I learned something cool about protein recently that I hadn’t heard before: up to 30% of the calories in protein are burned during digestion. (Did you guys know this?) So essentially, if you eat 100 calories of protein, 30 of those calories are burned as the food is being processed by your body. Awesome, right? I always knew protein was great for you, but this fun fact has reinforced that for me.
So when I stumbled upon this recipe for toasted curry chickpeas — and realized that chickpeas are packed with 15 grams of protein per cup — I knew I had to give it a try. (Plus, I already had all the ingredients on hand. I love it when that happens.)
Ingredients:
- 1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon ground curry
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until chickpeas are evenly coated.
- Spread chickpeas across prepared baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes (until crisp).
- Allow chickpeas to cool completely before covering and storing. (They stay nice and crispy that way!)
And if you’re looking for other delightful and healthy snack ideas, check out the recipe I posted for Protein-Packed Almond Butter Balls (they are seriously SO GOOD — Kevin thinks they taste like Samoas!) and my list of fave work snacks.