Greek Yogurt & Avocado Couscous Chickpea Salad

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This greek yogurt & avocado couscous chickpea salad is a great, easy and light summertime salad for those sweltering hot days!

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There are many things I love about my job as a freelance travel writer. For one, I get to hop on a plane once a month and jet off to far away, incredibly beautiful places. Places I dreamed about as a kid. Places the 22 year old me thought I’d never see. Places like Iceland, Thailand, Peru and Kenya. I get to walk around and take in every beautiful aspect of these magical cultures. I get to spend time with the people who live there, share meals in their home and listen to their stories of life in these places. I get to photograph their children, their backyards and them. I get to walk beside them and live like a local. There are so many things I love about my job, but there are also things that are hard, too.

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For one, I’m away from my loves for weeks on end. But the one thing I really noticed is that when I’m home, I’m not really here. I’m so busy trying to get caught up with recipes, deadlines, photography projects and articles, I am working from 8 – 8. I’m so busy prepping for my next trip, I never look up. I’m so buried into my laptop I find myself staring at it lazily when I should be staring at my family. I’m also so busy traveling or thinking of traveling, I forget how to be present at home.

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And that’s a problem.

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But the biggest step towards success is identifying the problem, so I’m halfway there, right? Although I had piles of work to do this weekend, I took a step back yesterday so we could go hiking. Whenever I’m feeling a little lost or stressed, an afternoon in nature always helps. And the one thing that I love so much about living in Virginia is the fact that we have so many beautiful parks in driving distance. One of our favorites (due to it’s proximity to our house) is Great Falls. It’s 20 minutes away but feels so much farther. There are no sky scrapers or honking horns. Just babbling brooks, waterfalls and beautiful sights.

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And when I go there, I remember why I love living where we do. Why I love those rare weekends I’m at home. There’s nothing like fresh air and beautiful scenery to give you that push back into the present. Even though that minute of peace flew by and I was bombarded with stress and trip planning as soon as we got back home, I still had that minute to show me why I’m so lucky to be where I am and why it’s so important to live in the moments where I can. And to many, a minute may be short, but to me, a minute is all I needed to jolt me back to the present.

Greek Yogurt & Avocado Couscous Chickpea Salad

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CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!

Serves about 4.
Prep time: About 10 minutes
Cook time: 12 – 14minutes

Ingredients: 

For the salad:

  • 1 cup pearl couscous (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
  • 1 can (15 ounces) chick peas, drained
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chopped dill
  • 1/2 avocado, smashed
  • 1/2 cup Chobani Greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon Pompeian red wine vinegar
  • Dash of salt
  • Dash of cracked black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions: 

  1. Bring one cup of water to a boil. Add couscous and reduce heat to medium. Let cook for about 10 minutes or until couscous has absorbed all the water. Remove from heat. Mix the couscous with the chick peas, chopped celery and red onion.
  2. In another bowl, whisk the greek yogurt, 3/4 of the smashed avocado, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper until combined and creamy. Mix in 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped dill. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Mix the greek yogurt mixture into the couscous/chick pea and mix well (to evenly distribute). Chill before serving and serve with remainder of the smashed avocado and dill.

Nutritional information per serving (about 1/2 cup):

Calories: 308
Fat: 6.25 grams
Carbohydrates: 55 grams
Fiber: 4.2 grams
Protein: 12.5 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 7

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Comments

  1. Monday, May 12th, 2014
    Oh yum. Perfect summer time food!
    • Posted by cgallam10 on
      Monday, May 12th, 2014
      It really is!! So creamy and flavorful.
  2. Posted by Meagan @ A Zesty Bite on
    Monday, May 12th, 2014
    It's so hard to step away sometimes but its important to reengage with our loved ones.
    • Posted by cgallam10 on
      Monday, May 12th, 2014
      SO true!!
  3. Posted by Connie | URBAN BAKES on
    Monday, May 12th, 2014
    Couscous has become my fav these days and to add Greek yogurt into the mix, perfect!
    • Posted by cgallam10 on
      Monday, May 12th, 2014
      Me too!! I just had it for lunch :)
  4. Posted by Liz on
    Monday, May 12th, 2014
    I have the same dilemma...and it was great to unplug yesterday and head out into the yard. Your salad looks terrific---I adore Israeli couscous :)
  5. Posted by Amy @Very Culinary on
    Monday, May 12th, 2014
    Omg, yes. I absolutely adore the chickpea...and avocados...and Greek yogurt. Yes to all of that! Pinning!
  6. Posted by Ginny McMeans on
    Monday, May 12th, 2014
    What an amazing salad! Have to try it!
  7. Monday, May 12th, 2014
    Simply gorgeous, Claire! Love these flavors!
  8. Posted by Brenda@SugarFreeMom on
    Monday, May 12th, 2014
    I just love this recipe and with creamy avocado and Greek yogurt plus the red wine vinegar and lemon juice, such a nice bite to it I bet!
  9. Monday, May 12th, 2014
    This is my kind of salad- I'm an avocado addict! It gives such great creaminess...
  10. Monday, May 12th, 2014
    This looks incredible and seems like a perfect light summer meal! I may not be a freelance travel writer, but I am a full time student, full time worker, and full time girlfriend and fur mom and I can definitely relate to how you're feeling!
  11. Posted by Marly on
    Monday, May 12th, 2014
    This is the kind of recipe that's right up my alley. Sounds so good!
  12. Posted by Medeja on
    Tuesday, May 13th, 2014
    Yummy! Sounds like a salad I would really enjoy!
  13. Tuesday, May 13th, 2014
    Love all these flavors!! And I would never have thought to make couscous this way. YUMM
  14. Tuesday, May 13th, 2014
    This post is so timely for me! I leave on Friday for a much needed women's camping retreat where I can have some much needed time away from pretty much everything.

    While the meals there are communal potluck and while my contributions will be "Sashi-friendly", I know that I still need to bring my own food since I have no idea what ingredients other people will be using. I may need to make this for one of my meals. It sounds so refreshing and satisfying. :)
  15. Posted by Nikki @ NikSnacks on
    Tuesday, May 13th, 2014
    Wow! What a perfect summery dish! This could easily be vegetarian or even vegan! And continue to remember to slow down and be present at home. It's hard, but your little getaways will help with that, hopefully :)
  16. Tuesday, May 13th, 2014
    Three of my favorite ingredients combined! Love it!
  17. Tuesday, May 13th, 2014
    Sometimes I get so caught up in work that I forget to take a moment a life in the moment! I am guilty of looking at my computer more than my husband some days :( But working on fixing that :) Ps. Love the couscous!
  18. Tuesday, May 13th, 2014
    What a wonderful reminder to be in in the present. So glad you were able to enjoy some much needed R&R. This salad looks amazing!
  19. Posted by Kim Beaulieu on
    Tuesday, May 13th, 2014
    I think it's great you stepped back a bit and took some time off. It's so important to enjoy the little things in life.

    Plus look at this salad. I mean I could eat this all the live long day. Gorgeous.
  20. Sunday, May 18th, 2014
    I want to stuff my face with this!!