I love grocery shopping, I’m like a kid in a candy store – sorry, bad analogy – I know. But I get really excited at all the possibilities of what I can make. I get particularly jazzed when I find something new and wholesome.

On my last vacation to Sanibel Island, FL to visit my mom, I was wandering around Bailey’s, the local grocery store. It’s a pretty mainstream store, but they have an unusually large organic section and the odd gourmet “natural” product, hidden amongst the regular fare of sugar-filled processed foods.

Well, on the top shelf of the flour section, I found an interesting packet which I picked up and brought back to my mom’s place.  I’m not usually a packaged food type of gal, but the fact that it contained only one healthy ingredient – chickpea flour – had me convinced.

I made it immediately! Loved it. Bought 3 more packets, brought them home with me – made it again – and started experimenting with it a bit. Then I served it to friends as the bruschetta you see in the picture below (with tomatoes and herbs). Now I’m ready to tell you about it!

Here’s why I love this Cinque e Cinque Chickpea Frittata Mix.

  1. It’s super easy
  2. It’s loaded with protein & fiber
  3. It’s really versatile
  4. It’s gluten-free and yet fills that bread-y craving
  5. It’s dairy-free
  6. It’s vegan
In fact, “humble chickpea flour edges out whole wheat flour in a nutritional tete a tete: it has 2g more protein and 1g more fiber in the same 110 calorie, 1/4 cup serving” (this last bit of info is from Tamara Freuman and her blog about chickpea flour).

Vegan Chickpea Frittata

The basic directions are on the Lucini packet but here’s how I made it:

Ingredients:

  • 1 package of Lucini Cinque e’ Cinque Tuscan Chickpea Frittata Mix
  • 3 1/4  cold water
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt (the recipe on the package calls for 2 teaspoons of salt. I always under-salt and let everyone add to their own taste)
Directions:
  • Preheat oven to 500F
  • Coat a 9″ cast iron pan with olive oil (I’ve also split it up and made in two pans for a thinner frittata)
  • Heat pan for 5 minutes
  • While pan is heating blend all the ingredients together. (They say to wisk until the lumps are gone. I seem to not be able to get the lumps out with a whisk, thus the blender)
  • Pour batter into heated pan
  • Bake for 12 – 14  minutes
  • Crack the oven door open a tad and bak for another  6-8 minutes. This allows the humidity to vent.
  • It’s done when it’s golden brown
  • Let it sit and set for 10 minutes.
  • Top with your favorite topping (I topped mine with tomatoes and basil and olives)

 

Now, once I had made this a few times. I became curious about a couple of things:

 

Would this work with regular chickpea flour?

  • I don’t know and haven’t tried yet. I’ll let you know when I try, or if you try it first, please let me know what you think.

Could I make my own chickpea flour by grinding dried chickpeas in my Vitamix?

  • Yup. I tried . Wow was that noisy!!!
I put two cups of dried chickpeas in the dry container of the Vitamix – it’s designed to grind grain – and it made a nice chickpea flour.
The flour I made is more coarse than the Lucini Chickpea Flour. My chickpea flour is the one on the left with the whole chickpeas surrounding the bowl.
With my homemade chickpea flour, I made these Chickpea Flour Falafel’s from a Bob’s Red Mill Recipe. They were more like hockey pucks than Falafel, but cut up into cubes they made delicious gluten free croutons on salad.
Leave me a chickpea related comment. I’d love to know how you use chickpeas or chickpea flour in your home.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nina Manolson, MA, CHC, certified Health Coach and Psychology of Eating Coach believes that every women deserves to feel good in their own body. She helps women create a healthy and positive relationship with their food and body so they can love their body and life!  She’s the founder of NinaManolson.com and NourishedWomanNation.com 

She helps busy women look and feel their best. She specializes in working with women over 40 who have tried other diets and approaches but are still struggling with their body and food. She helps women step into a new wellness paradigm that makes self-care real and do-able and turns it into sustainable healthy habits that

She’s the author of “Feed Your Kids Well In A World That Doesn’t: an everyday guide to make healthy food happen in your home and beyond”. She’s also the recipient of the prestigious Health Leadership Award from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

To get your F.R.E.E. Video Series “What to do now, when everything you’ve done hasn’t worked” by mail and receive her healthy recipes and wellness tips click here.