The other day within my wondrous list of google reader feeds, For the Love of Food blog featured chickpea nibbles and like the dog in the movie Up! I saw squirrel!! Beans, salt, crunch, hunger – I was so making this snack right now even though I was mid-sentence in a magazine assignment, my “I’m bored” son was lurking, and I had an endless things to do to keep the walls standing list.First myonline manners, I commented on ftlofb site telling Sonnet, the gorgeous and brilliant vegan blogger, that I was following her lead truly moments after she posted the recipe. In a matter of minutes, chickpea snack was prepped and in the oven. Check out the crunchtime recipe gallery I made you to show how to make these with so little effort.

I was lured to this recipe because we all know beans are magically good for us, but my real urgency was hunger. Caught in that afternoon ditch when only a cookie or salty cracker could pull me out, I looked to these salted toasty chickpeas as a lifesaver and perhaps a future go-to snack that wouldn’t leave a guilty aftertaste.

Do you lunge into a recipe before reading it all the way through? Had I seen the 40-45 minute bake time I might have reached for a usual snack food of shame, but now I was committed and my son was getting more bored by the minute. By the time these guys came out of the oven, I was famished and downed the entire can.

You know how beans are sort of great for dieters in that they fill you to the brim despite their higher calorie count?Many of us like to count beans as proteins, but my ancient nutrition dispelled that idea because she said “you wear beans like bread – on your rear-end.” Beans are still better than starchy carbs because they offer loads of fiber and they’re not processed snacks.

The toasted chickpeas satisfied my need for a salty, crunchy snack, yet they didn’t quite make me feel as full as do beans retaining their water. I recommend making two cans worth in one attempt and then store them in an airtight container. This chickpea snack will help fight hunger pangs and satiate your snack food cravings until you’re on to the next thing. Chocolate!!

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What do you do with vegetables that are ready for any exit? You know the ones at the back of your refrigerator whose coloring has turned like fall leaves, they’re less crisp,and your kids would only eat them if blindfolded. A few weeks ago I might have tossed them because I had subscribed to a philosophy a friend of mine told me about as nature’s Ten Percent Rule: expect to lose ten percent of your perishables and ten percent of your garden plants. That idea kept me comfortable with the cost of replacing plants and with tossing out edible foods that didn’t look quite appetizing and we were all happy, my garbage can and I, until I heard Jonathan Bloom on an NPR podcast. He’s author of American Wasteland. Can you guess of all the food produced in this country (the country that produces the most food in the world) how much we waste?

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Okay guys. I love this concept and this product. CalNaturale, the makers of Svelte, have teamed up with Baby Boot Camp to offer crunchtime readers an incredible package – free. Designed for post pregnancy slim down, but just how long ago “post” means, is really up to you.I’m still fighting the post pregnancy weight gain, eleven years and counting.

This complete care package prize includes exercise equipment, workout attire, how-tos, big supply of the oh-so-yummy shakes, and more – valued at $500. Entering is as easy as writing your name!!!!

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The text read “first turtle of season hatched, returned to water, I have fleas and ants in my backpack.” These are the only words from our daughter who’s living along the remote shores of Costa Rica to help save turtle eggs from animal predators and human confiscators. Here I go…it seems like just yesterday when she showed her animal love with a puppy nail polishing stand. She couldn’t pwonouce her r’s and couldn’t get a comb through her hair. read more

Crab cakes seem less a meal for crunchtime and more the meal one gets served at a fine luncheon perhaps where polo matches or yachting are involved, but after an kickback weekend in the San Juan Islands with Dr. April and family, I assure you meals with crab meat are not only approachable, they are downright easy, even if you do the crabbing. We have a video with the boys that shows us a thing or two about crabs that’s not from science class.

Should you be lucky enough to crab for your own Dungeness or pick them up whole at the market, the husbands demonstrate how shell them or if you’re cracking open a can instead of a shell to get your crabmeat, we’ll give you the simplest recipe we found for crab cakes. read more