I do not keep snacks in the house. I just don’t. I am guessing this is not the norm from the confused looks on kids faces when they are at our house and go to the pantry to see what we have for snacks. Sorry kiddos, the answer is fruit, maybe some cheese or beef heart jerky. Have at it!

I have made a conscious decision to do this. Why? I want my kids to appreciate meals. I want them to eat the nutrient dense food I make for them. It makes it a heck of a lot easier to get a kid to try sauerkraut when they aren’t full of crackers and cookies. Also it is for myself. I am a person with an addictive brain. I have a very hard time with moderation when it comes to a lot of things. Most food that comes in a box or a bag is chemically designed to trigger you. A lot of money goes into getting the exact level of sugar/salt/fat into that little goodie. We are all pretty defenseless against that based on our biology. I know that I am not going to win that fight. So if it isn’t there I can’t have it. Plain and simple.

I do get cravings for crunchy, salty and sweet though. I have things that I can make when that happens. You have to REALLY want something to make it from scratch. Roasted and spiced up chickpeas are a good go to. It is simple and I can tailor the spices for whatever current mood I am in. This week I wanted something a little smokey, a little sweet and a little salty. This is what I came up with.

First of all I only had dried beans so I had to soak them. I washed up what chickpeas I had in the pantry and put them in water to soak overnight. In the morning I drained them. I them put them in a pot, covered them with new water and let them simmer for a few hours. This is all much quicker if you have canned, obviously.

Once the beans were tender I drained them and put them out on some cloth napkins to dry them. I have a stockpile of old cloth napkins that I use for everything. I try to use as few disposable things as possible.

I put the oven on 375F on the convection setting. Then I got out a trusty old baking sheet and brushed it with lard. I love using lard. I use it for pretty much anything that calls for oil. If you follow along here you will get plenty of lard using tips. Here I am eliminating the need for a spray vegetable oil or of disposable parchment paper.

Once the whole pan is nice and painted up on go the chickpeas in a single layer. Into the oven they go for 50 minutes. I set a timer for 25 minutes to give them a little toss halfway through.

While those cooked I got out a bowl large enough to toss all of those chickpeas around in and started messing with a little spice mixture. I used smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, garlic powder and sea salt. I would have gone spicier but I wanted to share with the boys so I went easy on the heat.

When the chickpeas came out of the oven I immediately transferred them to the bowl of spices. I then added 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup. I mixed it all up good and started snacking immediately.

They came out really good. Next time I think I will up intensity of the spices and salt but overall they satisfied that snack craving. They stay good for a few days but got a little bit soft after a couple. I tossed them back in the oven for a few minutes to crisp them back up and that seemed to do the trick.

Sweet and Smokey Roasted Chickpeas

• 4 cups of rinsed, soaked and cooked chickpeas (2 16oz cans prepared chickpeas)
• Pasture raised lard (or the oil of your choosing)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp oilve oil
• 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Brush a baking sheet with the oil of your choice, I use pasture raised lard
3. Arrange dried, prepared chickpeas on baking sheet in a single layer
4. Cook in oven for 50 minutes, tossing halfway through
5. In a large bowl combine spices
6. When chickpeas come out of the oven immediately transfer them to the bowl of spices.
7. Add olive oil and maple syrup and toss it all up
8. Taste and adjust the spices to your taste.

Enjoy! I know that I did!