Italian Spice Roasted Garbanzo Beans

This is what I use as my "croutons" for all of my salads!
Check out the Indian Spice version!

Italian Spice Roasted Garbanzo Beans
Ingredients:
3 15 oz cans garbanzo beans
1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Add as much as you'd like of these. I tend to add a lot. For a lighter flavor, add less:
     Garlic powder
     Cayenne pepper
     Paprika
     Dried Oregano
     Dried Parsley
     Onion Powder
     Salt
     Pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Open the garbanzo beans, drain, and rinse under cold water. Dump onto a towel and dry off very well (if they're moist with water, they won't roast well).

4. In a bowl, mix the garbanzo beans and olive oil. Once mixed, sprinkle in all of the spices, as much as you'd like.  Mix & distribute to all the garbanzo beans. Put beans on rimmed baking sheet.

5. Bake for 30-40 minutes. The longer, the crunchier. If you like the outside crunchy & the center to be softer, only bake for 30 minutes.

The Final Product!

Feel free to eat as a snack like popcorn, add to your trail mixes, or top off your salads like I do as a healthy alternative to croutons!

-Lacey

Guacamole with a Twist

I'm not just saying this because I made it, but I've never, ever, ever liked guacamole. Always tasted bland to me. I made this on a whim tonight with some leftover avocado from sushi from dinner the other night and I LOVE this. Love love love love.

Ingredients:
1/2 jalapeño pepper
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/4 cup onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or lime juice if you like. I'm not a fan)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Pinch of sea salt
Itty bit of orange zest
1 avocado
1 small tomato (or 1/2 medium tomato) roughly cut up into 4 or 5 pieces.


Directions:
1. In a food processor, add jalapeño, garlic, cilantro, onion, lemon juice, cumin, chili powder, and sea salt. Pulse until all ingredients are chopped in small pieces.
2. Add avocado and orange zest and blend until mostly smooth (leaving little chunks is great!)
3. Add tomato pieces and pulse until chunks of tomato are left in the guacamole.
4. Enjoy on your salad, in your wraps, or as a yummy veggie dip.


***If you don't have a food processor, just finely chop all ingredients except avocado & tomato and mix together. Blend avocado in with fork and mix until mostly smooth. Add in bits of tomato at the very end for a chunky guacamole.***

Crouton Substitute!!

I've grown to LOVE my salads. The beautiful green leaves loaded with onion, pepper, cranberries, and every other veggie combination you could think of. But goodness gracious, did I miss my croutons. The crunchy aspect to my salads made me so happy, and I'll admit that if I got a salad bar at a restaurant, I would always totally cheat by getting those tasty, crunchy treats. I will say though, I have never bought a box at the grocery store. They'd be gone in a day.  But I found this awesome, healthy, and flavorful replacement from Dani Spies! 

YUCK! Don't eat these. Bleeeghhh.

When you eat garbanzo beans, you're getting lots of fiber, they help control blood sugar when eaten regularly, and your serving contains about 11-14 grams of protein.

Roasted Garbanzo Beans
Ingredients:
3 15 oz cans garbanzo beans
1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2.. In a bowl, mix the curry powder, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and the salt.

3. Open the garbanzo beans, drain, and rinse under cold water. Dump onto a towel and dry off very well (if they're moist with water, they won't roast well).

Rinse them off!

Dry, dry, dry!

4. In a bowl, mix the garbanzo beans and olive oil. Once mixed, sprinkle in the spice mixture.  Mix & distribute to all the garbanzo beans. Put beans on rimmed baking sheet.

Before they get roasted! Look at those yummy spices.

5. Bake for 50 minutes. The longer, the crunchier. If you like the outside crunchy & the center to be softer, only bake for 45 minutes.

All done!

Look how golden and crunchy!!

6. Store in an air-tight container.

I store in a mason jar with a lid.

7. Use in your trail mix, add to your salads (my favorite) or eat them alone!

The great thing about recipes like this is if you don't want to use Indian spices like curry powder & ginger, try something else like basil & other great Italian seasonings! Either way, you have a crunchy & tasty crouton replacement for your salads!

-Lacey