4 Tbsp. Annie’s Goddess Dressing (or favorite savory dressing of choice)
Instructions
- Pre-heat to 425 degrees
- Pour chickpeas into a medium-sized bowl and toss with the rosemary, Mrs. Dash, and nutritional yeast until it is well coated.
- Spray a baking sheet with (preferably organic) non-stick cooking spray, spread chickpeas on the sheet, and bake for 15 – 20 minutes.
- Make sure to check on the chickpeas every couple of minutes!
- In a separate, large bowl, toss together kale, cherry tomatoes, dressing, and an extra heaping tablespoon of nutritional yeast. Set aside.
- When chickpeas are done, allow them to cool for 5 minutes before adding them to the salad.
- Toss together and dig in!
Roasted chickpeas are a wonderful way to spice up your salad. They have a distinct crunchy-meets-chewy texture that is so satisfying, and they’re done in no time! I’d recommend making an extra batch to have on hand for subsequent meals and snacks. Happy eating!
Stay lovely,
Heather
I had chickpeas in my salad today too!
I have more chickpeas waiting to be used, so I’ll have to give this a shot babe! I LOVE ROSEMARY! 
Such a great recipe!
So happy for you and Matty! What a great get away!
Yay! I can’t wait for you to try it – let me know what you think, of course! <3
Yum! I love love Rosemary but I never thought to put it on roasted chickpeas! I’m making these right now!!
Woo hoo! Let me know what you think, Jami.
Hi Heather, delicious looking salad, I love chickpeas!
I also love your blog in general, which is why I have nominated you for a ‘Versatile Blogger Award’ (http://versatilebloggeraward.wordpress.com/).
The Versatile Blogger Award is a great way of meeting other like-minded bloggers and share blog love.
The rules for the Versatile Blogger are as follows:
If you are nominated, you’ve been awarded the Versatile Blogger award.
-Thank the person who gave you this award
-Include a link to their blog
-Select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly
-Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award by letting them know
-Finally,share 7 things about yourself
xxx Lolita
Wow 4 years – I wish I could find someone special like that! Hope you have a wonderful time celebrating your anniversary next month. The recipe looks delicious. I have to wait to make this until my vegan chili is done. (Yes I already made that recipe twice it’s THAT good)
You guys deserve a nice getaway together! Especially after all your hard work this year!! This recipe looks great, I picked up a bunch of chickpeas so shall give this a try
I am so very excited to hear about your and Matty’s trip once it happens. Especially the restaurant..you know me.
That salad looks so amazing as per usual. I can’t wait til my madre roasts chickpeas again!