Goin' Green

Kale - Nutritional Powerhouse

Unfortunately for us, our green season has pretty much come to a close. By "Green" I mean our garden greens. We have been loving them. For many of you though you still have some green days ahead. If you haven't been planting greens in your garden you should give them a try. We have found them amazing easy to grow and extremely delicious. Most importantly they are packed with nutrition. Let me tell you about a few that we grow.

Kale in a planter.

Giant Winter Spinach

Kale is a nutritional powerhouse. It is said to be one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet. In addition it grows easily and it is very pretty. I even planted kale in my decorative flower pots.  Kale is of course extremely low in calories but is loaded with fiber, and is highly concentrated with the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K. We love kale both raw and cooked and we have been eating a lot of it.




Spinach had long been know for being an iron rich vegetable. It also is a good source of fiber, folate, and vitamins A, C, and K. I have actually been craving spinach for most of the spring.

Bright Lights Swiss Chard

Leaf Lettuce

We have struggled to grow Swiss Chard in the past. But it grew beautifully this year. I am so glad, because it is delicious! I love it! We have really been enjoying it. It is also full of vitamins A, C, and K and is rich in dietary fiber and protein.The stems on this Bright Lights Swiss Chard remind me a lot of rhubarb, not only appearance but taste as well.



Although, not as high in nutrients as many of the other greens, lettuce is still a tasty choice. The greener and more colorful the lettuce the more nutrient rich it is. Iceberg lettuce has the lowest nutritional value of all lettuces. We grow a bit of leaf lettuce in our garden but to be honest most things we would use lettuce for (hamburgers, sandwiches, and salads) we choose to use spinach or one of the other greens instead. Most often we will mix it with other greens for a tasty salad.

Giant harvest of beet greens.

Another really great green that we often have an abundance of is beet greens. I have to admit these are not my personal favorite, but they have grown on me. I didn't care for them at all in the past, but now I will occasionally eat them sauteed and we like to throw them into our "Green" Smoothies. This is the beet green from last years harvest of beets. We planted a lot and canned and pickled beets. This year we only planted a few for greens.
The wonderful thing about greens is you can continually harvest them. I usually cut the outer leaves first and leave the younger inside leaves to grow and mature. The more you harvest them the more they will grow.

Swiss Chard being Sauteed with garlic and onion.

We use greens in a variety of ways, but our favorite way is to throw them in a smoothie. At least this is the way the kids enjoy them most because, they can't really taste them. :)  Jacob and I love them sauteed with garlic and onion. We like to add sauteed greens to things like scrambled eggs and pasta dishes. I will also add pureed greens to my pasta sauces. Of course, we also enjoy them raw in salads. It is most beneficial to grow greens yourself and harvest them as you use them, because once you have harvested them the nutrients begin to deteriorate. It has been show that frozen spinach (I am sure this is true for other greens too) actually contain more nutrients than the store bought fresh spinach, because by freezing the spinach you lock in the nutrients. Check back in a few days for a post on how to freeze your own spinach or other greens.

Variety of greens from the garden harvested for a smoothie (kale, chard, spinach, and flat leaf parsley).

Granola: Raw and Sprouted

In my efforts to learn to grow and use sprouts I wanted to make some granola with them.  I found a great video and website where they made raw granola, it looked pretty good but I wanted to adapt it some to my own tastes.  Around this time I also found a blog that talked about soaking oats (I have been unable to find oat groats nearby).  Soaking, just like sprouting, breaks down the Phytic acid in grains, making them easier to digest and increases the available nutrition of the grain.  Phytic acid is often called an anti-nutrient, it binds up vitamins and minerals as it passes through the body. 

Sprouted buckwheat, Soaked Oats, Swelled Almonds/sunflower

So I took the raw recipe, the soaked oats and a granola recipe from Alton Brown and combined them together into my version.  It is only slightly sweet, if you want it sweeter you could add some maple syrup or brown sugar or even a slight drizzle of honey in your cereal bowl with warm milk.

 Sprouted Granola

3 cups soaked rolled oats (soaked in yogurt overnight, drained see below)

Toasting Coconut in a hot Cast Iron Pan

1 cup sprouted (swelled) almonds
1 cup sprouted buckwheat
1/2 cup  swelled sunflower seeds (soak only for 30 min)
3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut (roasted)
1/4 - 1/3 cup of local honey
1/4 cup olive oil or coconut oil (warmed)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
1 tsp Cinnamon (optional)

Mix all together and  layout on wax paper on your dehydrator trays.  Dry on 120 degrees or less till dry, crumbly and completely.  Remove from trays and enjoy.

