Since Graham can't bring nuts to work, I cooked up some crazy-crunchy Indian spiced roasted chickpeas for him to take. These would be good with a little maple syrup and cinnamon instead of the savoury spiced too, but I make a lot of sweeter snacks, and we want to avoid The Diabeetus. Even though I don't use any refined sugar, I often rely too much on baked goods like granola bars and muffins. They still have some added sugars. I'm trying to shift more to whole food snacks, like an apple with nut butter, and having baked stuff as a treat instead.
If you work or go to school in an environment that doesn't allow nuts, or if you have a child with a nut allergy, these are a great replacement. They're much lower in fat than nuts, but just as high in protein, so you'll feel full for a long time. It's not that natural fats from nuts are bad. They're not! Healthy fat is your friend. You can just eat way more roasted chickpeas than nuts if you're a volume eater. These little crunchies are great on salads, soup, and sandwiches (why not?) too. Go nuts! Go chickpeas?
In other news, we're signing the lease on a house rental tonight! I'm so excited. If you could see me right now, I'm doing a little happy wiggle. It's in my favourite neighbourhood and it's awesome inside. There were two huge bonuses for me with this house - I get to bring Buttercup, and we can plant a garden! Yay. We move in May, so I'll post some pictures when everything is set up. Our landlord is also really involved in food justice. Woohoo!
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chickpeas, or 1 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed*
1 tablespoon olive oil or melted coconut oil*
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper and cayenne to taste
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C and line a raised-edge baking sheet with parchment paper.
Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl until the chickpeas are evenly coated with spices and throw them on the prepared baking sheet in one layer. Bake for 35-40 minutes, and eat hot or cold. Cool fully before storing. If you put them in a container while they're still warm, they'll go soft.
Notes:
1. I used soaked and cooked chickpeas. If you can, try to go that route. It's a lot cheaper and you can avoid the chemicals and additives in the canned variety.
2. Coconut oil adds to the Indian flavour, but either works.
Feel free to change up the spices and increase the recipe all you want.
One more thing! I'm planning a big site overhaul next week, so hopefully everything will be looking nicer soon. Later gators!
This is a great whole foods snack! I love roasted chickpeas, it's crazy how crunchy and snack like they become. And it's so easy to snack on those quicky baked goods, but the sugar is insane. Props for shifting a more whole foods lifestyle ;) it's the place to be!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I know, that's the thing, even with something like nuts. It sure is :)
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