Honey Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas

I very rarely pay attention to the nutrition of the recipes I share with you. Occasionally, I'll notice that something I've made has turned out unusually healthy, but it's always an accident (and never quite on purpose). I love butter, sugar, and heavy cream. I don't want to imagine my life (or desserts) without it.

Despite my affinity for decadent desserts, I volunteered to develop a few healthy low-calorie, low-fat recipes for a local magazine. I thought it would be a cinch until I sat down to work out the recipes. It turns out it's a lot harder than I gave it credit for. What I thought would be a simple task became a new challenge, with one important question to answer.

How do you remove the unhealthy ingredients of most decadent desserts and still keep them delicious?

As I've been trial-and-erroring my way through recipes the last week, I realized something important. Maybe it's obvious, but it took me a bit to figure it out. I shouldn't have asked myself how to turn a decadent dessert into a healthy one. Instead, I should have been asking how I could turn a healthy food into a decadent dessert. As it so happens, starting with an already healthy food is half the battle.

Or, in the case of these chickpeas, all of the battle.

I've always associated chickpeas with hummus and little else. After a little research, I learned that chickpeas are so much more than just a bowl full of hummus. Roasting chickpeas in the oven turns them into something very similar to a crunchy little nut (but so much healthier!). Since I love all things sweet, I added a little honey and cinnamon to these roasted chickpeas to make an amazing snack I pretty much devoured in one sitting.

Though these little babies didn't make it into the magazine, it certainly wasn't because they weren't delicious or healthy enough. On the contrary, they were too good not to share with you immediately. I hope you make a batch of these for yourself. Finally a snack you can feel good about eating!

These Honey Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas are simple to make, with minimal ingredients, and taste just like your favorite roasted nuts. Roasting chickpeas turns them from a soft bean to a crunchy wonder. I added honey and cinnamon to bring a light sweetness and spice to these addictive roasted chickpeas. Fair warning: You might want to double this recipe right away. You can thank me later.

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Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oatmeal

Winter has its charm, with a world covered in white. Spring lures me in with the green seedlings of new life. Summer romances with vibrant colors and fragrances from exotic places, but autumn will always hold the colors to my heart.

The fading of green leaves into muted tones of yellow, orange, red, and purple is one of the most fascinating transitions to watch. I fear that their time is coming to a close in the Midwest. The colors of the leaves have now dimmed further still and their luster is lost as they fall gracefully to their rest among the cracks in the sidewalk. I can only wish the colors would linger longer. I don't think I've yet had my fill. The weatherman is talking of a snowstorm this weekend and I'm not ready to give in to cold winter just yet.

When I sat down to photograph this oatmeal before breakfast last weekend, I couldn't help but notice something strange. Though I typically choose to shoot food in the late afternoon autumn sun (I love the long golden rays and the charm it lends), this day was an exception. At first, I thought I had accidentally left the overhead light on (since I photograph food exclusively in natural light, this would create a problem for me in terms of shadows and white balance—the food never looks as vibrant or real). But, as it turns out, I hadn't. I looked around for another source, but came up empty handed. It couldn't be, I thought. Is the autumn sun really flecked with gold in the morning light?

And, if you look at the picture below, I think you'll find it's true.

When you next have a moment of time to enjoy the morning sun, I hope you'll sit down to a bowl of this apple cinnamon oatmeal and watch as the autumn sun turns your bowl into flickering golden lights.

This Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oatmeal makes for a hearty, comforting breakfast. Steel cut oats, unlike traditional oats, are a less processed version. They are full of texture (long gone are the days of mushy oatmeal) and I find the oats to be heartier and more filling. Apples and cinnamon are a classic fall flavor combination. The apples lend a sweet taste and soft texture to this oatmeal while the spices round it out, bringing the flavor closer to that of a good apple pie.

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Grandma's Applesauce

My Grandma is one of the best cooks I know. Every time I visit my grandparents on their farm, my grandmother, without exception, prepares a beautiful feast. She always jokes that her food "isn't any good," but my family knows better, reassuring her once again that no one can cook like she can. She's a humble cook, but knows her way around the kitchen.

She's never one to shy away from butter and cream, knowing that sometimes you need a little butter to get cubed potatoes perfectly browned. She knows how to cook a mean roast which falls apart at the mere sight of a fork. At the holidays, she makes some of the most brilliant German food I have ever eaten (or will ever eat). If I could be half the cook my grandmother is, I would feel satisfied for the rest of my life.

My Grandma encouraged me to experiment in the kitchen when I was younger. No culinary thought or idea that popped in my head was too ridiculous to give a try. In some ways, she was the first person to help me realize that I loved not only eating food, but preparing food.

I remember one wintry, blustery day in particular. My sister and I were staying the weekend and it was too cold to venture outside. For a mid-morning snack, my grandmother often made us chocolate chip muffins from a stash of box mixes she kept in the pantry. On this particular day, as she brought out one of the familiar mixes, I had a wild idea. I felt the urge to make a few batches of muffins to see which brand was actually the best—a side-by-side taste test, if you will. Without hesitation, my grandmother agreed it was a brilliant idea.

My sister, my grandma, and I each tackled a brand on our own. Though we ended up making 36 chocolate chip muffins for just the three of us, there was, without a doubt, a clear winner. Pillsbury brand had the most chocolate chips (an important muffin trait for me), required less ingredients to make, and tasted the moistest and lightest (and now you know too!).

Though I'm afraid many of those muffins were never eaten, my grandmother taught me that it was okay to try something new, that no idea (in the kitchen or otherwise) was too crazy to give a shot, and that sometimes it's okay to make 36 muffins for 3 people.

This applesauce is one of her tried and true recipes. I grew up on this applesauce, eating it both warm and cold, loving everything about it. It seems only fitting to share my grandmother's applesauce wisdom with you.

My Grandmother's Applesauce is chunky, soft, and tender, with just a hint of spice. Using only four ingredients, she proves that it's all you need to create a masterpiece. The apples are thinly sliced and cooked on the stove until tender. I love the chunky nature of this applesauce; it gives the finished product a beautiful, soft variation in texture. However, the applesauce can be pureed if you want a smoother texture. This recipe is simple, easy to follow, and creates homemade applesauce you can be proud to share.

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