buckwheat salad

Ingredients

• Cooked White Beans (such as haricot, cannellini or great northern)

• Purple Chicory

• Cooked Buckwheat

• Green Pepper

• Kalamata Olives

• Olive Oil

• Balsamic Red Wine Vinegar

Method

Cook buckwheat according to instructions on the packaging. Let it cool or use the next day.

Chop green pepper and chicory into small pieces.

If you are using canned or jarred beans, drain the water before adding them into the salad.

Mix olive oil with vinegar and pour generously over the salad. Mix well.

Nutrition Facts

This salad can be used as a main meal as it contains a variety of micronutrients and is rich in proteins and carbohydrates. Buckwheat, despite its name, is gluten free.

Buckwheat is particularly valuable for people with diabetes. It is high in carbohydrates but mostly in the form of starch, it contains zero sugars therefore its GI (glycaemic index is medium). Consuming buckwheat has been shown to moderate blood sugar levels.

This salad would be a good choice for vegans because of a high plant protein content from beans and well balanced (high quality) amino acid profile of buckwheat. It also contains a reasonable amount of Iron.

This salad is also very rich in fibre and contains other micronutrients and antioxidants, for example vitamin C.