I’m up a few pounds (again – UGH!), so I decided it’s time to try out, and come up with, some new recipes. I headed over to Pinterest for a little inspiration, and after seeing several variations of meals that combine chickpeas and avocados I came up with this refreshing “salad.” It’s really more like a spread though, because I have this texture issue, and just like with every other bean, I cannot eat a chickpea (garbanzo bean) unless it’s mashed up until it no longer resembles a bean. Yes, I know I’m weird ;)

And of course, I had to give it my Tex-Mex-ish sort of spicy flair, which is why I added cumin and hot Mexican chili powder.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of chickpeas – drained, rinsed, peeled* and mashed
• the flesh of 1 avocado
• 1 lime, juiced (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp hot Mexican chili powder (McCormick makes this)
• a few sprigs of fresh cilantro, minced

*Peeling the chickpeas does require some extra prep time, but it is SO worth it! Just put the chickpea in between your thumb and pointer finger and “squeeze” the chickpea out of it’s little slimy skin.

Combine all ingredients until well mixed. That’s it. Use it as a filling for a wrap, topped with fresh salsa (pictured).  Or serve over a bed of greens, or even use it as hummus/dip and scoop it up with pita/tortilla chips.  If portioned into 4 servings, it’s just over 200 calories per serving.

I entered the recipe at Sparkpeople, so you can see the nutrition info (for the spread only, not the wrap and/or salsa) or print it out. Just click HERE.