Now, it’s no secret that I love chickpeas—check out my tag cloud for evidence of my devotion to this versatile legume. While I have a fondness for blending chickpeas into homemade hummus, food manufacturers have been getting in on the action lately as well, transforming them into chips, prepared salads, falafel, not to mention out-of-this-world hummus. Today I’ll weigh in on these various metamorphoses of the chickpea with regard to nutrition and taste.

Cedar’s Chickpea Salad

When I received a package full of Cedar’s goodies a few weeks ago, my eyes went immediately to this chickpea salad. I was expecting a sampling of Cedar’s famous hummus blends and maybe a little tzatziki—but a prepared chickpea salad? Unexpected, for sure, but bound to be delicious.

Upon first taste, this salad is delicious: the crunchy vegetables, buttery chickpeas, and salty dressing combine well. However, as I took bite after bite, the salty flavor began to dominate, and my mouth became overwhelmed by the oiliness of the dressing. Perhaps I should have stuck to the suggested serving size (a mere 2 tablespoons!) rather than piling half the package onto my greens. It is also worthy of note that this salad includes edamame, a strange choice in my opinion. I would much prefer to have more chickpeas in the mix; with the inconclusive side effects of soy and my deep love of tofu, I try to limit any extraneous sources of soy in my diet.

For a 2 T serving, this chickpea salad provides 40 Cal, 2 g fat, 2 g fiber, 1 g protein, plus a whopping 110 mg sodium (6% RDA). That may not sound like a lot of sodium, but if you consume more than the suggested serving size like I did, that sodium count can add up.

Bottom line: Tasty, but it could easily be created in a home kitchen without the salt overload and superfluous soy.

Humbles

On a recent trip to my favorite small health food store (no, not Whole Foods!), I spied a new product that particularly appealed to my hummus-lovin’ taste buds. Humbles are a snack chip, with hummus baked right in. Humbles are currently available in several varieties: olive oil, lemon & feta, and sesame garlic, but I chose to try out the roasted red pepper variety.

I excitedly grabbed a few handfuls of these chips to enjoy with my lunch one day (which also happened to feature Wildwood’s roasted red pepper hummus). While I was expecting delicious chickpea flavor to overtake my palate upon tasting these chips, I was underwhelmed by this salty snack. The roasted red pepper flavor was apparent, but the hummus part of the equation was sorely absent. Despite the lack of hummus-goodness, these chips made for a nice accompaniment to my lunch—quite salty and plenty crunchy.

Each 1 oz serving provides 120 Cal, 4 g fat, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein, and 220 mg sodium (9% RDA), plus 15% RDA for iron. Kudos on the high protein count!

Bottom line: A nice change of pace from regular baked chips, but not nearly hummus-tastic enough.

Veggie Patch Falafel

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to be visited by the falafel fairy. Veggie Patch sent me a box of their veggie-packed falafel balls; considering my limited experience with this middle-eastern favorite, I was pretty psyched to give them a try.

I opted to serve the falafel atop a Greek salad, rather than stuffed in a pita (as the box suggests). My alternative serving method did not detract from the falafel’s fantastic flavor, however—each bite was a mouthful of pure joy. The vegetables, chickpeas, and moderate amount of oil made for some awesome balls;)

Each 4-ball serving provides 180 Cal, 9 g fat, 5 g fiber, 5 g protein, 380 mg sodium (16% RDA), plus 35% RDA for vitamin A, and 15% RDA for iron.

Bottom line: I can’t wait to enjoy these again, perhaps with some tzatziki.

Cedar’s Spinach Artichoke Hummus (Smooth & Creamy Style)

If you’ve been visiting the Broccoli Hut for a while, you’ll know that I’ve sung the praises of Cedar’s hummus before. However, Cedar’s recently introduced a new line of their classic hummus flavors in a “smooth and creamy style.” The kind folks at Cedar’s sent me the artichoke and spinach variety to test out, and I must say that this new line of hummus blends certainly lives up to its name—smooth and creamy, indeed.

The spinach and artichoke flavors were both quite apparent in the hummus, a major plus in my book—I mean, who doesn’t like that dynamic duo? Anyway, this hummus made for a delicious salad-topper, spread on sandwiches, and just straight-up dip for pita.

Each 2 T serving provides 70 Cal, 4 g fat, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein, and 105 mg sodium (4% RDA). You’ll also get 15% RDA for vitamin A.

Bottom line: Crazy-delicious. Will become a Broccoli Hut fave.

As a girl always in search of a new way to enjoy her favorite legume, what’s your preferred way of preparing chickpeas?

Filed under: Product Review