Food Worship #3: Chickpeas

These are my favorite salad topper EVER.  Call them what you will, Chickpeas, Garbanzo Beans, Ceci Beans, Indian peas, they all name the same superfood.  Chickpeas are loaded with nutrients, and are an amazing source of protein.  Here's a few reasons why you should get these little guys into your diet ASAP.

Chickpeas are one of the greatest sources of vegetarian protein you can find.  Many proteins in plants aren't complete proteins, which means your body can't actually utilize them until it matches the amino acids that are there with another incomplete protein that has the necessary remaining amino acids.  Chickpeas though, don't have this problem.  Your body can fully utilize the protein in chickpeas, making them an amazing muscle building salad topper.  For a 1/2 cup of garbanzo beans, you get a good 6g of protein.  Not bad, not bad at all.

Chickpeas are also a great source of fiber!  For a 1/2 cup of them, you get a whopping 5g of fiber.  That's a VERY fibrous composition, and all that fiber will help your body to more easily metabolize the food from the rest of your day by slowing down the digestive process.  Not to mention, it'll keep your digestive system at a regular pace (a very useful thing).

For one cup of chickpeas, you get a whole HEAPING load of vitamins and nutrients.  You'll get Beta Carotene, Vitamin C and E, and a ton of phenolic acids like ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and vanillic acid.  You may be wondering what all these impressively named substances do, and how they could possibly be important in the grand scheme of things.  Quite simply, they help your heart!  Chickpeas reduce your risk of heart disease, and a daily dosage of them will keep you healthy and happy for years to come.  These acids decrease LDL cholesterol (bad) which help your heart to pump easier and with greater efficiency.  Combined with their high levels of folate and magnesium (which help to keep your bloodflow as unrestricted as possible), you couldn't find too many other foods that could cause your heart a more beneficial environment in which to do its oh-so-important job.

Garbanzo beans will also help regulate blood sugar, and reduce insulin sensitivity.  This is a must if you're looking to keep your body lean, and lose some of that spare tire.  Combined with the digestion slowing of the added fiber, chickpeas can most definitely assist you in your diet and weight loss goals.

And guess what?  Because of all that fiber, guess how you'll feel after you eat a good serving of them.  You'll feel pretty darn satiated, and therefore are less likely to overeat.  The ultimate diet food?  I think so!

Chickpeas are one of the best foods you can fit in your daily calories, and add a lot of flavor to any bland salad.  I love them for their texture, their taste, and all those healthy nutrients they contain.  Plus they pack a load of protein which helps my muscles rebuild after lifting hard day in and day out.  If you're interested in getting leaner, stronger, and healthier in general, scoop a few of these bad boys onto your salad today.

Good luck!