Tag Archives: chickpeas

How to Make Your Own Perfectly Roasted Chickpeas with Help from 2Armadillos Crispy Chickpeas

2-armadillos-chickpeas

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a staple Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and African cuisine, making them second only to the soybean as the most widely eaten bean in the world. The primary ingredient in hummus, chickpeas are a great source of lean protein and filling fiber: a one cup serving of chickpeas contains 268 calories, 12.5 grams of dietary fiber, 14.5 grams of protein, and 4.2 grams of fat.

Mild in flavor, it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like a chickpea, unless it’s the mushy texture that turns them off. When roasted, however, they can offer a healthy, low-carb crunch to your favorite meals. If you’ve ever tried to roast them on your own, you are probably painfully that without the right recipe you’ll end up with scorched, bitter bits with a mushy center.

2Armadillos Crispy Chickpeas makes hand-roasted chickpeas that crunch like pretzels and taste like chips. They use nothing artificial, no preservatives, no junk and they offer a variety of delicious flavors like Tomato Basil, Spicy Cayenne, and Cinnamon Toast. Passionate about their chickpeas, 2Armadillos’ relationship manager Candice Cook shared with us her expert secrets to make your own delicious roasted chickpeas at home, plus tons of flavor combinations and unique uses you’ve probably never thought of. (more…)

A Vegetarian Dinner Never Tasted So Good: Chickpea Fritters with Arugula Salad

chickpea-fritters-and-arugula

Garbanzo beans never tasted so good! I love hummus, or just the raw beans in salads, as much as the next person, but my favorite legume is back at it in these fritters. What I love about this meal is that it can take on many different personalities.

If you’re just testing out Meatless Monday, this is a great intro. If you’re looking for an at-home version of falafel or Mediterranean food, top the fritters with tahini, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Greek yogurt works as a great alternative to a cream sauce, except it’s lower in sugar and higher in protein! (more…)

11 Recipes That Will Convince You to Try the Veggies You Love to Hate

Kids are notorious for it, but there are still plenty of adults who struggle to eat their vegetables. However, the time has come to move on from the idea that vegetables beyond potatoes, carrots and green beans are “yucky,” and expand our palates.

We want to set the record straight for some of the least-loved vegetables (and one fruit) and encourage you to give them a chance. All are packed with nutrients, and are a healthy addition to any diet. We’ll start you down your new vegetable-eating path by providing some recipe suggestions that are so good, you won’t want to pick out the previously-offensive veggies.

Look at this list as your own personal vegetable challenge. Try a new one at least once a week, and you may be surprised which formerly condemned veggies become new favorites!

chicken broccoli

Broccoli

It’s hard to say if the “little trees” nickname helps or hurts broccoli’s appeal. Regardless, the vegetable is packed with vitamin K, important for blood clotting, and can be enjoyed raw or cooked. Ease your way into eating broccoli by combining it with foods you already like.

Try it mixed into your stir-fry for added flavor, fiber, bulk, and color!

 

beets

Beets

A beet’s color may be the prettiest in mother nature’s palette. This nutrient-rich root veggie is also full of carbohydrates, which means they can be a great way of boosting your energy without a sugar crash later. Beets are chock full of many nutrients including calcium, iron and vitamins A and C.

Try it in our amazing Harvest Chopped Salad. (more…)

Clean Eating Breakfast: Vegan Southwest Chickpea Breakfast Scramble

vegan breakfast scramble

Have you ever used beans as an oil replacement or meat substitute in vegan cooking? As my diet has evolved from the vegetarian who didn’t eat vegetables to the clean eating personal trainer I am today, I’ve learned that beans are for more than just chili.

Black beans can add moisture to brownies, muffins and pancakes, or make a great burger. Chickpeas can be a great stand-in for chicken in a deli-style salad, or they can take the place of eggs in scrambles and breakfast tacos. (more…)

Work it Off: Burn Away a 446-Calorie Bowl of Soup

During winter I make a lot of soup. But it’s hard to find a recipe that has enough protein, fiber, fat and so forth to keep me satisfied for hours after mealtime. Recently I tried a new take on tomato soup—one with lots of chickpeas in it. It’s actually pretty similar to the Best Life Diet’s Chickpea and Tomato Soup, only I add a scoop of pesto and leave out the ginger, cilantro, curry, and lemon.

tomato pesto soup

This is no overindulgence—all of the ingredients are healthy and eaten together they really do provide a filling, tasty meal. But I was pretty surprised to see that the aforementioned recipe packs a 446-calorie punch. This isn’t a crazy amount of calories—as I mentioned, it feels filling enough that I tend to skip my afternoon snack when I eat it for lunch—but it still seems high for vegetable soup. Add on the fact that I sit at a desk for most of the day and you’ll see how a even a healthy soup could potentially lead to unwanted pounds.

