The high-fiber snack I have to prepare all the time

For a long time, I hated chickpeas, unless they were made into falafel or hummus. In high school, one of my friends would load her salad with chickpeas from the salad bar, and she would often put one on my lunch tray to torment me. The pale little balls just didn’t look appetizing, and their doughy consistency put me off a bit – or at least that’s how I perceived them at the time.

But in general, I’m not a picky eater, and even when I come across one of the few foods I don’t like, I often try it again just to see if my taste has changed or if I might like a new preparation. And that’s how I eventually started to like chickpeas.

What worked for me was crispy chickpeas. You take chickpeas, toss them in a little oil and roast them until they get a little dry and crispy. And if you season them a little, they taste just as good as other snacks, like pretzels and chips.

I especially like our crispy chickpea everything bagels. We also remove the shells from the chickpeas before roasting them to make them even crispier. And when the chickpeas are ready, you simply mix them with some ground everything bagel seasoning. Grinding the seasoning helps coat the chickpeas more evenly, so each chickpea has that slightly salty garlic flavor that bagel seasoning is known for.

The chickpeas are good enough to eat as an afternoon snack. Unlike crunchy snacks like pretzels and chips, crunchy chickpeas are packed with fiber. One serving (⅔ cup) of these crunchy chickpeas contains 6 grams of fiber. Adding this important nutrient to meals and snacks has a number of benefits, from maintaining regularity to strengthening your bones to reducing your risk of heart disease.

And besides the fiber, one serving of these crunchy chickpeas also contains 9 grams of protein. Since I like to be pretty active and do strength training regularly, I’m always looking for easy ways to get more protein to maintain and build muscle mass. I also find that I stay full a little longer when I eat foods rich in fiber and protein.

In addition to eating these crispy chickpeas as a snack, I use them anywhere I need a little fiber and protein boost and some crunch. I toss them into green salads, sprinkle them over rice pilaf, and add them to grain bowls. For an easy, quick lunch, I pair them with cucumbers, tomatoes, and cottage cheese. And if I want a little variety, I can season them with something else, whether it’s cumin or paprika or just a little salt. If you like a sweet snack, they even taste good with cinnamon and sugar.

After enjoying crispy chickpeas for a while, I tried chickpeas straight from the can again (after rinsing them to remove excess sodium, of course) and found that my preference for them had changed. I began to appreciate their texture, even when they weren’t crispy. I credit crispy chickpeas for turning me into a chickpea lover. Now I add chickpeas straight from the can to pretty much everything… soups, salads, pasta, and so on. My high school boyfriend would be so proud of me.