Vibrantly Nutritious

One of my dearest friends, Francie, is a nutritionist by trade and a lover of all things healthy at heart.  Thanks to a bit of my cajoling (since this is my blog, I have the right to take credit for her masterpiece right?) she has started her long awaited blog.  It is called Vibrantly Nutritious and you can expect it to be filled to the brim with great recipes and healthy advice. 

Francie's nutritious outlook is endearing because not only will she provide tips on nutritious cooking, but she can explain why your body needs (or doesn't need) a certain substance and how your body may react to it (sugar spike, weight loss, pairing of foods for optimal absorption, etc.).  She is also very helpful when it comes to grocery shopping tips.  I was interested in sugar substitutes a while back and I didn't even know where to start with the options let alone what aisle of the grocery store to look in - she was able to help me sort through the world of sugar. 

One of Francie's best traits is that she is always going to share what the healthiest options are and work hard to convince you that those are the choices you should be making; however, she also won't berate you if you decide that dessert and that second glass of wine are a must tonight.  Simply put - she is quite realistic about the temptation-filled world we live in and I'm thankful for that since as most of you know - I'm tempted pretty easily.  Fortunately, from her tips I am learning to make healthier choices for some of my temptations. 

I think you will enjoy reading her Vibrantly Nutritious posts which can be found at  http://vibrantlynutritious.blogspot.com/  .

I've also included her recipe for Roasted Chickpeas below as I mentioned this recipe in my Leaning into Green post and a few of you were interested.  Please enjoy courtesy of Francie.

Roasted Chickpeas:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Rinse a can of chickpeas and pat dry with a paper towel. Pour the contents of the can on a cookie sheet lined with foil (for easy clean up!). Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on the beans and any spices you desire. Francie's favorites right now are smoked paprika, garlic, salt, pepper. There are lots of spices you could use so just experiment. Place in preheated over for 20 minutes and take out and move the beans around. Then keep checking them every 7-10 minutes until they are golden brown.