There was a time when I would consider having a salad for lunch or dinner only with extreme reluctance. Of course we have green salads with each of those meals every day, but in order for a salad to serve as both the salad AND the centerpiece, for me, it has to be pretty damn substantial. These are three salads that we have no problem making meals of.

Chickpea Salad

• 2 cups or 1 can of chickpeas, drained & rinsed if canned
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup broccoli florets in small pieces
• 1/4 red onion, sliced
• 1/2 – 1 cup black or green olives
• 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp ume plum (umeboshi) vinegar (both vinegars can be found in the “Asian” section); red wine could work also
• black pepper
• 2-3 hearts romaine, chopped

Mix up the first 8 ingredients. Add romaine and toss.

Kale Salad

• 1 head of kale, any variety but red kale is the most tender
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 red onion,chopped
• 1 avocad
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Black Bean Salad

• 2 cups or 1 can of rinsed black beans
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 red onion, chopped
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 Tbsp red wine or ume plum vinegar
• fresh chives or cilantro
• salt to taste