chickpea poppers

One of my worst work habits is snacking. After breakfast, I have a snack. Maybe I have another about an hour later. Then lunch, then snack. See the pattern here?

The snacking hasn't been all bad though. Lately, it's consisted of grape tomatoes, rice chips, extra dark chocolate and salt & pepper popcorn. Though these are pretty healthy choices, they leave me wanting more. So much so that it seems I'm always eating to satisfy those midday hunger pangs. My boss has already commented several times that whenever he comes by my desk, I'm always "stuffing my face". It has actually become a running joke. If he comes by and it happens that I'm not eating, he'll make note of this rare occasion.

In an effort to curb my in-between meal cravings just a bit, I needed some nosh with more protein and fiber: crunchy chickpea poppers.

Chickpea poppers
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
garlic powder, to taste
Adobo with Pepper seasoning, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste


Preheat oven to 425 degrees
In a plastic bag, combine all ingredients. 
Close the bag and shake, until chickpeas are evenly coated.
Place on baking sheet, evenly spaced, and put in oven. for 35 to 45 minutes (until crispy).
Remove. Allow to cool.

You can play around with the seasonings for this. Oregano, crushed garlic, chili powder, cumin, curry powder...whatever flavor(s) you desire will likely work. Let your taste buds make the decisions. I certainly took liberties with the Adobo and it came out to my liking.

And you want to know one other thing that I absolutely love about chickpea poppers? It's probably one of the most inexpensive eats I've ever made. A can cost less than $1! That's less than a bag of chips!

-jillian m.