Spiced Chickpeas

Did I mention I am trying to be healthier in the New Year? I am cooking with less oil and trying to come up with different, healthy dishes I can serve myself and my family.

The one thing I get stressed about are snacks. There are not a lot of healthy, non-sweet snacks you can pick up besides low-fat cheese, nuts and cottage cheese or even non-fat Greek yogurt. After a while, I get sick of eating the same stuff and crave something spicy and savory. If I am trying to eat healthy, I crave big flavor. The good news is, big flavor does not mean big calories. Cayenne pepper, for example does not have any calories- in fact it revs up your metabolism.

So, I looked in my pantry and found a can of chickpeas. I drained and cleaned them and roasted them in the oven until they dried up. I then took them out and mixed them up with roasted cumin seeds, smoked paprika and salt.

I treated the chickpeas as I would nuts. Nuts are great for you but do have quite a lot of calories. The roasted chickpeas had a nice crunch and the spices gave it a delicious savory taste.

I served the chickpeas with drinks but you can enjoy them in the middle of the day, between meals or anytime you get hungry. It is amazing how it fills you up…

• 1 14oz canned chickpeas, drained
• 1 small lined ovenproof tray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Roast the chickpeas for about 20 minutes or till they are dry with a bit of crunch. Take out and keep aside.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon roasted and crushed cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt

Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan. Add the cumin, paprika and salt. Saute on medium heat for a minute. Add the chickpeas and mix well. Check for spices and turn the heat off. Serve with a glass of wine or beer.