Think of all the commercial snacks that have been made to taste so good and have a good mouth-feel. Potato chips, corn chips, pretzels, popcorn…

Food scientists working for big corporations have engineered them to be addictive to increase profits, but they aren’t that healthy. Most of them are made of starchy ingredients, fried in unhealthy oil, and over-salted. They offer very little nutrition.

I want to please my taste-buds and mouth-feel, and I want to be healthy. The cells in our bodies live and die, and when new cells are made, what do you think they’re made of? The food we eat and drink, that’s what!

Our food choices have a lot to do with our health, and I want to be healthy. Hope you do too.

So, I have a new healthy food crush! You can convert cooked chickpeas into a tasty, healthy, salty, crunchy, not-fried snack, and you can also use them in place of croutons or other savory, crispy toppings.

When I saw the recipe and remembered I had some frozen chickpeas (because last time I made Palestinian hummus, I pressure cooked WAY too many chickpeas) I had to try it.

You could also do this with drained canned chickpeas.

The big secret is that the cooked chickpeas have to be completely dry before you roast them, or they won’t crisp up. I drained my chickpeas after they thawed and put them atop several layers of paper towels in a sheet pan and blotted the top.

To get them super dry, I put them in the refrigerator overnight.

I didn’t bother to rub the skins off each individual chickpea. Too much work for not much difference.

To roast, I preheated the oven to 425 degrees F. I put parchment paper on the sheet pan and spread the chickpeas on it. I drizzled them with a little olive oil and seasoned with salt. (I like Real salt.) I rolled them around so they were evenly oiled and salted and put in the oven.

I set the timer for 20 minutes and tried one. It wasn’t quite crispy, so I let them roast for 7 minutes longer.

Yum! Now I wish I had doubled the recipe. They don’t stay crispy long, so eat them right up!

You can add flavor if you wish, after roasting. I sprinkled some with paprika and some with Everything But The Bagel from Trader Joe’s.

I’d like to try garlic powder, curry powder, and cumin + chipotle powder.

I’m going to experiment with different oven temps, baking times, and seasonings. Will update this post with any breakthroughs in deliciousness and eas