Soaking oats in Yogurt and Lemon Juice

Soaked Oats
4 Cups of whole oats
4 Cups of water
8 Tbls. Yogurt or Whey or Lemon Juice
Soak for 12-24 hours, place in cheese cloth and drain.

Guacamole

Use a spoon to easily remove an avocado from its skin.

I got a great deal on some avocados and I was really excited because that meant I could make guacamole. I really love guacamole, especially when it is made fresh. 

 First let me share with you the easiest way to peel and core an avocado. Take a sharp knife and run it all the way along the outside of the avocado lengthwise to the core. Twist both halves in opposite directions and gently pull them apart. You can pull the core out of the side it sticks to easily with your fingers. Now that you have two halves you can simply take a spoon and scoop out the whole half of the avocado. 

Slice the avocado while in the skin.

You can also slice or cube the avocado while it is still in the skin and then scoop it out the same way.

Remove the slices with a spoon.

See how easily the slices come out and you can make them whatever size you want. Before making guacamole I enjoyed some avocado slices on a turkey sandwich, so yummy!

So here is my recipe for Guacamole:

8 Large Avocados
4 Small Roma Tomatoes
1 Med. Sweet Onion
1-2 Jalapenos
2 Cloves Garlic
1 to 2 Tb. Fresh Cilantro
Garlic Salt and Salt to taste
Juice from 1 Lime

Fresh Homemade Guacamole

Chop the onion and garlic finely. I like to put mine in my mini food chopper so they are really fine, but if you like them bigger you can just hand chop them. Chop the jalapenos; then mash the onions, garlic, and peppers together with the avocados. Chop the tomatoes and cilantro and stir them in. Then stir in garlic salt and lime to taste.



This recipe makes quite a big batch (about 4 cups of guacamole), but if you ask me it is never enough. Jacob and I enjoyed it along side some chips, on top of some quesadillas, spread on a deli sandwich, and on top of a baked potato. They were all delicious. Super delicious and healthy. Plus, you get the benefits of eating raw onion and garlic.

This recipe comes from one of my friends that I worked with at the VA hospital in Salt Lake City. She also made some killer fresh Salsa, check out the recipe for it here. 

Crispy Baked Potato Skins

I would have to say that my favorite food has to be a potato. When Jacob and I were dating he used to ask me where I wanted to go to eat and I would say, "I don't care, just anywhere I can get a baked potato." I just love the wonderful goodness of a potato. My favorites are of course baked and roasted potatoes, but they must have the skin. I love potato skin, especially when it gets all crispy and yummy! So I had a thought come to me recently as I was getting ready to make another round of frozen hash browns. I wondered why in the world I had been throwing away the best part of the potato, the skins. There was absolutely no need to waste such a wonderful and nutritious thing.

So I took a little extra time this round and scrubbed all of my potatoes really well before par boiling them so that I could also utilize the skins. I peeled each potato, just like I did before, only this time I laid those precious skins out on a tray in a single layer just like I did with my shredded potatoes. Between each layer I put a sheet of saran wrap. I put them into the freezer overnight and the next day I put them into freezer bags.

Freezing your skins in a single layer allows them to come apart easily and they don't freeze into a giant clump. This way you can just open your bag and take out the amount of potato skins you want to use and you don't have to defrost the entire bag. 

To prepare them I simply laid out some of my frozen skins on a baking sheet, brushed them with olive oil and seasoned them. We have tried some different seasoning. We like Cajun, lemon- dill, and of course season salt.  Then bake them in a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Just watch them and pull them out when they are golden brown and crispy. Yum! My mouth is watering.

Crispy Baked Potato Skins

Here they are: Don't they look amazing! They are, let me tell you. A little indulgent, but much, much healthier for you than a bag of potato chips or french fries. And once again you have managed to live a little bit more Providently by not throwing out your potato skins.

