Upgrade Your Filler Foods - One snack at a time (Series - Part 4a)

By now, you must have turned towards healthy snacking as a habit. However, you don't need to stay stuck to the fruity and veggie diet when you feel like having a filler food. There are also other interesting options like legumes. Well, a new snack option that I'm now providing is that of the very versatile 'chickpeas.' While I'll be talking about white chickpeas in Part 4a, you may know more about the black "magical" chickpeas in Part 4b. So, stay tuned and keep reading.

Health Benefits

As white chickpeas (Garbanzo beans/Indian peas/Kabuli chickpeas) have a wide variety of benefits, including them in your snacks is the wisest step. Without wasting time, check out what all they can do to you:

• Deliciously nutritious: White chickpeas are considered as the healthiest legumes. Loaded with protein and essential vitamins and minerals, these tasty legumes also contain fiber in abundance. This is superb for your digestive and excretory systems. Those with intestinal or bowel problems should include chickpeas in their snacks, as their insoluble fiber helps in solving problems like irritable bowel syndrome and constipation.

• Weight loss and healthy heart: People struggling to lose weight should immediately get rid of their junk snacks and upgrade to chickpeas. As chickpeas have fiber and protein, they make you feel full very soon. By curbing your fast food cravings, chickpeas help you with effective and everlasting weight loss. Chickpeas also contain dyslipidemia, which helps in reducing the bad cholesterol or LDL in the body. Thus, along with weight loss support, chickpeas keep you away from cardiovascular diseases. Heart health remains sound due to the presence of omega-3 fatty acids in chickpeas.

• Boosters for energy and immunity: While a higher dose of chickpeas may cause intestinal gas and similar side effects, these can become a magical snack to gain instant energy and boost the immunity. This happens due to the presence of manganese in them. In addition, you get nutrients like phosphorus, magnesium, and thiamine.

• Diabetes prevention: By snacking on healthy chickpeas, you may avoid the risk of Type-II diabetes. As per several researches, these have a role in insulin resistance and bad cholesterol reduction.

• Anti-aging and more: Who doesn't want healthy and glowing skin, shiny hair, accurate eyesight, and strong bones? Now all this can be achieved with a single food, chickpeas! They have manganese to fight free radicals that cause wrinkles and other signs of aging. The skin is also detoxified against sulfites by molybdenum present in chickpeas. The usual skin damage is repaired by vitamin B and folate sourced from chickpeas. This wonder snack is also rich in vitamin A that maintains healthy eyesight and mucus membranes. Chickpeas are absolutely great in maintaining strong and healthy hair, as well as strong bones and body by providing a good amount of vitamin K.

• Amazing source of iron: Iron is a major nutritional component we require, and chickpeas are simply amazing to gain iron. While it helps prevent anemia, it also helps in treating jaundice. Consuming chickpeas is of marvelous benefit to pregnant/lactating mothers and growing kids.

• Women's health: White chickpeas are good for pregnant and lactating mothers. These are also great through menstruation for controlling mood fluctuations and on menopause for regulating hormonal levels in women.

• Cancer prevention: By maintaining the levels of antioxidants and phytoestrogens, chickpeas prevent the risk of osteoporosis and breast cancer. Further, chickpeas maintain colon health. The soluble fiber in them helps in breaking bacteria into fatty acids, which gives energy to colon and reduces the chances of cancer.

• Mental health: Chickpeas contain a nutrient called choline, which maintains our mental health by ensuring healthy sleep, memory, and learning. It also aids muscle movement and the transmission of nerve impulses. So, grab some chickpeas and create a snack recipe to prove yourself wiser.

How to Consume

• Boil white chickpeas and spice them per your taste. You may use salt, pepper, and chili flakes or green chilies. Add diced onion and roasted nuts (if you like) to make light chickpeas salad.

• If not as solid chickpeas, you can use grounded chickpeas or gram flour to make interesting recipes with it. For instance, you can prepare gram flour curry or add it to wheat flour to roll stylish little chapatis for your snacking time.

• Make chickpea curry by adding some diced tomatoes, coriander leaves, sliced onion, and spices. It can be a soupy treat during your lazy afternoons when you need energy.

• Make sprouted chickpeas if the prep is done early for your next-day snacks.

• Boiled chickpeas can be consumed as salad or in any other form, depending on how creative you can be with their use. Enjoy making an innovative dish today.

Question for Readers

While you won't be able to resist the charm of chickpea snacks after knowing about their health benefits, do you think black chickpeas are equally good? If you don't have the answer to this question now, I'm sure you will have it after you read the next section of this series on healthy snacking. Don't forget to check it out on this blog!