Who knew chickpeas could be so versatile?!? This post is all about the chickpeas… well let’s face the fact it’s mostly about my first recipe on here…my chickpea cookie dough chocolate covered bites. But don’t stop there, keep reading on because there are two other amazing recipes that follow!
How it all began…
My friends Francine & Mark were throwing a house warming party and I wanted to make something fun for it. Being that “Franny” and a few other friends going are fellow nutritionist I knew I could get away with bringing something a little bit “funky”. At first I thought about doing chickpea chocolate chip cookies, but then I thought nah not fun enough. I remembered seeing somewhere about vegan raw cookie dough and then thought…why don’t I make raw cookie dough bites!! Then, of course I thought everything tastes better dipped in chocolate. So I started googling, and thanks to a few websites came up with this masterpiece that everyone at the party enjoyed, and I hope you do too!
Chocolate Covered Chickpea Cookie Dough Bites
Recipe: makes about 40 bite size balls
Ingredients for the Cookie Dough:
2-15oz cans of chickpeas
1/2 cup all natural peanut butter (for consistency (and to be health) make sure all natural)
1/3 cup + 2Tb of maple syrup
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of salt
1/3-1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips
Ingredients for the Chocolate Covered Part: ~1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips
1Tb of coconut oil
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Take the chickpeas and rinse them and place them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and place them in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Check on them at 10ish minutes. You want them to be dry to the touch and very lightly roasted. Allow to cool.
2. Take all the ingredients for the cookie dough above minus the chocolate chips and place the in the food processor and process until smooth. It should look like cookie dough.
3. Stir in the chocolate chips. Honestly I totally eyeballed this part to preference so you can do the same if you want. PS: I like a good amount ;).
4. On a parchment lined cookie sheet (could literally be the same one you used to roast the chickpeas). Scoop and roll out the dough into balls (think about half a golf ball). Place in freezer for about 15 minutes.
5. While the cookie dough is in the freezer. Make your chocolate to dip! Not gonna lie I put mine in a microwave safe bowl and into the microwave. So put the chocolate and coconut oil together and melt it. Keep a close eye if you do this or put it on the stove.
6. Take out the cookie dough. Dip in the chocolate and put back on parchment lined sheet and place in freezer again for another 15 minutes.
* You can keep in freezer or fridge. If you are going to eat them within 3 days then fridge is fine. If you store in the freezer, you have some yummy healthier treats for to snack on for a while! They can stay out room temperature but be mindful it’s chocolate covered so if it is hot…they will melt! BTW THEY ARE AMAZING!!!!
** Recipe adapted from http://www.adashofcompassion.com/2014/11/chickpea-cookie-dough-balls/ and https://mayihavethatrecipe.com/chickpea-cookie-dough/
Next up…
Because those desserts above should of course be eaten before your meal ;), next up is chickpea “mock” tuna salad. It is totally fine to eat tuna, however, I came across this recipe/concept while away in Costa Rica at this beautiful yoga retreat held at this place called the Farm of Life. Everything is raw and vegan and mostly grown on the grounds. The chef there at that time, Jamie Wagener- The Blissful Kitchen, is amazing and this recipe is adapted from her…so please check out her page for more amazing recipes/ideas (especially her Snickers Bar Recipe). Website information will be below the recipe.
Chickpea Mock Tuna Salad
Ingredients:
1-15oz cans of chickpeas
1-2 carrots
2-3 celery stalks
1-2 spring onions/scallions (white and light green part)
1 Tb Dijon Mustard
~1-2 Tb fresh parsley
~1-2 Tb fresh dill
Directions: makes 4 servings
- Rinse chickpeas and chop veggies and place everything in food processer minus the herbs. Process but let it be slightly chunky.
- Add chopped herbs and mayo of your choose. Add salt, pepper, paprika to taste. Note: I made the cashew mayo from Jamie’s blog to put on it…so delish 🙂
Recipe adapted from http://www.theblissfulkitchen.com/blog/paleo-bread-mock-tuna-salad-sandwiches. Check out all of her recipes!
And here is where I went for the amazing retreat http://www.farmoflifecr.com/.
And one more…just because…it’s chickpeas…
Chickpea & Peas Hummus
This concept was created while dining out at an amazing, quant restaurant on the North Shore in Long Island called Farm Country Kitchen. They had this amazing pea hummus that made me have to go home and create it. To be honest, it has been a while since I have made this one so I have no picture! But, since we are all about the chickpeas, I have to include this one and then obviously make this again ASAP because it was that good!
Ingredients:
1-15oz cans of chickpeas
1 cup peas (preferable fresh- Trader Joes carries them)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1 garlic clove
1 tsp of salt
3-4 basil leaves or mint leaves (depends on your mood) I love it with basil, but mint is refreshing in the summer)
Directions: Put everything in a food processor or Vitamix (or any high speed blender) and blend until smooth. You can always adjust to taste as I don’t really measure anything when I concoct so the above are all “guestimates”.
Benefits of Chickpeas
So, of course I have to add some nutrition tips here at the end. Chickpeas are one of those foods that count as a carbohydrate and protein source.
- They are a great source of protein.
- They are also very high in fiber, especially soluble fiber, which plays a role in lowering cholesterol levels. Although, they do have carbohydrates, because of the high fiber content, they are what we call low in the glycemic index- meaning you won’t get a huge sugar surge when these are consumed.
- They are full of folate, an important vitamin for DNA and red blood cells and there is an increased need during pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects. One cup of chickpeas meets more than 70 percent of a woman’s daily folate needs and almost 50 percent of the daily needs of a pregnant or nursing woman.
- They are a high source of manganese. A mineral that helps support bone development and wound healing. It is also essential for the metabolism of cholesterol, carbohydrates, and protein.
Ok folks, so now you can go ahead back up to the first recipe of this post and make it and let me know what you think?! Honestly, they are all amazing recipes and I hope you enjoy them. Always remember the best ingredient is love <3 !