12 Ways to Eat Healthy on a Budget

Several months ago I took a look in my pantry and made myself a list of several items that I would no longer buy at the grocery store.  Why am I feeding myself and my children this junk I thought? No matter how cheap it is, do I really want to put that into my body? The answer is no.  My list includes things like Pop tarts, sugary cereals, fruit snacks, granola bars, and cheese puffs. Is it really more expensive to eat healthy? Well, I think the answer is yes and no.  In terms of the cost of healthy food I think the answer is yes, but when we consider the value of our health, I think the answer is definitely no. So, how can I eat healthy on a budget? Here are 12 ways that I think can help:

1. Eat less meat- Eating meat for every meal can create quite a dent in out monthly food budget. Try substituting less expensive and more healthy options for proteins into your diet. When you do purchase meat buy discounted meat or buy in bulk and then break it up into usable portions to be frozen. When you do serve meat cut down on the portion sizes and serve more grains and veggies to go along with it.

2. Use more Grains and Legumes - They are inexpensive and packed with nutrition. Try mixing it up a bit by using grains like quinoa and barley.Experiment with new legumes; try something you never have before. You can also make some meat dishes stretch and become more nutritionally dense by incorporating beans.

3. Shop sales and clip coupons- Skip coupons for processed foods and focus on finding those for fruits, veggies, meats, and dairy; they do exist.

4. Buy in Bulk.

5. Grow your own Food - No matter how much space you have, you can plant something, even if you only have a window box herb garden.

6. Preserve foods when they are cheap or you have excess. Try various methods of preservation, canning, freezing, and drying.

7. Prepare a weekly or monthly menu - Make a shopping list from your menu and shop only from your list.  This works! This is also a great way to figure out how much food your family uses on a monthly basis so you can more accurately figure out what you need for a 3-month supply.

8. Prepare your own food - Eat out less and buy less prepackaged food. By preparing your own food you have more control over what goes into your body and it saves you money!

9. Buy fruits and veggies that are in season.  Everything is cheaper and tastes much better when it is in season.

10. Buy generic - For the majority of products there is no difference between brand and generic except the price.

11. Don't buy pre-cut veggies and fruits and skip "Organic" - Instead clean conventional fruits well and peel and cut your own veggies.

12. Make your own snacks and snack packs - Steer clear of 100 calorie packs and snack sized item.  You are only paying extra for the packaging.  Instead buy zipper bags and make your own snack bags filled with pretzels, raisins, nuts, etc. You can also make your own granola bars or cereal bars for more nutritionally dense snack options. For a really healthy crunchy snack check out our recipe for Chick a Dee's.

Baked Kale Chips

Baked Kale Chips

Kale is a very nutritious green, however some people don't find it to be tasty or dislike that it is kinda touch to chew.  It has a pretty mild flavor, we add it to smoothies when we don't have spinach on hand (see our post; Spinach and Fruit Smoothies). I have heard a great way to eat Kale is to make chips out of it, baked Kale chips.

Kale grows well and will grow in the heat of summer.  I see it planted all over as an ornamental, but it is really a nutrient rich food.  As with any veggie the gain the full nutritional value, it needs to be eaten raw (smoothies, salads etc).  Beyond being full of antioxidants, one cup of raw Kale will give you your full daily recommended value of Vitamin A, C and K.  It also contains calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, copper and manganese.

Remove stem, cut in pieces

Making baked Kale chips is really simple and quick.

1. Set your oven to 350 degrees
2. Wash and clean your Kale
3. Slice into strips or chip size
4. place on baking sheet after coating with Olive Oil (I did it by hand in a bowl)
5. Cook til crispy and still green, top with your favorite seasoning.

toss in olive oil

My first batch burned in only 10 minutes, watch it closely.  For my stove it took about 8-9 minutes to make it crispy but still green.

The verdict: it's really tasty, the burnt batch was okay and tasted a bit like slightly burned popcorn.  The next batch still has a bit of a popcorn flavor and is really good, they are very crispy and the season salt I used was the right amount of flavor and bit of salt.  This is a great alternative to potato chips, you get that nice crunch and the bit of salt. 

Lay out on cookie sheet

Finished Product, Yummy Kale Chips

Burnt popcorn, avoid this.

How can we teach our children to like Good Things?

I couldn't help but smile as I watched my 13 month old daughter, who had picked up the colander I had been putting freshly harvested radishes in, chomping happily away on her first radish, dirt and all. Not only did she like it, but she went for a second. I was quite surprised that she didn't even put up a fuss about the spiciness of it. She seemed to rather enjoy it.  I have also seen her try with all her might to pull a half ripe strawberry off the plant and when that didn't work she simply leaned down and ate it right off the plant.

