What's New In Weight Loss, and Some Crunchy Ranch Chickpeas

The following articles were published in the last few weeks, and I felt they were all worth reading, if you have the time (especially the first and third one).

Keeping Weight Off Is As Much A Challenge As Losing It

Couch Potatoes Gain Weight Without Eating

Good Carb, Bad Carb

'People Pleasers' Feel Pressured to Snack

Regarding that last article about snacking, snacks can often be "not so healthy", but then there are some that pack a serious nutritional punch, such as these Crunchy Ranch Chickpeas;

Crunchy Ranch Chickpeas
Serves 4
 (Source; Trivillagemagazine.com)

Ingredients
1-15 ounce can of chickpeas
Powdered ranch salad dressing mix
Nonstick cooking spray (or your favorite oil spray)



Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray.


2. Drain chickpeas well, rinse and dry (very well) with paper towels to absorb any moisture.

3. Spread the chickpeas out in a single layer on the pan. Bake 20 minutes, then shake the sheet pan to rotate the chickpeas. Bake an additional 20 minutes until chickpeas are golden brown and somewhat shriveled.

4. Remove from oven, spray with nonstick spray (I used my new Misto, which contains garlic olive oil. If you don't have a Misto, or something similar, you are truly missing out! And no, I was not compensated for this post.)

5. After spraying your chickpeas, sprinkle with powdered ranch mix to taste (I doubled the recipe and used a little over half of one package ranch mix).

6. Shake pan to coat all sides with the ranch powder. Let cool 5 minutes before eating (and take a couple BEANO or Gas-X Prevention pills if you are like me and you need it!).

Calories; ~ 150 per serving
Fiber: ~ 3 grams per serving (a good source!)

Want another great recipe? Here is a recipe for roasted chickpea snacks from Teri over at Managed Macros.


QUESTION: Do you like chickpeas?? Do you have a Misto, or something like it? Aren't they amazing!?

What are your thoughts on any of the weight loss/management articles? I especially got into the first one about how difficult it is to maintain a healthy weight. In fact, I'll be writing a candid post about my thoughts on that issue relatively soon.