YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: These Chickpeas Bite!

Looking for something special to share with a group of friends this holiday season? Here’s your answer! Chickpeas are amazingly delicious, nutritious, and full of flavor, and you can double down on all those descriptions when you add some creamy, nutty tahini, umami-rich miso, and bright lemon juice, along with some powerful sriracha! Now that’s a recipe guaranteed to satisfy all your tastebuds! Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: I Can See a Rainbow Salad

DEAR READERS:

AFTER 7 YEARS, AND MORE THAN 600 (!) POSTS, BEGINNING THIS COMING WEEK I WILL BE TAKING A BREAK FROM WRITING THE WEEKLY ESSAYS SO I CAN GET STARTED WRITING A LONG-AWAITED BOOK TO SHARE MY THOUGHTS AND HOPES FOR YOUR HEALTH & WELLNESS! WE WILL CONTINUE, EACH AND EVERY WEEK, TO POST SCRUMPTIOUS, GORGEOUS RECIPES (LIKE THE RAINBOW SALAD RECIPE BELOW) TO KEEP IN TOUCH AND CONTINUE TO MAKE DELICIOUS AND NOURISHING FOOD TOGETHER! Continue reading



YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Chickpea (Nahit) Celebration!

Last Saturday our friends welcomed a beautiful baby boy into the world and everyone, (especially the two big sisters of this sweet, lucky little boy) is ecstatic. In my family, it is traditional to serve chickpeas to celebrate the birth of a newborn child. The dish is called nahit. 

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YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Zucchini Fries

If you’ve never eaten chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour, this is a great recipe to start with! Not only is it super flavorful, imparting a wonderfully nutty flavor to these zucchini fries, but chickpeas are also packed with protein and fiber, for a dish that sticks to your ribs and makes your heart sing for joy. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: All About Beans PLUS Recipes

Many years ago, my then-vegetarian sister had a boyfriend whose mother served her “bean loaf” when she went to their home. Its dreadful, unappetizing name was nothing like its flavor, so my sister and I renamed it “chickpea pie.” The chickpea pie recipe stuck around for much longer than the vegetarianism (and the boyfriend). I wish I could find that recipe again. Chickpeas, like peanuts, are yet another type of bean. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Chickpeas & Posole

If you have never heard of posole, you are in for a seriously delicious treat. Posole is the same as hominy, kernels of corn that have been soaked in limewater, then hulled and dried. These are whole, not like the ones that are crushed for making grits. You can get some extraordinarily good posole from Rancho Gordo in Napa, or from a Mexican grocery, or from most anywhere that beans, nuts, seeds and grains are sold in bulk. Americans eat loads of grain, including corn, but not like this. Posole is the real deal. Continue reading