There is absolutely no denying the fact that my kids love fruits and veggies. A couple of months ago, Jacob and I sat with our jaws hanging open in shock, as we watched our 4 and 6 year olds, eat a purple cabbage straight from the garden.  It had been growing for over a year and a half and had never gotten really big, but it still had a head about the size of a softball.  I had decided it was time to retire it and make room for something new.  I handed it over to the kids and told them they could eat it.  They snarfed it down like they hadn't eaten in weeks. We have often had to remind them not to pick the baby veggies, but to let them grow big so we can all enjoy them. Much to our sorrow they plucked and ate 12 broccoli plants just as they were starting to flower, last fall.

So, I have been pondering this idea of how we really get our children to like "good" things and things that are "good" for them. I think one of the important things we have to do is first expose our kids to good things. If we want our kids to like a variety of veggies then we need to provide them with the opportunity to eat a lot of different ones.  We were at the store this past week and my 4 year old son spotted a big carton of mushrooms, "Mom", he said, "what do mushrooms taste like?"  Well, that is a very hard question to answer. So I said, "Well, let's buy some and you can try them." He was so excited about it and also very willing to try them because it was his idea.

The second thing we need to do to help our children to like "good" things is to give those things value and importance. We often talk at the dinner table about the specific nutrients we are giving our bodies from the various things we are eating.  The kids are very interested to know that a carrot helps them to have strong eyes and that potatoes give you energy to help you run fast. We remind them often as they are playing outside to not step in the garden beds and not to pick anything with out checking first. We also let them work along side us to help us plant and weed and water the garden. They take great pride in knowing they helped the things we are eating to grow. We also let them participate in the harvest at the appropriate time and help them to share their harvest with one another.

It seems that as we do expose our children to good things and help them to see value in them that they begin to develop a love for them.  Now, that doesn't mean that my children absolutely love everything that I put in front of them at the dinner table. My oldest child detests lettuce and doesn't care much for beans.  But I have also noticed that as I continue to serve these things to my family and we continue to talk about how "good" these things are for her the more willing she seems to try them. Plus she is watching the rest of her family enjoy some of the things that she has shied away from. She has never really liked lettuce and yet just last week she decided she wanted to try some lettuce on her hamburger.

As I have thought about this concept of getting our children to like good things in terms of veggies and other healthy foods, I have realized that these same principles really translate over to other aspects of life as well. For example, if you want your child to love t.v., let them watch a lot of it and sit down and watch it with them, or if you want your child to love reading, then read to them, provide them with good books, and let them see you reading and talk to them about the importance of reading. If you want your child to love God and attend church and keep the commandments, then you need to take them to church, teach them to pray, read the scriptures with them, and share your testimony with them. There are endless examples that I can think of where this idea holds true.

So, How do we teach our children to like good things? First we expose them to good things and give them plenty of opportunities to partake of those things that are good. Second, we give those things that are good value and importance. When our children know that we value and love those things that are good they will begin to follow our example.

Fresh Salsa

Oh, my we have had a lot of tomatoes from our garden and we are loving it. I have been canning tomatoes like crazy! One of the things we always enjoy with garden tomatoes is fresh salsa. Several years ago before I met Jacob I worked at the VA Hospital in SLC. One of my friends there made the best fresh salsa I have ever eaten. We always made her bring it when we had potlucks. It is so yummy and we have made it several times already with our bountiful harvest of tomatoes this year. So I am sharing this amazing recipe with you today. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Fresh Salsa - Recipe from Shaun-ta's friend Ashley

1 Can Mexican Style Tomatoes
8 Large Tomatoes
6 Roma Tomatoes
1 Sweet Onion
1 Bunch Cilantro
1 Clove Garlic, Crushed
3 Jalapenos
Garlic Salt and Salt, to taste
Juice from 1 Lime
1 or 2 diced Avocados (optional but very yummy)

Chop everything and mix it all together in a large bowl.
This recipe makes a lot. When I made the above pictured batch I didn't include the can of Mexican style tomatoes and we didn't grow Roma's so I just put in about 16 tomatoes from our garden. It turned out great! It is delicious and smells amazing. Would be a great addition to your upcoming 4th of July BBQ's. We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.

Honey and Mayonnaise Sandwiches

When I was a kid, I made up a sandwich, I remember asking my mom to make this for me all the time.  It was a simple sandwich of Honey and Mayonnaise.  Now I can't say I've eaten that sandwich anytime in the last 25+ years but I remember it being really tasty.

