After church on Sunday, Josh and I quickly ran home, changed clothes, packed up some lunch and snacks and made our way to Percy Warner Park for a hike! I don’t know about you, but being outside and getting some exercise helps clear my mind and heal my soul. The trail through Percy Warner is not especially beautiful, being that it does not run along a creek, there is no bluff with a beautiful view, nor a glorious waterfall at the end. But the trail has some great inclines in various areas, and you can do the 2.5 mile loop or combine it with another trail for a longer hike, providing an array of options for a great workout! We ended up doing about 4 miles as this was our first hike of the summer {embarrassed to admit!} and we were already a bit sore from playing basketball a couple of nights before. We haven’t been nearly as active this year as in the past and we aim to change that!
I thought I’d share the things I fixed for our little picnic lunch along with some pictures from our hike. This Chickpea Apple and Avocado salad is perhaps not the prettiest of salads, but it was made in a matter of minutes and provided me with the nutrients I needed for our hike, without weighing me down!
I considered putting this chickpea apple and avocado salad on a bagel slim, but decided I’d rather have it over a bed of greens with some blueberries and light raspberry vinaigrette. I try to have dark leafy greens at least once a day and lunch seems to be the easiest place for me to fit them in. For Josh, I packed a bagel slim loaded with fresh sliced turkey, Gruyère cheese, avocado, and spinach.
We also packed water, carrots, and trail mix to take along.
Percy Warner Park is in Belle Meade, a beautiful part of Nashville, full of gorgeous old homes and lots of history! Check out these stairs to the trail head. The park also has horse riding and paved bike trails.
We actually didn’t know that these stairs lead to the trail head and we hiked up .75 mile in another direction to get to the trail, we came back that way as well, but decided to climb to the top of the steps to see where they went. Next time we’ll know we can just start here!
I always love the old bridges you come across on trails. And check out this beautiful tree below!
You’ll notice in the picture up above, {the one with that handsome guy} that parts of the trail are very mild; however, there are other areas where the incline gets steeper, great for the thighs!
We didn’t end up eating much of this trail mix, but what we did eat was great! Raw pecans, sunflower seeds, dark chocolate and dried cranberries.
There were several of these old benches along the trail, each with a small plaque to tell more of its history.
And in my humble opinion, what better way to end a hike than with ice cream?! After finishing up at Percy Warner, we headed over to Honey’s Vintage Sweets for some Chaney’s Dairy Barn Ice Cream. I love combining chocolate with cherries or a berry of some sort, so I got the waffle cone with Wow Now Brown Cow and Cherry Althea… A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!
It’s hardly a recipe, but here’s the ingredients for the Chickpea Apple and Avocado Salad!
Chickpea Apple and Avocado Salad
Ingredients
- FOR CHICKPEA APPLE & AVOCADO SALAD:
- 1/2 cup Chickpeas rinsed
- 1 small avocado diced
- 1/2-1 pink lady apple diced {depending on size of apple}
- 2 tbsp walnuts chopped
- 2 tbsp feta cheese
- FOR BED OF GREENS SALAD:
- 4 cups spinach
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1/4 cup lite raspberry vinaigrette dressing {or dressing of choice}
Instructions
- Add chickpeas, diced avocado, and feta cheese to a small bowl. Mash and blend together, using back of fork.
- Once well combined, stir in diced apples and walnut pieces, stir to mix well.
- Prep two plates with a bed of dark leafy greens, then divide the Chickpea Apple and Avocado salad evenly between the two plates.</span>
- Add fresh blueberries and top with lite raspberry vinaigrette or dressing of choice and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
