Chickpeas: The Surprise Winner in the Best Mid-Day Snack Derby

When four healthy eating advocates at an EatingWell pow wow were asked recently to name the best packaged snack to bridge hunger between meals, the dieticians all spoke as one: skip crackers, candy mints or even dried fruit drops and go straight to: roasted chickpeas.

The bane of many health experts these days is ultra processed meaning foods not in their natural state but as dietician Amanda Crowe, founder of Drive by Nutrition, pointed out, not all processed food is automatically bad for you.

“Packaged snacks can absolutely be part of a healthy diet,” Crowe said. “For many people, having a convenient snack on hand can help bridge the gap between meals, prevent excessive hunger and make it easier to stick with healthy eating habits when life gets busy.”

Chickpeas are famous for their fiber content which isn’t diminished when the beans are roasted as WebMD noted. That leaves a 100 gram/3.5 ounce serving with about 15 grams of dietary fiber which, as Crowe points out, comes with big benefits for digestion.

“Fiber helps support regular bowel movements and contributes to a healthy gut microbiome,” she says. “And since most Americans fall short on fiber recommendations, snack time is a great opportunity to fill in the gaps.”

Amy Brownsteinm a registered dietitian who works with people to optimize sports performance and incorporate more plants into their eating habits adds that protein plus the chickpeas’ “crunchy texture makes them a satisfying swap for chips or other salty snacks that are often higher in saturated fat and lower in fiber.”

Samantha DeVito, registered dietitian, writer and corporate wellness strategist, agreed that chickpeas deliver a combination of plant-based protein and fiber, which “can help curb hunger and support more stable energy levels throughout the day.”

Crowe’s caution: “Make sure to double-check the label and monitor portions if you’re watching your sodium intake,” because different brands and flavors contain different levels of sodium (an important nutrient to limit for heart health).

Finally, once the big (macro) nutrients are mentioned, it’s easy to miss the little (micro) ones: the vitamins and minerals which roasted chickpeas deliver remarkably well. “Chickpeas are often overlooked for their manganese, iron and folate content,” says Haley Bishoff founder of Rūtsu Nutrition and a registered dietitian who specializes in whole food plant-based and vegan nutrition. “Together, these micronutrients support bones, sustain energy and cell repair, making roasted chickpeas a genuinely nutrient-dense snack option.”

In the end, like all nutrition notes, this one comes with practical ways to get the best from the food. Rule Number One: Watch the portions. As Brownstein puts it, “Instead of bringing the bag of snacks with you to your desk, consider portioning out the snack into a bowl, then practicing mindful eating strategies to help derive greater satisfaction from your snack.”

Rule Number Two: Prep snacks in advance. Bishoff’s way is to take sensible amounts of the chickpeas out of the big back, put them into multiple small bags, so that when snacking time comes around, the proper portions are right at hand.

Rule Number Three: Ignore calories and carbs. Crowe’s fact is that “a snack that includes protein, fiber or healthy fats is often more satisfying than a snack made primarily of refined carbohydrates.” Since the goal is to tide yourself over between meals, choose snacks with meaningful amounts of macros and micros

Rule Number Four: When snacking, pick favorite foods. This one is from DeVito who says there’s no sense snacking on foods you don’t like: “Healthy eating isn’t about finding the ‘perfect’ food; it’s about building habits you can maintain long-term, and enjoyable snacks that satisfy are much more likely to become part of a sustainable routine.”