Local raw honey (notice its dark amber color)

Just recently I realized that our family had consumed a quart of local honey in about 5 weeks.  I brought it to Shaun-ta's attention and she lovingly informed me that it was in fact me who consumed the lion's share.  I guess it's true, I probably did partake in at least 1/2 of it.  I love honey, I normally have to keep my urges in check.  A few months back we bought a gallon of honey from some folks at church who manage a lot of local hives.  We were able to buy a gallon for a great price, this honey was all local not pasteurized and or filtered (sometimes called raw or pure honey).  It was really good honey, darker than normal clover honey had bit's of pollen in it and has a little stronger flavor.

Honey is pretty amazing stuff, if properly stored it can have shelf life beyond our life.  There was honey found in the Egyptian tombs and was still edible. Honey has a great big list of benefits. One the reported benefits comes with consuming local honey to build ones resistance to pollen allergies. Some of the other  benefits and properties are:

• Anti-oxidant
• Anti-bacterial
• Anti-fungal
• Anti-biotic factors
• Anti-microbial
• Vitamins - C, D, E K, B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and certain amino acids. 
• Minerals - calcium, chlorine, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium and zinc 
• Protein
• Raw honey contains beneficial live enzymes that aid in digestion
• Raw honey also contains pollen which is high in protein and can aid with allergies.

To keep up with honey consumption we plan buy a few gallons the next time it comes available.  Ultimately we hope to start a couple honey-bee hives next year.  I already manage various species of solitary bees for pollinating, so It will be fun to work with honey bees too.  So I have 6 months or so to decide what type of hives to build and get them ready for the season.  I hope to be able to catch a feral swarm next year along with starting one from a nucleolus colony.

 

What is the verdict on the Honey and Mayo Sandwich?

Four of our mouths agree it is actually pretty good.

A Real "Cool" Idea

 I don't know about you, but in the summer my kids think they need to live off popsicles. I can't count the number of times they run in the door and say, "Mom, we are hot, can we have a popsicle." I really don't blame them, it is hot, very hot, especially here in East Texas. But I sometimes cringe at the idea of them eating all of  those popsicles that are nothing but sugar. If they are going to live on popsicles there has to be a way to make them nutritious, doesn't there. Well, we came up with some great homemade popsicles that are not only nutritious, but really yummy too, much better than a plain old freezer pop. So if you are looking for a way to beat the summer heat here is a "Real Cool" Idea: 

We made three types of popsicles (and by we I mean me and my three kids, they loved helping with this!) First we made up some chocolate pudding, next we took some homemade nonfat plain yogurt and added some berries (click here for the recipe and to find out more about how we sweeten it), and finally we thought we would try out some white grape juice (100% juice).

We filled up some Dixie cups (3 oz.) with all of these yummy things and then stuck in some plastic baby spoons and forks. I use them instead of sticks, because I can use them over and over again. They really work great.

Then I loaded them up into a 9x13 for easy transport to the freezer and less wobbling once they got there.  

We waited until the next day to try our frozen treats and let me tell you they were yummy! I made everyone give me a sample of theirs.

I have to say a few things about using the paper cups. They work really great, as you can see from the pictures the paper just comes right off, and that is why I use them.  I bought one of those plastic popsicle maker things and I detest it. I can never get the stinkin' popsicle out of it without dipping it in hot water until the popsicle is almost all the way melted.  Too much trouble for me, so I converted to the paper cups.

 I must say that I feel much better about giving my kids a nonfat frozen yogurt pop, that has minimal amounts of sugar in it, than something that is almost 100% sugar. Even with the pudding pops you know that your child is at least getting a bit more calcium in their diet. And I know if you were to do a price comparison with these and the products like them at the store you would be saving big. 

Enjoy! We hope these will help you beat the summer heat!

Homemade Granola Bars

Mix together all ingredients.

 I have been making Granola Bars for several years now. I starting making my own as an effort to save money and even though that is still a contributing factor I now continue to do it as a way to make sure that my kids have more nutritious snacks.

This is a recipe that I have come up with over the years as I have put several different recipes together and tweaked them to my liking.  This recipe makes a really hearty granola bar that sticks together well.

Press into a 9x13. Bake at 325 until golden brown.

4 & 1/2 Cups Rolled Oats
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2/3 Cup Butter, softened
1/2 Cup Honey
1/3 Cup packed Brown Sugar
2 Cups miniature Chocolate Chips or your choice of mix-ins (raisins, cranberries, sunflower seeds, etc.)

