The Good Bean

 Looking for a way to oomph up a meal or add super crunch to a salad? These little chic peas add a nice crunchy salty flavor. Add them to foods or eat a handful as a snack.

There are 6 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber in each serving. Also only 120 calories. They contain nice simple ingredients of chic peas, sunflower or safflower oil and sea salt.  Although they come in other flavors, I recommend sticking with the sea salt as they may contain corn derivatives.

Available at a whole range of stores including; Whole Foods, CVS, Krogers, 7-eleven, Costco, Walmart and online at Amazon.

The addition of these chic peas fits perfectly into my restrictive diet. My diet eliminates all gluten, corn, and gluten and corn derivatives. This keeps me in remission from Crohn's through diet alone. I am not on any medicine for Crohn's at all. One other nice thing about this snack is that it contains sunflower and safflower oils as opposed to corn oil, which is found in a lot of crunchy snacks. Corn even in the form of oil is a big no-no.

I added these to my salad as well as a vegetarian cauliflower dish I made. The contrasting textures were amazing! See pictures below.

Beanitos

 For those of you missing corn tortilla chips this was a wonderful find! Beanitos skips the corn and uses beans to make these delicious and healthy chips.

The texture is very similar to corn, firm yet crunchy. Just the right amount of sea salt. Perfect size for dipping. I brought a bag of these chips with me while visiting my brother. While I was there my friends and family tried them and loved them. They do not need to eat gluten and corn free but still enjoyed them immensely. 

They contain 5 grams of protein per serving, not surprising since the main ingredient is beans. There is also a nice 4 grams of fiber per serving as well. The ingredients are beans, rice flour, tapioca flour, sunflower oil and sea salt. Pure and simple.

I recommend sticking with the black bean with sea salt, restaurant style with white beans,  Pinto bean with sea salt, as well as the Beanitos Dippers made with white beans and sea salt.

The most important thing is that these chips fit in with my restrictive diet. I must avoid all gluten and corn as well as corn derivatives. There is no corn in these chips. I would avoid the flavored chips as they can contain some corn derivatives. 

These chips can be found at Whole Foods and other natural retailers as well as on line at Amazon. Great with your favorite salsa. I used Whole Foods mango salsa.

What I Eat: Ful mudamas

 

This dish is a mainstay in the Middle East. Usually eaten for breakfast.  I prefer it for a healthy vegetarian dinner. 

Start with a cup of plain yogurt in a bowl. To the yogurt add 1 tablespoon tahini and one minced garlic clove. Stir. Add half a can drained chic peas. Top with chopped tomatoes and parsley. Add a nice drizzle of olive oil and at least two tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice. Finish by sprinkling it with paprika. I like a lot. 

It tastes best when heated in the microwave for a minute. Gently stir all the goodness together. 

Why this fits in with my diet: I can eat any fruit or vegetable except corn. There is no gluten in this recipe. Also no corn or corn derivatives. Everything is fresh. 

I do try to avoid milk products for the most part but I can tolerate yogurt. Though it will occasionally cause gas.

If you like babagunash and tabouli you will appreciate this recipe.