Super Protein Salad (Vegetarian)

My goal on the weekends is to do something that will make the work week a little bit easier on myself. This can include doing chores, making a few extra dinners, or in this case- preparing the week's worth of lunches. This week, I decided to make salads for myself. 

When I'm at work, I ALWAYS seem to be hungry. Maybe it's because my brain is working hard, or maybe it's stress- either way, I am far hungrier at work than when I'm at home relaxing. If I just packed myself a typical salad with all veggies, I'd be hungry an hour later. This week, I decided to really bump up the protein value in the salad by adding edamame, chick peas, and cheese. I have to say, this salad was not only delicious, but kept me full until my daily 3:00 snack time ;)

My super food of the week is beets. I actually was never a fan of beets until a few months ago when I had them in an amazing salad with goat cheese. I realized how much I liked their taste and texture and also discovered how unbelievably healthy they are.

Beets have an immense amount of vitamins and minerals that can help keep your immune system healthy and prevent illness. They also are a part of the crimson colored foods that contain a ton of antioxidants. 

I'm slightly embarrassed to say that I have never cooked my own beets. I always take the short cut and by them already cooked and peeled so my hands don't get stained! See above picture of the prepared beets from Trader Joe's.

In this particular salad, I used a goat cheddar cheese from Trader Joe's since I love that goat cheese and beet combination  You can feel free to substitute any kind of cheese you like though, this is simply a suggestion!

Ingredients:

2 Bags Spring mix salad

3 Cooked Beets- Diced

1/4 lb Goat Cheddar Cheese- Cubed

9 oz. Shelled Edamame

1 15 oz. Can Chick Peas

*Use salad dressing of your choosing or feel free to use my recipe for balsamic vinaigrette:

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1/8 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

1 tsp. Dijon Mustard

1/2 tsp. Honey

Salt/Pepper to taste

(Whisk ingredients until blended)