Recipe and Prepping Update

Unique Approaches to Time-Wasting Methods:

1. Quicker and Easier Crispy Seasoned Chick Peas

2. Cut and seed a pepper in under 10 seconds!

3. Single Serving 5Minute Fruit Sorbet

1. Quicker and Easier Crispy Seasoned Chick Peas

So after many times of (not so) patiently trying to remove the skins from the chickpeas before cooking, I spoke to a dietician who advised that the skins are an excellent source of fibre as well and not necessary to remove! I tried it out and voila! It takes less than 5 minutes to get them into the oven and there is no difference in taste or texture either! Baking time is the same to ensure no sogging back out, which is a common complaint Please see original recipe in the Awesome Adjustable Recipe book for more info!

-Rinse 2-3 cans of chickpeas in a strainer/colander well under cold water to get the brine off.

-Let sit in strainer 2-3 minutes to drain off most of the water. Some brands (Unico is great) have almost double the amount of protein and fibre in ½ cup serving as opposed to a one cup serving.

-The unsalted cuts your salt intake even more as you add your own spices anyway.

-Spread out a clean kitchen towel on the counter, spread out about ½ of the chickpeas over it, gently roll up the towel with the chickpeas in it (like rolling cinnamon buns) and very gently squeeze the towel all over to soak up the excess water in the beans.

-Gently shake out the chickpeas from one end of the wrapped up towel into a large bowl opening the towel up as you go to get them all into the bowl.

-Repeat this process for the other ½ of the peas. Depending on how wet the towel is you may want to use another towel.

-I rinse out the towel(s) afterward in cold water, hang them to dry in the bathroom and once dry add them to the laundry.

-In a small cup mix 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and about ½ to ¾ teaspoon each of whatever spices you want.

-I use half sesame oil for flavour, and extra virgin olive oil as it is less than $1 more than regular olive oil at stores like Walmart.

-I use fresh ground black pepper, turmeric, cloves, onion powder, garlic powder and Himalayan pink salt (this is a raw salt that is actually good for you and is even available in many dollar stores now in grinders)

-You can use cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, and even a tiny bit of cocoa for a sweet taste and a sort of coating, however, it takes even longer to bake them to a crunchy state!

-Pour oil/spice mixture over chickpeas and toss well with a fork. I usually scoop a few chickpeas into the cup, swish them around and dump them back into the bowl to get all the oil/spices onto the chickpeas.

-Line a large baking/cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread out the chickpeas in a semi-single layer (they can be crowded as they will shrink drastically as they cook).

-There is a cheapie, yet great brand of parchment paper at DollarTree but check the box to make sure the temperature tolerance is high enough!

-Bake at 375-400 degrees (depending on your oven) for 45-60 minutes tops, gently moving around or flipping them about every 15 minutes, until completely crunchy and crispy dry when biting into one.

-Sometimes I lightly spray them with vinegar in the last 5 minutes (using a spray bottle) , flip/move around quickly to wet them all, spread back into single layer and cook for another 5-10 minutes to completely dry them out to add more flavour.

-Remove from oven, cool for about 15-20 minutes and scoop into a bowl/container lined with folded paper towel to help keep them completely dried out.

-The container can remain open on the counter for up to 2 weeks or more, if they last that long! You can also put them into snack size baggies in about ½ cup servings and keep them in the car, office, purse, etc for very healthy munching instead of buying chips, etc.

Cut and Seed a Pepper in under 10 seconds!

-Wash the pepper gently with a dish soap (I use the antibacterial Dawn 2X. I wash my dishes with it and eat off them safely, so as long as the food is rinsed very well, I have no problems with it) to remove dirt, germs and pesticides.

-Cut the pepper across the middle about halfway between the core and bottom end.

-Cut bottom half open lengthwise and pull off the white ribs inside along with seeds if there are any.

-Take the top half, core side down in your palm, rip gently with your hands down one side almost to the core, and then gently peel the pepper off from around the core all the way (like peeling an orange) and throw away the core, seeds and all!

-Rinse off the long piece as well as the bottom pieces and cut as desired!

-I usually dry off the peppers with paper towel after cutting and store two or three different coloured pepper pieces in a baggie with a piece of paper towel inside to prevent sogging out

-I change the piece of paper towel each day or every other day, depending on how many peppers you cut at once and how much condensation they accumulate.

-They will last for 3-4 days this way in the crisper part of the fridge, as long as your fridge is turned up to at least ¾ of the way to maximum cold (I describe how this keeps all your food fresher and longer in my book!)

Single Serving 5 Minute Fruit Sorbet

-Put about 1 cup frozen fruit of your choice in either a food processor or a blender with a high speed and strong blades works just as well if you don’t have a processor or it takes forever to put together and then clean!

-Add 2-3 Tablespoons of white or brown sugar and 1/3 cup of juice, water or milk even if you want it creamy.

-Add 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and blend or process on high in short bursts (pulse button on a blender), adding more liquid if you need to.

-Add in your choice of toppings such as coconut, nuts, flax/chia/hemp seed for added fibre, etc or sprinkle on top and enjoy!

-If there is any left it can go in a plastic container in the freezer but you may have to let it sit on the counter for about 15 minutes when wanting to have the rest as it will freeze solid!

-For family sizes—double or triple the amount of fruit, sugar, lemon juice, and start with the same amount of liquid and add more as needed!

Please send me a message via my website contact page form and let me know how this info has helped you and if you have any more tips that you would like to share with everyone else as well!

Have an awesome day, make YOUR life what YOU WANT IT TO BE and NEVER GIVE UP!

Andy B. ;)

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