The crunch, the spice, the moreishness – and it’s that rare foodstuff, a healthy snack!
Snack attack
Snacking, grazing, munching – I’m afraid it’s one of the biggest culprits for the modern, unhealthy and obese world. It may be responsible for chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.
Most of us probably won’t recall when we last ate just three meals with nothing in between. True, occasional snacking gives you an energy boost during an extended physical activity, but in general, mindless munching between meals has vastly negative impact on nutrition, obesity rates, and overall health.
Snacking means consumption of small – and often not so small - amounts of food between main meals. It’s not driven by hunger but by emotional issues, boredom, or just habit. Snacks are so easily available! Plus, let’s face it: snack foods are not exactly attractive for their essential nutrients and fibre content, but salt, sugar and unhealthy fats.
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that snacking contributed to a higher calorie intake and lower overall diet quality among adults in the United States. This leads to deficiencies of key nutrients, mainly fibre which is so important in digestion and heart health.
All those surplus calories turn into fat
A review published in the British Journal of Nutrition shows the relation between frequent snacking and increased body weight, particularly in children and adolescents. No rocket science there: if you constantly reach for nibbles, over and above your three meals a day, you won’t exactly be able to control your overall calorie intake.
Why is it just the French that sit down to a full meal three times a day, with minimal snacking in between? Obviously not 100% of the population, since obesity rates even there are veering dangerously upwards, but they are incomparably lower than in the UK or the US.
Both countries blame fast-paced lifestyle, and choose convenience and time efficiency. Plus, processed snacks are marketed and available everywhere, almost as a form of entertainment.
If snack you must…
If you can’t completely break the spell and do it the French way (also like my Grandma told me: no munchies between the meals!), you can at least try to limit the damage.
Pick something healthier. Fresh fruit, raw vegetables, nuts, seeds or yoghurt. They at least contain essential nutrients and are more satisfying than empty-calorie snacks.
And anything that you make at home from scratch, even including biscuits, will be nutritionally better than shop-bought nibbles. Like, for instance, the crunchy chickpeas below.
How to get chickpeas really crunchy
The secret is to pre-roast them. Most recipes tell you to toss the chickpeas in oil and spices straight away but that means they will never stop being soft and soggy, and they’ll burn before they crispen.
Instead, spread them on a parchment-lined tray just drained, rinsed and dried out in a colander, as they are – au naturel.
Roast them like this for ten minutes or so and you’ll notice they steam and release moisture. Only then can they be coated with oil and spices and returned to the oven, for half an hour or longer, until they are crunchy to your taste.
Spice up your chickpeas
The spice combo is completely up to your preference. I suggest a mix of hot and sweet paprika with oregano and a pinch of cardamom because it’s a classic flavour for nuts and similar snacks, but you can modify it as you wish.
Instead of hot paprika, add Cayenne. Use ready-mixed Cajun spice. Up the heat with chilli powder or, on the contrary, use mild seasoning like garlic powder and dried herbs.
Do, however, add some brown sugar to boost the flavour, and sprinkle salt only at the very end, when the chickpeas are out of the oven. Otherwise the saltiness somehow disappears, I’m not quite sure why.
More healthy snack recipes
Tom Kerridge’s carrot cake energy balls are no-bake, no sugar, no nonsense bites made from goodness itself. Sweet with no added sugar, satisfyingly filling and easier to make than mud cakes.
Serrano ham, salami and chorizo oven dried crisps are a wonderful snack, lean and mean protein to munch, not only for ketogenic dieters.
Roasted grapes go marvellously with cheese, with chicken and even with pasta. Their flavour intensifies and a drop of balsamic and a flake of salt complements it magically.
More chickpea recipes
Crispy popping chickpeas and roasted red peppers, spiced with chilli flakes and fennel seeds, with butter or olive oil in the vegan version. It’s your new favourite dish!
Tomato and chickpea tray bake with chunks of feta roasting upon the vegetables, spiced and sweet with honey and chilli dressing. An easy vegetarian meal.
Simple chickpea salad with pancetta, red peppers and mushrooms makes a quick and easy lunchtime dish. Tinned chickpeas are dry roasted in a pan with cayenne pepper.