Roast Veg, Chickpea & Rice Salad with Tahini Dressing and Toasted Seeds | Rebel Recipes (2024)

A substantial salad of roast vegetables, chickpeas & rice with a tahini dressing and toasted seeds – it packs a flavour and health punch. Perfect for lunches

So what makes the perfect packed lunch?

These days I usually eat whatever I’m shooting for lunch but for years and years I took a packed lunch to work so consider myself a bit of an expect packed lunch-er.

Some of my favourite things to take where soup, leftovers, i.e. curry, dal etc or big substantial salad like this one–Roast veg, chickpea & rice salad with tahini dressing and toasted seeds.

Once again, I’ve teamed up with Sarah Ann to devise a yummy and super nutritious meal! This time a delicious packed lunch option and I absolutely love our roast veg, chickpea & rice salad with tahini dressing and toasted seeds.

Here’s what we created…

First, for the base, we’ve used brown rice and chickpeas for a nutritious and substantial base, but any of the following are great; quinoa, beans, pasta, Lentils.

Then lots of delicious roast veg, courgette & aubergine here, but again you can mix it up with any veg you have in the house. I really love red peppers, cauliflower and broccoli.

And of course you need a dressing, and my tahini dressing makes everything delicious..(some other ways to use it; on griddled aubergine, on curries, salads).

And finally, the all important crunch which completely transforms a salad. Delicious toasted seeds, which should be toasted–the flavour is so much better!

Sarah Ann is a Harley Street Nutritionist and model and is passionate about health and nutrition. See more here on her Instagram.

She has provided some information about why a good lunch is so important! She says…
When it comes to healthy eating, preparation is one of the most important factors. Many people dedicate time to Instagram, but when it comes to food, prep, it is completely overlooked. It’s not surprising that a study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine found, out of the 1,310 adults who were asked about food preparation, people who spent less than one hour a day preparing food at home were associated with eating more fast food. Those who spent more time on food prep had healthier eating habits, consuming more daily fruits and vegetables.
You don’t need to dedicate hours daily into food prep (unless you are a chef and love it!), but devoting a couple of hours once a week to food prep for the week ahead can save you an abundance of time in the long run, along with some pennies, keeping you on track with making thoughtful and nutritional food choices, as opposed to a grab and go second thought decision, which is nutritionally less appealing.
I love to food prep on a Sunday afternoon, it helps me with my busy week ahead. It allows me to have one less thing to worry about. Those few hours I invested allows for wholesome meals which will reduce cravings and snacking. Shop and cook like a BOSS, trust me it will pay off and you’ll feel better for it!

You can batch cook as much of this as you wish, making it spread over a few days. It is loaded full of veggies and complex carbohydrates to keep you fuller for longer. The sunflower seeds, chickpeas and tahini dressing add vegan protein sources.