Chick Pea Spread
What started off as a mission to incorporate more legumes into my vegan life ended up as a love fest for chick peas. I have a new focus and desire to build a chick pea recipe base. I am already a huge fan of hummus declaring many “best hummuses” in my travels. Not to mention, I myself make some kick ass hummus too – both from cooked chick peas and raw sprouted ones. Additionally, I always take the opportunity to add chick peas to my salads and soups. My goal though, is to have chick peas (and legumes in general) more regularly – like 1/2 to 1 cup daily. This could be peas, beans, lentils and so on. As a healthy vegan, I have to really be on my game when it comes to these legumes. Each meal doesn’t have to be broken out into the exact amino acids necessary but over the course of a day or two, most of my nutritional needs should be met (aka protein, fiber and minerals etc.) Legumes should be a staple for me, not necessarily tofu and tempeh which are more easily adapted into my meals, and most certainly not GMO soy fake foods which are widely hitting the marketplace – even the healthy ones. Yes, I need to compile a nice big list of easy on-the-go recipes. Please feel free to share yours!
Today, I was in the mood for a chick pea salad– not the ones I have made before with mixed beans but more like a mock chicken salad. Rarely do I eat one of those dishes like unchicken salad, tofu salad etc. but today, I was in the mood. I used to make excellent tuna salad back in the day with mayo, tomato, celery, carrot and spices. That’s the texture I wanted. I may have even blogged it before. Something came over me though and it was probably laziness to look it up or just the feeling that I needed my food processor at that moment to come to my rescue. Next thing I know, all the ingredients were in there including some kale. The end result was no longer ‘that yearned for’ chick pea salad but more of a chick pea high energy spread. I’m not complaining at all. I threw that down on some rye crisps with some homemade fermented red sauerkraut and I was go to go!
Recipe
Chick peas 1 can
Vegenaise 2 tablespoons
Tomatoes
Celery
Carrots
Garlic
Hot pepper red flakes
Sea salt
Kale
The beauty of the chick pea.
- Fiber is about 14 to 16 grams per cup. Many say that the goal or recommended daily allowance is between 25-28grams. From my experience, I believe the goal should be higher like 35-40 grams- more along the thinking of Dr. Weil.
- This fiber is high quality fiber
- Chick pea fiber helps lower LDL, total cholesterol and triglycerides
- There is more stable blood sugar regulation
- The plentiful insoluble fiber part is beneficial to the large intestines/ colon. This is very important for colon health.
- High in antioxidants and minerals
- One cup provides 29% RDA for protein and 26% for iron per cup
- Eating healthy legumes like chick peas helps substantially to curb hunger
* There are two popular types of chick peas/ garbanzo beans world wide. Desi and Kabuli as you can see in this photo. Visit their page to read more about the differences and where they are from. http://www.makehummusnotwar.com/history_5.html
*The next chick pea recipe I will make is this one with avocado but of course with a vegan cheese: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/chickpea-avocado-feta-salad/
Reference
Mateljan, G. The World’s Healthiest Foods. GMF Publishing. Seattle, WA.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=58
Disclaimer: The information given here is for educational purposes only. You should not use this to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provide
