I don’t know why but lately it feels like the day zooms by and suddenly it’s bedtime and I’ve barely touched my “to-do” list. What’s up with that?I keep thinking, OK tomorrow I’ll have time to do “X.” And then tomorrow whizzes by and it’s the next day.
A lot of people have been asking me lately, “how do you get your protein?” (Anyone else ever get that question???
)
One way I get my protein is by eating beans. If I had to name my most favorite bean I would have to say the chickpea. Also knows as the “garbanzo bean, I use chickpeas to make homemade hummus,
falafel, and Indian dishes such as Chana Saag (chickpeas and spinach). I love tossing them into salads. After reading Isa‘s recipe for Fronch Toast, I recently used chickpea flour to make my Coconut Peanut Butter and Banana French Toast recipe, which was amazing. With a few herbs and spices added they are even great eaten straight out of the can! I especially love to roast chickpeas, which is what I did tonight.

Here are a few fun facts about chickpeas:
- Chickpeas, which originated in the Middle East, are one of the oldest cultivated veggies – they have been carbon dated back to 6790BC
- There are two main types of chickpeas: Desi (darker, smaller seeds, rough coat) and Kubuli (lighter colored, larger seeds, smooth coat)
- Recent studies show that chickpeas can help lower cholesterol
- Chick peas are high in fiber, protein, zinc, and folate
ROASTED CHICKPEAS
Ingredients
- 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1-2 Tbs olive oil (NOT extra virgin)
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- chili powder
- salt
- pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- On the stove, heat the oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds stirring constantly so the garlic doesn’t burn.
- Add the chickpeas, chili powder, salt, and pepper to and mix thoroughly.
- Put the skillet in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
- Enjoy straight out of the oven or add to salads or pasta.

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- Recipe Recommendation: Baked Falafel from Chow Vegan (thekitchn.com)
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- How to eat those healthy beans. (informationonhealth.blogspot.com)

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I loved using barley! I very rarely cook with barley so it was fun to get to use it in this recipe. The salad was very garlicky - I used fresh picked garlic from the farmer’s market and it might have been a little on the strong side. I think next time I will decrease the garlic and try to bring out the tahini flavor some more. Maybe some miso? I don’t know – I’ll let you know if /when I play around with it some more. THANK YOU TO KRISTEN for creating this masterpiece! Check out Kristen’s