So, how can I make sure that this delicious soup fuels more than just my fingers, typing away on the keyboard? Here are 3 ways to burn off the 446 calories in from this bowl of soup:

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4 New Ways to Shake up Your Snack Routine

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D., TheBestLife.com lead nutritionist

I snack on the same stuff that I recommend to clients and readers: fruit, yogurt, lattes, nuts, carrots and other raw vegetables. But I also concoct more offbeat snacks that I don’t tend to recommend because they might seem too weird or too health-foody to someone just coming off a potato-chips-and-snack-cake habit. I figure you DietsInReview.com readers have seen it all…and might even enjoy some of these yourselves.

Numi Organic Savory tea (5 calories; available at Whole Foods)

Nutrition highlight: the Broccoli Cilantro has 90 percent of the Daily Value for calcium and the Beet Cabbage has 20 percent (I haven’t tried the four other flavors yet)

How to: Steep teabags in boiling water for 10 minutes. (more…)

How to Eat Gluten Free: Dinner

Welcome to the third installment of my “How to Eat Gluten Free” series. Today we’re looking at perhaps the most complicated and time-consuming meal of all: Dinner.

Most of us are so exhausted by the time we get home from work that we want nothing more than to plop down on the couch and have dinner magically appear before us – myself included. But that’s a reality most of us don’t know. Couple that with trying to find ideas for healthy, gluten free dishes and you have a recipe for dinner disaster.

If this describes your current scenario, fret not, as we’ve compiled a list of five simple and healthy recipes that will have you looking forward to your nightly meal instead of dreading it by the noon hour.

Curried Rice with Shrimp – This gorgeous and healthy dish from Real Simple takes your weeknight dinner from ‘blah’ to ‘ta-da’ in a flash. Let the exotic flavors of curry and basil win you over, and the shrimp and rice keep you satisfied for hours.

Lentil Soup – The weather may still be a little warm for soup just yet, but fall and winter are right around the corner. We say warm up and fill up with this healthy dish that features tomato, kale, carrots, and, of course, fresh green lentils. (more…)

Couscous with Chickpeas, Dried Fruit, and Cilantro

Even though American Heart Month has passed, it’s still important to keep an eye on the levels of sodium in your diet, regardless of age or weight. Low-sodium diets are often prescribed to prevent or treat many health issues and conditions. While salt is certainly a popular seasoning for many foods, meals low in sodium aren’t necessarily low in taste.

Couscous is a grain dish that originated in North Africa and consists of small granules that are usually made with ground semolina and wheat flour. Pair this good-for-you-grain with  low-salt beans and the sweetness of orange, apricot, and cranberry for a meatless dish so tasty you’ll never know you’re eating healthy.

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Hot for Hummus: 5 Varieties We Love

Most of us know that hummus is a creamy dip or spread traditionally made of mashed chick peas, garlic, tahini (sesame) paste and lemon juice.  What many of us aren’t aware of is how many varieties of hummus have emerged from home kitchens and some of our favorite food producers, as this Middle Eastern mainstay has become one of the trendiest appetizers in America.

Hummus is more than a just a simple snack: it’s a versatile dip for vegetables, crackers or pita chips and is a delicious substitution for condiments typically high in saturated fats, like sour cream or mayonnaise.  The best thing about hummus? If you’re making your own, you can customize it with your favorite flavors and if you’re hitting the grocery store, there is an option for every palate. (more…)

Power Food Pairings Increase Nutritional Value

Women’s Health has released a list of 9 Power Food Pairings – combinations of food items that give you more nutritional value when eaten together. Even better, they seem like pretty easy combinations to work into your diet. Check out Women’s Health for the full list and read my favorites below.

That time of the month may have you reaching for less nutritious foods, but research shows less pre-menstrual irritability in women who ingest the most calcium and vitamin D. Eggs are an excellent source of vitamin D, and broccoli provides easily-absorbed calcium. I tend to crave a little fat, so a broccoli and cheese omelet sounds ideal to me. (more…)