Great Garbanzos!

I have a little story to share. This past spring, a friend told me about an amazing blog about food and fitness. I checked it out and fell in love with it immediately. The blog is called Fit Foodie Finds. Lee, the blog's author, makes for a great writer, photographer, and health blogger. I dare you to look at it...you will be hooked, trust me. Well, one day I was looking at  one of her posts, and she made the comment that she was going out of town for the weekend and was searching for some guest bloggers to post on her blog. I emailed her and asked her if she would let me be a guest blogger. And guess what? She said YES! I was so excited. I started brainstorming ideas of what I should post about, and then I thought--Hey I love garbanzo beans, why not blog about that? I sent her the post and she loved it. Yay! I was the first guest blogger for the weekend, and that made me so happy :)


I wanted to share my post that was featured on her blog...so here it is folks! (Click the orange words)  In all seriousness, this entire experience made me feel grateful, excited, enthralled, shocked, and fulfilled all at the same time.
I love blogging :)

Guest Post: Swavory Stuff.

Hey there bloggity bops. I arrived safely in Boulder early this morning and I don't miss Minneapolis oneeee bit! Okay, maybe just a little. Anyways, I have another guest post for you to enjoy :) I'd like to introduce you to the oh-so witty and gorgeous, Sarah!

p.s.- How amazing is her photography?

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Hey everyone! First things first...I must thank Lee for letting me be a guest blogger today. I discovered Lee's blog in the spring and have been an avid follower since. Let's make some things clear--Lee is the bomb. Honestly, where can you find a girl who cares about true health and blogs about food and fitness, while at the same time still making it intriguing? I'd say we are dang lucky to have her. Can I get an amen? [insert amen here]

Let's see...a little bit about moi. My name is Sarah and I am a blogger over at Swavory Stuff. In a nutshell, I blog about FOOD. Healthy, comforting, and ethnic (I <3 ethnic food). In addition to sweet and savory food (sweet+savory=swavory, get it? ha), I enjoy writing about life and taking pictures.

Alright, enough of the fluff...let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

Confession one: I am vegetarian.

Confession two: I am obsessed with running and biking and hiking and rock-climbing.

Okay, glad we cleared those things up.

As many of you know, vegetarians often have a hard time getting enough protein into their diet. In order to resolve this dilemma, I eat a lot of beans. ("Beans, beans, the magical fruit. The more you eat the more you...") Hmmm...I will let you finish that one. One of my favorite types of beans are garbanzo beans (also called "chickpeas").

And guess what we are going to talk about today? GARBANZO BEANS!

Garbanzo beans are low in sodium, high in dietary fiber, protein, and Copper. They are also a very good source of Folate and Manganese. They have a delicious nutlike taste and buttery texture. They are a very versatile legume and are a noted ingredient in many Middle Eastern and Indian dishes such as hummus, falafels, and curries.

I LOVE falafels and curries, but today I am going to give you recipes on 3 amazing things that are based off of garbanzo beans:  Zucchini Hummus, Chickpea Chowder, and Cookie Dough Dip. Get excited.

Zucchini Hummus

Zucchini = delicious. Hummus = also (very) delicious. Zucchini and Hummus together = surprisingly amazing. Yeah, pretty much this stuff is uber tasty. I brought it to a small get-together and the folks over there loved it as well. (See, I am not crazy!!) 

Eat plain....

...or with veggies... 

...and always, eat with friends :)

Bahaa.

Zucchini Hummus

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 2 cups garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons tahini
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Heat the water in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds, then add zucchini. Cook and stir until zucchini softens.
2. Place zucchini in the blender and puree.
3. Combine the garbanzo beans, lemon juice, tahini, ground cumin, paprika, and salt in a food processor. (You may/may not have to add a bit of olive oil to make it process smoothly.) Process until smooth. (You have just made hummus, congratulations!)
4. Combine the pureed zucchini with the hummus, process until combined.

Chickpea Chowder [Chowda]

The summer is fleeing and fall is coming quickly. Oh how I love fall. I love the crisp autumn air, crunchy leaves, calm mornings, sunlight peeking over the mountains, smoke billowing from chimneys, frost on the grass, the beautiful shades of gold and red and brown, knee-high boots, scarves, and pumpkin goodies (oh for the stars!). Let me say it one more time, I LOVE fall. Plus + hiking in autumn is gor.ge.ous.

Aren't the Utah mountains breathtaking? 

Morning light.

The changing colors of autumn...breathe it in. 

The day before our hike it rained really hard, and it even rained while we were hiking. Needless to say, it was fah-reez-ing! As soon as I got home I took a hot shower and tried to warm up my cold toesies. Brrr...but what better way to warm up than to make and eat a cozy soup? That's right, I used "cozy" to describe food. But that's exactly what it tasted like--cozy.

Chickpea Chowder

 4-6 servings

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1/3 sweet red bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup peeled and diced potato
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter (optional)
• 2 tablespoons flour (or cornstarch)
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup milk (nondairy if desired)
• 3/4 cup corn kernels
• 1 cup canned (or cooked) chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Directions

1. Over medium high heat, cook onion, carrot, celery, pepper and potatoes in oil for 3-5 minutes until golden. Stir frequently. Add a little more oil if the pan gets too dry.
2. Stir in spices and cook for another minute. Add butter to the pot. Once melted sprinkle on the flour and stir well. Cook for a minute then add stock and milk. Stir well.
3. Bring up to a simmer and add corn and chickpeas. Cook for 10 minutes on medium low heat or until potatoes are tender.

There's nothing quite like soup on a cold day...

And for dessert...

Cookie Dough Dip

Don't be fooled, this dessert is very healthy regardless of its name. Have you ever wanted to eat an entire bowl of cookie dough? Now is your chance. This stuff is made with garbanzo beans, believe it or not. And it is divine.

Can you believe that this is HEALTHY for you? Yeah, I almost didn't believe it myself.

No one can deny the deliciousness of Cookie Dough!

Cookie Dough Dip

• 1 1/2 cups chickpeas (1 can, drained)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup nut butter (almond or cashew butter are wonderful)
• up to 1/4 cup nondairy milk (start with 1 tablespoon, and add more as needed)
• Sweetener (1/4+ cup agave, honey, raw sugar or even 1 cup pitted dates)
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips
• 2 to 3 T oats (or flaxmeal)

Directions

1. Add all ingredients (except for chocolate chips) to a blender or food processor, and blend until very smooth. Then mix in the chocolate chips.

THANKS for reading my blog post. Have a fabulous weekend everyone! Stay warm!