Smart Snack of the Week: Chickpea Poppers
June 8, 2012 | Posted by Stacy under Healthy snacks, Recipes |
I’m always on the hunt for healthy recipes to try out on my kids. (Thus the stacks of magazine clippings piled up around my house, much to my husband’s chagrin). So when a copy of The Mom 100 Cookbook: 100 Recipes Every Mom Needs in her Back Pocket (Workman Publishing, April 2012) by food writer Katie Workman (she founded Cookstr.com) landed on my desk, I rejoiced. It’s filled with fun, no-fuss, kid friendly ideas, from lunchbox wraps to cinnamon pumpkin seeds.
Workman, a mom of two, clearly understands the challenges of preparing wholesome food that kiddos will want to eat. With each recipe, she suggests ways to get them involved in the process—from pouring to stirring to adding toppings–boosting the likelihood that they’ll give it a try. Sprinkled throughout the cookbook are Workman’s musings about cooking for kids and personal anecdotes that make this much more than just another recipe collection.
My kindergartner’s last day of school is today (!!!). After school, we’ll be having a little “graduation” party for the class. Along with guac, chips and fruit kabobs, I am planning on bringing The Mom 100 Chickpea Poppers—oven-toasted garbanzo beans with a touch of sea salt and some dried rosemary. (Workman’s “Fork in the Road” variation ideas actually call for fresh rosemary, but I found dried worked just fine.) “High in fiber, full of protein, low in fat, a little chewy, a little crispy, this is a snack that a mother could love,” Workman notes in her book.
I made a “test batch” of chickpea poppers a couple days ago and found them incredibly tasty. As for my munchkins: One of my four-year-old twins took a pass. His twin sister hesitated at first, but then downed a bunch and declared them “Yummy.” (She also ate the ones that I put in her lunchbox the next day). My six-year-old tried one (HUGE for him!), then ran off to play with the neighbor’s kids. I figure if the soon-to-be-first graders at the party don’t eat them, then their parents happily will.
Chickpea Poppers
Makes 31/2 cups
Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cans (15 ounces each) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
11/2 teaspoons kosher or coarse salt, or more to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Pat the chickpeas dry with a clean dish towel or a few paper towels. Toss the chickpeas on the baking sheet with the olive oil and salt. You can continue with Step 3 or go directly to Step 4.
3. See the Fork in the Road suggestions for seasoning the chickpeas on this page.
4. Bake the chickpeas until they have turned golden brown and shrink slightly, 35 to 40 minutes. They will harden slightly and crisp up as they cool, so do not overbake them or they will get too tough and hard. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt as necessary. Serve the chickpeas warm or at room temperature.
Fork in the Road variations: Here are two seasoning combos. These make enough for one 15-ounce can of chickpeas. When you want to use one of the seasonings, separate the oiled and salted chickpeas into two batches on the baking sheet. You can keep the chickpeas on one side as is and toss those on the other side with your choice of seasoning. Double the amounts if you want to season the full recipe.
• a mixture of 1/4 teaspoon chili powder and 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• a mixture of 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary and 1/2 teaspoon finely minced garlic
Make Ahead: You can store the chickpeas in a tightly sealed container for up to five days, although if you use fresh garlic you’ll need to keep them in the refrigerator.
What the Kids Can Do: Let the kids toss the chickpeas with the olive oil and salt along with any of the Fork in the Road seasonings.
Excerpted from The Mom 100 Cookbook: 100 Recipes Every Mom Needs in Her Back Pocket
©2012 by Katie Workman
Used by permission of Workman Publishing Co., Inc. New York
All Rights Reserved
Photo credit: Todd Coleman
Hi Stacy!
That cookbook sounds amazing and the recipes, like the Chickpea Poppers that you made, sound delicious! It is also so important that the author included suggestions for including kids in the cooking process – when children are involved in making the food they eat, they’re not only more likely to try it, but are also empowered to considered the nutrients and portions of their food!
That’s why I am working with the Healthy Monday campaigns, a nonprofit organization committed to finding simple solutions to improve people’s health. You may have heard of our Meatless Monday campaign. The Kids Cook Monday is one of our new campaigns, which encourages children to take on an active role in the cooking process (http://www.TheKidsCookMonday.org). When kids pitch in making meals, they spent quality time with their family, learn to eat healthily, and develop life skills such as math, teamwork, and following instructions.
This video by Dietitian Julieanna Hever is interesting to watch, as she explains the benefits of cooking with kids while she cooks with her daughter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8CCD1FWRrg.
We’re looking for blogs to help spread the word about our new campaign by writing weekly Kids Cook Monday posts, usually detailing a family recipe, family dinner or family cooking video. If you’re interested in writing weekly Kids Cook Monday posts for School Bites, please email me back at blogs@mondaycampaigns.org.
Thank you for your support!
–Chelsea
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