Raw Lunch Ideas with Chick Peas!
There are two things I can not live without. My veggie “bread” and my chick pea spreads. If I have those, I always have lunch at the ready. With just a little advanced planning, you can have wonderful, raw elements to use as the base of a quick sandwich or snack.
My favorite raw “bread” (note that this bread is on the thin side and crisp) is super simple to make. Veggies make the base, a cup of ground golden flax loaded with omega 3’s is the binder. In this case, I threw in some nutritional yeast, sun dried tomatoes and Bragg’s Aminos to kick up the flavor a notch. I often make a double batch and keep the extra in an air-tight container.
My other go to is chickpea spread. You can make this with cooked chickpeas or raw sprouted ones. The inspiration for this recipe came from one of my favorite books, “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease” by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. If you ever want to know how your diet affects your heart, and how you can actually reverse heart disease naturally with diet, this book is for you. Based on a whole food plant based diet, it also contains some wonderful recipes. Note, they are not completely “raw” recipes. Cooked food is included.
If you don’t have time to sprout the chick peas, you can use cooked. It won’t be raw but it will still be delicious. Gluten free, vegan and raw, this recipe is a quick delicious way to have lunch on hand.
I would love to hear what your favorite “go to” raw elements are!!
Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Sandwiches
serves 4
Veggie Bread
- 2 medium zucchini, cut into one-inch pieces
- 1 medium tomato
- 1 medium onion, cut into chunks
- 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, softened
- 1 cup ground golden flax
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons Bragg’s Aminos
- pinch Himalayan salt and pepper (to taste)
- Place the zucchini, tomato, onion and sun dried tomatoes in the food processor and process until a slurry develops.
- Add ground flax, nutritional yeast, Bragg’s, salt and pepper. Pulse to combine well.
- Spread thickly on a non-stick dehydrator sheet. Score. Dehydrate at 145 for an hour, reduce heat to 115 and dehydrate another 12-15 hours or until completely dry. Remove to screens half way through drying.
Chick Pea Spread
- 2 cups sprouted chickpeas
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard (or 2 teaspoons dried mustard powder)
- 2 tablespoons Bragg’s Aminos
- 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
- pinch Himalayan salt and fresh ground pepper.
- Place chickpeas, water, lemon juice, dijon mustard and Braggs into food processor. Process until smooth. You may need more water.
- Add scallions, salt and pepper. Pulse until combined.
*Keeps up to a week in the fridge.
Sandwich
- 2 pieces of veggie bread
- 1/4 cup chickpea spread
- handful arugula
- 1 small tomato
- cucumber slices
- pinch Himalayan salt and fresh ground pepper
- Spread a layer of the chickpea spread, top with arugula, tomato slices and cucumber. Top with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
LaWanda wrote on January 30, 2014
I also made the Chick-pea spread. I am not excited by the Dijon mustard. It is okay. I added fresh garlic and some tahini. It helped. I have attempted to sprout chick peas in the past. This is the first batch I sprouted that did not have a smell. After the initial soak, I placed the peas in a basket that was part of a salad spinner. I rinsed them 2-3 times a day and kept them in a dark place in my dining room with a damp paper towel over them. They are wonderful! I have 1.5 to 2 inches of sprout on the peas! The recipe with photos helped me tremendously to be inspired to turn out a great product! Thanks for the inspiration.
LaWanda wrote on January 30, 2014
I made the bread and it was awesome. This is the first so-called bread recipe that worked well for me. I am so happy with it! I am going to make it again because it is all gone!
Jessie wrote on January 24, 2014
I made the bread and it turned out really yummy! I added 1 clove of garlic and I didn’t grind my flax seeds. I wanted some texture. I soaked the seeds prior to adding to the mix to make them more easily digestible. I might add some dates next time for a touch of sweet. I shared them with friends and they all loved them as well. Thanks for a great recipe!
Carol McKenzie wrote on December 23, 2013
I’m on my second batch now of this fantastic bread. I’m new to the raw food world and this is a life-saver. Breads (the non-raw kind) are my downfall but now I have something raw and tasty and luscious and a bit crunchy for my lunch.
I managed to forget zucchini the other day, so substituted an orange bell pepper and an apple, and increased the sun-dried tomatoes a little bit, and the consistency came out pretty close to the other batch. The taste is obviously different…and as part of the joy of raw, you can eat along as you create.
Cindel wrote on November 28, 2013
Love your blog. One question- could I freeze the bread and use at a later stage by warming it up a little in the dehydrator? thanks!
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health wrote on November 14, 2013
new to your blog and will definitely be checking it out more.
Janette Hillis-Jaffe wrote on October 11, 2013
Hi Susan,
I think this recipe is the answer to my prayers. It looks much simpler than most raw breads and doesn’t have sunflower seeds (which my husband is allergic to.) I am so looking forward to trying it out. My favorite raw food staple is a ginger tahini dressing made from 1/2 c braggs, 1/2 c tahini, juice of 2 lemons, 1/2 c water, one inch grated ginger, and 1 c olive oil. I adapted it from the “Rawsome” recipe book and use it on big salads many times per week. Thanks for your beautiful blog! Janette