Healthy Toasted Curried Chickpeas

As you all know, the easiest way to stick to any healthy eating plan, is to have the right foods and snacks readily available. This is especially true for those who are trying to stick to an AFFORDABLE diet. It seems like their is a premium on all products with any type of "healthy" label. After eating "clean" for 2 years, my family has found certain snack and foods that SIMPLY have to be in the cupboard.

At first, while I was a work from home mom, there were no convenience foods in the house at all. Everything was made by me including all of our breads, snacks, even cereals! Clearly, as I returned to full time work out of the home....some convenience foods eventually made their way into the house - BUT NOT INTO THE BUDGET. We had done such a good job getting our "frugal life" into check while being organic....now, it was not so in check.

My husband became ADDICTED to these curried cashews that he found at local health food store. They were organic and tasted great but they were $8 a bag! He would easily devour a bag in one sitting! So, to keep his "go-to" snack in our budget, I had to come up with a way to get the flavor without getting the huge price tag....enter- chickpeas!

Over the years, I have found that there are so many things that you can do with chick peas (also called garbanzo beans). I have made "mock" chicken salad, toasted them, turned them into chicken nuggets, and of course made the usual batch of hummus. They are so versatile and lend themselves well to flavors so I though...why not?

This snack is SOOO easy to make and a batch costs way less than the $8 bag of cashews. It is packed with wholesome goodness, can be made organically for no extra cost , and is budget friendly. I use organic seasonings BUT anything will do and they are still a very healthy way to do snack time  :)

You will need:

Plain now...but in a few seconds - AMAZING!

• 1 can of chick peas
• olive oil or coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon. curry powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Additional seasonings - I like to put some jalapeno slivers in with them for extra spice...coconut is great to add as well! Add whatever you like!
• 400 degree Oven

Directions:

1. Drain the chickpeas and allow to dry. You can also pat dry with a paper towel if you wish.
2. Toss the chickpeas in the seasonings and just a drizzle of the olive oil.
3. Coat a pan with olive oil.
4. Put the chickpeas in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and crunchy
5. Allow to cool and enjoy!

For more easy and healthy chick pea (garbanzo bean) recipes, check these out...

Try my SOY FREE Vegetarian Breakfast Sausage Even the kids LOVE this

recipe and eat it  - usually before I get to! :(

 

You can also whip up some Vegetarian "Chicken" Nuggets in no time!

 

Vegan Chickpea Chicken Salad ROCKS!

 

More info on toasted chick peas

 

Easy 5 minute hummus

 

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