Talking about calories these days, I’m proud to say that I have lost some weight. Weighing 53.5 kg, my aim is to maintain it. Boy it is a challenge. I must say, a lot comes from being conscious of what goes into my body and having self-restraint. My goal is also to lower my cholesterol level by year end when I have my annual check up.
I used to treat myself to unhealthy food especially on Fridays after work, to mark the start of the weekends. I’d sink my teeth into chips or juicy Big Mac. I had to have cheese in my sandwiches. Mind you, they are high calorie cheeses. I ate a lot prawns that contributed to my high cholesterol levels.
Fast forward, I’m now mindful of what I eat. I do crave for sinful food at times, but I’m able to manage my cravings. These days, I’d prefer to have small, light food portions and feel full easily. I cringe at the sight and taste of sugary food and my taste buds have low tolerance for food containing high salt content. How does all that happen? Well, I would taking food with low sugar and salt content over a long period of time somewhat trains your taste buds to go for healthy food.
When I trawl the supermarket aisles, I’d tune in to my radar to look for less guilty snacks. I would get enticed to Pringles and other chips on discount but my mind would go ‘How would you feel when you’ve eaten these?’, ‘What are the side effects?’ blah blah blah. Yes, it takes a lot discipline to go past these tempting snacks.
I’d substitute Tim Tams for dark chocolate bars (70% -78%) which contain no biscuits and low sugar content, chips with corn cake crisps and hummus dips and other high salt content snacks like sweet potato crisps with boiled chickpeas and edamame beans. My taste buds cannot take milk chocolate now that I’ve substituted my cravings for chocs with plain dark choc bars or buttons.
So, I will be going for a weekend escape to Bowral today and have packed boiled chickpeas and edamame beans for my road trip to the Highlands.
How to Soak Chickpeas
I buy raw chickpeas in packets from the local supermarket and empty one packet in a big bowl. Soaking the chick peas overnight will ensure that less boiling needs to be done the next day so that the chick peas are soft enough to chew on. You will notice that the water level will reduce as you soak the chic peas for some minutes. Pour away the water and replace it with fresh water to re-soak. This is drain away the starch from the chick peas. You will notice that the colour that is drained away is dark amber. Continue to drain the water and replace it about 4 times throughout the day. Leave the chickpeas in water overnight. You will hear crackling sounds coming from the chick peas and that’s common.
Boiling Chickpeas
Drain away the water one last time and fill a sauce pan containing chick peas with fresh water. As you drain the water away, the colour is noticeably light yellow. Pour a tea spoon of sea salt into the water and mix through. I use sea salt as it is known to be healthier than table salt as the latter has additive in it to prevent clumping. Boil the chickpeas for about 20 minutes, till chickpeas are soft enough to eat.
For me, munching on chickpeas can be additive. I chew them away guilt free knowing it contains low calories and contains dietary fiber and protein. Chickpeas also control blood sugar levels, increase satiety, improves digestion, helps protect against heart disease and cancer and provides essential vitamins and minerals.
Boiled chickpeas are easy to prepare and makes a healthy snack for the family. I can go on my road trip and munch on my chickpeas and edamame beans which also contain lots of fiber and protein without guilt. Have a good weekend and I will fill you in on my Bowral trip which includes visiting gardens and parks. What a great way to enjoy spring!