Today at my local food coop, they were offering samples of chocolate covered chickpeas from The Good Bean, a company out of Berkeley, California. I tried the Mocha Chocolate Flavor, and was sold in a split second! Wonderful aroma and delicious flavor!
Of course, as a dietitian, I next checked out the nutrition info. These definitely still fall into the snack food category, but a 1 ounce serving does provide 3 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, and 6% of the Daily Value (DV) for iron. I compared them to Crunchy Chickpeas with Sea Salt from the same company, which has 6 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, and 8% of the DV for iron. So, basically, the chocolate covering is adding flavor, not nutrients! The chocolate covered chickpeas have 10 grams of sugar (9 grams added sugar) and the sea salt version has only 2 grams sugar. These snacks are advertised as similar to malted milk balls, which would have no protein, no fiber, and 3% of DV for iron for 17 grams of sugar. With that comparison, the chocolate covered chickpeas look pretty good!
So if you’re looking for a really tasty snack that provides a bit of nutrition as a bonus, check these out!
© 2020 Kathleen Searles, MS, RDN, CSSD, LD