I have a constant craving for crunchy and savoury snacks. I love everything about them. So when it comes to lunch at the office, I often prepare for this weakness. I know that no matter what I eat at lunch, I’ll still want a small bag of chips after.

Rather than exploiting my will power and feeling deprived of what I want… I take a different approach. The ’80/20′ rule. Be good 80% of the time and enjoy your cravings 20% of the time… eat 80% veg and 20% carbs… Make sure 80% of your day or your meal is healthy and well balanced.

Never deprive yourself of what you want, but make up for it in other areas. Being healthy doesn’t mean you live off of green smoothies and lettuce. It’s controlling your intake so you have a well balanced diet and ENJOY it.

I pack a light salad for lunches at the office. I do this so I can balance out my craving for a savoury snack… more often than not, chips.

Now that I’m not training as much as I was this Summer, I may need to get a bit more cleaver with fooling my cravings… So here is a HEALTHY crunchy and savoury snack that has helped me move away from my chip dependency.

This roast chickpea recipe is easy to prepare and is packed with nutrients like protein, fibre, calcium, iron and magnesium.

Prep: 5 minutes
Roast: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

You can use any preferred spices. Here is the mixture I default too… crunchy, savoury and spicy.

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• Dash of black pepper
• Dash of chilli flakes
• 5 crushed and diced garlic cloves
• 2 cans chickpea

INSTRUCTIONS:

Simply mix the chickpeas with your favourite spices and a little olive oil, place in the oven to roast on high heat for 40 minutes.

• Heat the oven to 400°F or 200°C
• Pour the olive oil in a medium sized bowl
• Add your spices and whisk
• Rinse the chickpeas in a colander
• Add the chickpeas to the mixture and stir well
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil
• Evenly spread the seasoned chickpeas on the baking sheet
• Roast for 40 minutes or until crisp

Let cool and divide evenly into resealable bags for lunches. Keep in sealed bags at room temperature… they should stay crispy for a few days.

You may find that 2 cans of chickpeas is too much… if so, half the recipe above. I like making two cans worth because you’ll find that they shrink quiet a bit and I like to share.