Roasted Chickpeas: Chili Lime Cilantro Sesame

One word: Genius. Roasted chickpeas are genius. They're filling, they're versatile, they're good for you, and they're so easy to make! Think corn nuts but less chip-your-teeth and better for you.

After going through some recipes online, I decided to make a version of my own. You can literally season these however you'd like--sweet or savory!

Ingredients:

* 2 15-oz cans of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)//drained, rinsed, & blotted dry
* 2 tablespoons of olive oil
* 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon lime juice
* 3 to 4 teaspoons of chili powder (I like 4)
* 3/4 to 1 teaspoon of seal/or kosher salt
* 1-2 teaspoons of cumin (I like 2)
* 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
* 3 to 4 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro (I really like cilantro, so feel free to reduce this if you're not as obsessed. Or, you can use a few pinches of dried thyme or rosemary instead.)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with some foil.

2. Drain, rinse and blot dry your chickpeas. Put them onto your foil-lined baking sheet.

3. Bake for 45-60 minutes (Swish them around every 15 minutes or so. Test a few chickpeas and make sure they're crunchy. If they're not all crunchy, keep them baking a bit longer.)

4. Get all your other ingredients mixed into a large bowl. When your chickpeas are done roasting, pour them into the wet mixture and stir until all the crunchy morsels are coated.

5. Enjoy! You can also store these in an airtight baggie or container and eat them the next day.

Sweet Potato and Brussels Hash

 

I found this recipe on Bexadiary, a great blog I came across a while back. I tweaked the quantity and some of the ingredients, but she pretty much drives it home with this recipe.  It's so good; there are so many layers of flavors. And yes, it's good for you!

Ingredients:

-4-5 small or 2-3 big sweet potatoes//baked, peeled, and diced

-one small red onion//diced

-2-2 1/2 cups of brussel sprouts//quartered

-3-4 cloves of garlic//minced

- 2 hand grabs (yes, hand grabs) of cranberries

-1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

- 1 cup of chopped walnuts (or pecans, almonds, pine nuts...)

- 1 tablespoon of rosemary (I didn't have fresh, so I used about 2 1/2 teaspoons of dried rosemary)

- salt and pepper to taste

-2 tablespoons of coconut oil

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wrap the sweet potatoes in foil. Place in a baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Your sweet potatoes will not be fully cooked at this point as they'll finish cooking in the pan.  So long as the outsides are tender, you're set.

Step 2: Wash and quarter the the brussel sprouts. Make sure to peel of the outer leaves and trim a bit from the bottom of the sprouts just to make sure that they're clean. Don't cut off too much because you want the quarters to stay intact. 

Step 3: Dice the onions. Mince the garlic. Set aside.

Step 4: Remove the skin from the sweet potatoes. Dice the tators into smaller than-inch bites.

Step 5: In a large skillet (I used my dutch oven b/c I didn't want any possible overflow), heat a tablespoon of coconut oil. Once hot, throw in the sweet potatotoes. Cook for about 5 minutes until they're nice and golden brown. Pour them into a separate bowl and set aside.

Step 6: In the same skillet, heat another tablespoon of coconut oil and throw in the brussel sprouts and the onions. Sautee for about another 4-5 minutes until the onions are translucent and when the brussels have gotten some color on them. Pour those into the potato bowl.

Step 7: Add nutmeg, rosemary, walnuts and garlic to the skillet. Cook for about a minute or two making sure not to burn the garlic. This step smells A-mazing!

Step 8: Combine all ingredients in the skillet, add the cranberries, and season with salt and pepper. Toss everything together.

ENJOY!

Date Butter: Get your sweet fix!

You can't get much sweeter than this stuff. Date butter (it's called date honey, but I accidentally started and continued to call it date butter) is great in oatmeal, in smoothies, on fruit, and then some! You get all the health benefits from the dates, and you don't wreak all the havoc on your body like you would consuming processed sweeteners.

Oh, and it's pretty easy to make to, which is a bonus. I got the recipe from this site and quadrupled it, so that I could split the batch with some friends. I'll double the original recipe because that seems like a good amount if you're just making it for one household.

Ingredients:

- 2 cups pitted dates (12-16 Medjools or 36-40 Deglet Noors)
- 2 cups of water
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or however much to your liking)

Directions: 

Pour dates and water into a small saucepan, making sure dates are completely covered (add additional water if necessary). Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 45-60 minutes or until dates are very soft and broken down. Remove from heat, and allow to cool slightly for about 15 minutes. Pour mixture (including liquid) into a blender or food processor and puree until completely smooth. Sprinkle in cinnamon and stir well. Store in a sealed container in refrigerator.

Single serving size: 1 Tablespoon.

Enjoy!!