A Healthiterian’s Mission Statement

I love food.

I love pretty much everything about food — the taste and the smell, the process of preparation, serving it to people, evening meals with my family, going out to restaurants, and dinner parties with friends. For that reason, I would never deprive myself from the pleasure of eating.  I would never skip a meal or go on a diet.  I prefer burning calories to starvation. I would much rather eat well and exercise then deny myself a meal.

At the same time, I refuse to poison my body with anything processed, greasy, full of additives and preservatives, so I will  eliminate the term “frozen food” from my vocabulary. I despise chips, hot dogs, pizza and French fries, so I will avoid them whenever they are present at the table.  I find no comfort in sugary deserts, cookies, or ice cream, so I  will have no guilt rejecting them whenever they are offered.

I will treat my body with the respect that it deserves. And this is my mission statement.

A Healthy Snack – Crispy Roasted Chickpeas with Moroccan Spices

Adapted from The South Beach Diet Cookbook and Kalyn’s Kitchen

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry garbanzo beans
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• salt (optional)
• 1 serving of Moroccan Spice Mix

Moroccan Spice Mix – makes 6 servings

• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon chile powder
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Cook garbanzo beans according to instructions or use canned beans if pressed on time.
3. Drain into a colander for 15 minutes. Pat dry if they still look wet.
4. While beans drain, mix the spices.
5. When the beans are well dried, toss with olive oil and 1/6^th of spice mix. Store the rest in a glass jar.
6. Spread the beans on a baking sheet, and bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour, until browned and crunchy. Watch carefully the last few minutes to avoid burning.
7. Cool and serve right away or store in an air-tight jar to avoid them getting soft.