Preheat oven tho 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan.  In a large mixing bowl combine the oats,

After cooling, cut into squares and wrap in saran wrap.

flour, baking soda, vanilla, butter, honey, and brown sugar. Stir in the 2 cups of chocolate chips. Lightly press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely, then cut into bars. Wrap each bar in saran wrap.

You can make these bars your own by adding your favorite mix-ins. You can also try substituting some of the butter with peanut butter or substituting some of the oats with rice crispies or another type of crunchy cereal. When I made these bars I used both white and semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus I added about 1/2 cup dry milk for a calcium boost- and 2 Tb. corn syrup, to make sure they wouldn't be too dry with the addition of the milk. They turned out great- very yummy!

Cereal Bars AKA Breakfast Bars

These bars are really good (my family LOVES them) and they are also very hearty and nutritious. They are a great alternative to a granola bar or a Poptart (much healthier than a Poptart). I personally feel much better about handing one of these to my child for a quick breakfast than a Poptart. I made these last week with the help of my 4 year old and they are already gone!  So I know you want the recipe, here it is:

8 Cups Cereal, Cheerios, Rice Krispies, etc.
1 Cup Dry Milk
1/2 Cup Butter or Margarine
1/4 Cup Corn Syrup
1 Cup Peanut Butter
10 oz. Bag Mini Marshmallows
Seeds, Nuts, Raisins, Cranberries

In a large bowl combine cereal and dry milk; tossing to coat.
  
We used a combination of honey nut cheerios, plain cheerios, and multi-grain cheerios. But we usually throw in whatever we have. I often save the bottom of the bag of mini wheats to throw in to for extra fiber. Other good options would be Kix, Chex, Rice Krispies, etc. The dry milk gives you a calcium boost that you definitely won't find in a Poptart or store bought granola bar.

In a saucepan melt butter, corn syrup, peanut butter, and marshmallows. 


These are so easy to make - just like making rice krispy treats- only they are packed with nutrition.

When your marshmallow mixture is completely melted together pour it over the cereal mixture and stir to combine. Next stir in your raisins and other mix in items that you choose.

We used raisins and cranberries in ours. I love the chewiness and sweetness of the raisins. So yummy! You could also try a variety of nuts, sunflower seeds or mini chocolate chips.

Press the mixture into a lightly greased 9x13. Allow them to cool and then cut into bars.

After cutting into bars I like to wrap each bar individually in saran wrap so we have grab and go snacks or for a quick on the way to school breakfast. 

One of the things that I like about making my own snacks is that I can control the amount of sugar that goes into them. Plus they aren't loaded with preservatives. These bars do have sugar, but I know how much they have ( I am sure it is a lot less than a Poptart or store bought granola bar) and you can always change things up, like try substituting the corn syrup with honey.  There are lots of possibilities. The other plus to making homemade snacks is it saves you money and I know we all like to do that. Hope you enjoy these!

Chick A' Dee's

Chick Pea (Garbanzo Bean) Snack

My kids call these crunchy snacks "Chick A' Dee's", I guess that is what they hear when I say "Chick Peas". No matter what you call them they are a healthy and delicious snack that are very similar to corn nuts but a lot healthier.

Ingredients:
Cooked Chick Peas  AKA Garbanzo Beans -You can use canned if you want or cook up a bag of dried beans to make this snack very inexpensive.
1 -2 tablespoons olive oil
Desired Seasoning

I cooked my beans in the pressure cooker. Then I drained them and let them sit in the strainer for an hour or so to dry. You could also spread them out onto a towel to dry them. Once they are pretty well dry place them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Coat them with olive oil. I used about 1 Tb. of olive oil for 1/2 lb. of beans (about 2 Cups of cooked beans). I just drizzle the oil over the beans and then use my hands to toss them until they are all thoroughly coated. Then season your chick peas as desired. My kids just like theirs salted. I use kosher salt.  My husband likes me to use a curry seasoning and I like Season Salt!  Be creative! Bake the Chick peas in a 425 degree oven for about an hour or two.  Just continue to watch them and toss them occasionally to keep them from burning. Cook them until they are crispy.  The ones on the outside get crispier faster than the ones on the inside so keep tossing them especially near the end of cooking time.  Do the 3 bean test to make sure they are all done to your desired crispiness. These are tasty! Enjoy!