Chickpeas and spinach

My diet for the last three days has included:

Curried chickpeas and spinach.
Spinach omelette.
Blended chickpeas.
Chipeas and rice.
Spinach salad.
Egg and spinach sandwich.
Chickpea stew.

Let me know when you sense a trend.

Almost a week ago, I went to the store and found the 1.13kg bag od spinach on sale. Well, not being one to miss a sale on spinach, I bought the bag.

Around the same time, I had soaked three cups of chickpeas to make hummus. Three cups of soaked chickpeas is about 6 cups of cooked chickpeas. The problem is that when I examined by hummus recipe, I saw it contained 356 calories per servings... most of it fat from the tahini. All discouraged, I decided not to make hummus. That left me with 6 cups of chickpeas.

So, I've been tossing them into EVERYTHING I make. As of today, thanks to the 8 cups of spinach dip I just made, I now have HALF the bag of spinach left. There is no end in sight for me.

I need some spinach and chickpea recipes. They don't need to go in the same recipe... but I'm losing creativity.

This sounds like what I eat every day.  In fact, you've given me some new ideas that I can't wait to try out!  ;-)

Here is a tahini dressing recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance.  You can toss a cup of chickpeas in about a tablespoon with some kalamata olives, capers, onions, pepperoncini ... and spinach if you like!  The dressing is only about 53 cals per tablespoon.

8 tsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup tahini
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
6 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup water, cold 

1. Heat oil in saucepan. Add garlic when hot and saute lightly until flavor is released, about 1 minute.
   
   
2. Add all ingredients in food processor except parley and process to combine.
   
   
3. Add parsley and pulse until just chopped.
   
   
4. Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.

Alas... I'm totally off tahini. Too high fat, which is why I didn't make hummus. When my hummus weighs it at THAT kind of caloric intake because of tahini, the tahini goes.

It wouldn't be so bad if I ate a lower fat diet, but as it is, I tend to roll in at the 20% mark a little too often. :-(

I just make hummus with less tahini and more lemon juice.  I love the stuff but don't have it often.

If you have any plain cooked chickpeas left, you could make some roasted.  Preheat oven to 450 or 475, drain and pat the chickpeas dry, toss with a tablepspoon of olive oil to coat.  Sprinkle with any seasoning you like.  Arrange on a sprayed baking sheet in a single layer.  Bake for 40 minutes to an hour, stirring a couple of times. 

They come out crunchy and are very yummy, and keep for a long time.

Try this hummus recipe:

Combine the following in food processor and puree until smooth:

1 15 ounce can chickpeas (drained, reserve water)
2 tbsp. chickpea water
2 tbsp. tahini
3 tbsp. plain low fat or nonfat yogurt
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1 garlic clove

Or try this yummy chickpea salad:

1 7 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 cups peeled, seeded, diced cucumber
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
1/4 cup diced red onion
ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup dressing of your choice