I grocery shop once a week (every Sunday). My boyfriend and I sit down, plan meals for the week, and make a grocery list based on that. Despite the thinking ahead, we always seem to end up with items at the end of the week that need to be used ASAP before they go bad - I'm sure you can relate. Thanks to this unfortunate weekly occurrence, however, this amazing dish was born!
This week's victims? Fresh basil and brussels sprouts. The basil started to brown and wilt in spots. The brussels sprouts were looking sad. I knew I had to rescue them and let them shine in all the glory they were meant to. So the brainstorming began and with the addition of quinoa and sesame these "victims" of my over-shopping became stars in their own right! At any given time, there is an obscene amount of canned beans in my kitchen cabinets. Sometimes it's a nice assortment, other times it's seemingly all the same. Right now is one of those seemingly all the same times, with the "featured item" so-to-speak being chickpeas (or garbanzo beans, if you prefer). At this point, I've just about had all I can take of chickpea salads and hummus!
Luckily, I've been facing an unrelated dilemma that my giant bean collection ended up being the cure for. I've been on the move a lot lately and really lacking in the on-the-go snack department. Honestly, there are only so many times I can buy little bags of chips or packaged sweets from the deli before I start not feeling good about myself. "Chickpeas are small and finger-food friendly," I thought, "all I need to add is crunch!" And so became these crispy spiced chickpeas. There are so many reasons why I always make my own tomato sauce. One simply being comfort - after all, the aroma that fills your home is amazing. Another being flavor - the focus is on the tomato much more than that grocery store jar stuff. And another, perhaps the best reason, is health - you know exactly what is going into it without the preservatives or added sugars of most pre-made tomato sauces.
If you have never made your own tomato sauce then what better time is there than now to try it? It is SO simple and once you get the basics down (as this recipe is) you can play around and add all sorts of flavors (like oregano, basil, mushroom, etc). I promise you'll find yourself making sauce all the time! The end of summer means lots of snacking. Don't ask me why, but it's a struggle I face every year. Now usually I fall down the rabbit hole of chips and cheez-its and cookies and all sorts of traps that will bring on my winter weight earlier than I prefer to happen. But this year I shall overcome! Or not...who knows. Food is pretty awesome after all.
At this point it is not "I need to stop snacking" (because that is crazy talk) but rather "I need to snack healthier." So I rattled my brain and realized - fruit chips! Veggie chips! Oh, the possibilities! And since it's fall why not have my first shot at this be pear chips? |
AuthorAli is a Brooklyn based blogger and Certified Health Coach with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, providing you with recipes to inspire you to cook more at home! She is a firm believer in knowing that eating healthy can be made easy and inexpensive if you simply know how to cook and understands that for the average person there needs to be balance between "healthy" and "unhealthy". Whether you are looking for easy weeknight recipes, delicious snacks, or want to try something new, Ali's recipes are easy to follow at all skill levels! For more info about Ali and her offerings, check out the About page. Categories
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