Roasted chickpea snack
If you’re looking to add more plant based protein snacks into your diet, beans and legumes are not only tasty but also loaded with iron, B vitamins and soluble fiber. Soluble fiber helps lower cholesterol and has heart health benefits. Cooking dried beans may seem inconvenient but is fairly easy if you follow the general guidelines and plan ahead. They are also tastier and healthier than canned beans. As a quick alternative, look for cooked beans stored in glass jars rather than cans.
Some people may experience gas and upset stomachs after eating beans. To reduce these side effects try one or more of the following methods:
Soak beans in water overnight before cooking them.
Cook the beans well and make sure you chew them well too.
Smaller beans like lentils or peas are the easiest to digest, while soybeans are the most difficult to digest.
Use sea salt, cumin or fennel as a digestive aid and to help prevent gas.
Use apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar as a seasoning to make them more digestible.
HOW TO PREPARE AND COOK CHICKPEAS
Place one 500g bag of dried chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with water. Leave it to soak overnight - about 8-12 hours. The next day, drain and rinse the chickpeas well. Set aside 2 cups of soaked chickpeas for the recipe below and place the remaining chickpeas into a pot.
Cover the chickpeas with plenty of cold water (room temperature, not fridge water) and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 10 minutes and remove the foam that builds up on top of the water. Remove from heat, drain, rinse and refill with water again (this step is optional, but I find it also helps prevent gas). Bring to a boil then simmer for about 1 hour or until the chickpeas are cooked through. Remove from heat and allow to cool in the liquid.
Once cooled, you can fill up glass jars or containers with cooked chickpeas (I use 2 cups of chickpeas per jar) and cover with the cooking liquid. Now you have cooked chickpeas ready for freezing. Remember to date and label the jars and don’t fill all the way up! I use these in place of canned chickpeas. The portion size of 2 cups is enough for making hummus or just for having some prepped in the fridge for salads.
Roasted chickpea snack
2 cups soaked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Place all the ingredients onto the baking sheet and toss well. Bake for 40 minutes or until the chickpeas are golden and crispy.
Cool completely before serving or store in a sealed jar. The chickpeas will soften once stored in a container.