Green Beans Salad with Tomatoes, Garbanzo Beans and Hardboiled Eggs

While I generally make hot entrees for dinner, there are times, especially in the summer, when we just crave a large salad. The following one is a modified version of the French Salade Niçoise. Instead of potatoes, I used Garbanzo beans (chickpeas), which we all enjoy eating. My kids love to pick them one by one in their plate (perfect for small motor skills development!)...
Chickpeas are really good for you (high in fiber, low fat, help fight cholesterol) and affordable. If you mix them with a grain (wheat, barley, rice), you just don't need other sources of proteins for your meal. I use the canned ones because I don't have/want to take the time to soak the dried ones. I just rince them before tossing them in the salad. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:
For this salad, it's really up to you to decide the quantities depending on what your family will eat and what you have available :

- Fresh green beans (aka "French beans" or haricots verts) cooked
- Tomatoes (cut in quarter or diced)
- Garbanzo Beans (aka chickpeas)
- Hard boiled eggs
- Black Olives (optional)

For the dressing:
- Olive Oil
- Balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
- Salt, fresh ground pepper
- Dijon Mustard (optional)

Directions:

• Steam the French beans,
• Add tomatoes, Garbanzo beans, hard boiled eggs and olives,
• Add dressing, salt, pepper, to taste.
  

My personal comments:

• You could add/substitute eggs with canned tuna (French people eat eggs at every meal except for breakfast!)
• I personally like fresh French beans . I know, it takes more time to prepare but I think they taste so much better than canned/frozen ones (like most vegetables but for some, I don't care that much as long as it saves me time).