ch-ch-ch-chia!

So after a full week of being cold and bored and a little bit stir-crazy, I'm glad to have my power back. Of course the internet and cable have yet to find their way back home, so I'm blogging from the library (surrounded by ESL books because I guess the idea to come here for wifi is pretty popular and all the other tables are being used).

I'm pretty lucky my house was not damaged from the storm; only one tree fell in my backyard but didn't touch anything. It only took up the fence a bit but no worries there.

So with no power, no heat, and no internet all week, I tried to keep myself as occupied as I could. I took endless SAT practice sections and completed a few dozen sudoku puzzles, but after a while I just wanted to move. So to exercise I decided to run stairs for half an hour with Danza Kuduro on repeat (an idea for those of you who still don't have power?). It was really hard, so every two songs I had a zumba or jog interval with some Taylor Swift to pump me up (spoiler alert - she's still never getting back together with Jake after listening to the song until my iPod was nearly dead).

In addition to the stair-running, my dad and I raked just about every leaf in sight to pass the time, and it turned out to be great exercise and it kept us occupied for a few hours.

But I'm getting off topic. I really started this post to blog about a new-found source of protein, fiber, and Omega-3's that my mom and I are into lately. Do you remember those commercials for Chia pets? (If not, here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzY7qQFij_M) Well instead of watering those seeds to make the coat for your pet, putting those seeds in smoothies or yogurt is actually super healthy!

I was at Trader Joe's last week with my parents (pre-storm shopping) and I saw the Chia seeds and we decided to buy them. Although we had a generator so our refrigerator wouldn't spoil, I was left oven-less all week and I found it hard to last a week without baking or making myself some sort of snack. 

But my strawberry Greek yogurt and a few spoonfuls of Chia seeds served as a great snack all week, and in the process I didn't feel so bad about how I was eating while I was stuck at home with no creations of my own. 

And now that supermarkets are reopening and restocking, I'm excited to put these seeds in smoothies too! (I think I'm just excited to get fruit again.) Once I find a good smoothie recipe I'll be sure to fill everyone in on it!

Hope you're all safe and warm with power, heat, and internet and you fared the storm with little or no damage! (If not, try running up and down your stairs a few times, that'll warm you up for sure.)

not such peas-ful weather outside today...

I'm so excited to be posting my first recipe! Hope you guys like it! (Also I hope you liked the first of many punny titles I hope to come up with.)

Hurricane Sandy is coming closer and closer to my town, and since school was canceled for today and tomorrow, I have minimal things planned to do. Cherishing the electrical power while I still have it, I've been in the kitchen.

On days like this when I find myself bored and looking for things to do, I see that I tend to eat more. So I made myself a batch of one of my favorite snacks... spicy roasted chick peas! They've got a great kick to them and they're great to pick at.

Also, chick peas are packed with great nutrients. In one can of chick peas, there are almost 20 grams of fiber, which are digested slowly and keep you full for longer. A can of chick peas also has about 21 grams of protein, and are a good source of the healthy carbohydrates.

Here's what you'll need:
1 15oz can of chick peas (garbanzo beans)
olive oil to drizzle
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of brown sugar

1. First, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Open up your can of chick peas, drain and rinse the peas until all the foamy liquid goes away.

2. Spread out the chick peas on paper towels and dry them.

3. Make your spice blend! I added the said amounts of spices, but then added a bit more cayenne (because I love things spicy), but you can customize this to your own taste buds!

4. Once the chick peas a dry, spread them on parchment paper on a baking sheet, or in a tin. 

5. Drizzle the chick peas with olive oil and sprinkle the spices on top. Then, using your hands, toss the chick peas around to fully coat them with the spices. 

6. Put them in the oven! I like mine crunchy, so I usually will leave them in for an hour. But if you just want them a bit roasted start with 30-45 minutes and then keep them in longer if you'd like. 

*WARNING: These chick peas will shrink! One can of these seems like very little once you take them out of the oven. Enjoy!!

Reference: http://www.livestrong.com/article/531527-nutrition-facts-for-a-can-of-chickpeas/