Meals Matter

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Contributed By: lbrand
Yoga for Everyday

f you're looking for a healthy sauce to accompany your favorite pasta or vegetable dish, today's recipe for Quick Tomato-Garbanzo Sauce is a great option. The onions, garlic, and herbs give it layers of flavor, while the garbanzo beans add fiber and protein that make it rich and thick. Try it tonight for its many health benefits (read about them in the Health Tip section on the recipe page) — it'll be ready in less than 20 minutes! Legumes (like garbanzo beans) are a great way to thicken sauces. Loaded with fiber and protein, they are a healthy addition to any recipe, such as this Quick Tomato Garbanzo Sauce. The garbanzo bean, also known as the chickpea or ceci bean, is an edible legume that is one of the earliest cultivated vegetables. Garbanzo beans are a helpful source of zinc, folate and protein. They are also very high in dietary fiber, thus making them a healthy source of carbohydrates for persons with insulin sensitivity or diabetes. Chickpeas are low in fat and most of this is polyunsaturated. Chickpeas also provide dietary calcium, with some sources citing the chickpea's calcium content as about the same as yogurt and close to milk. Recent studies have also shown that they can assist in lowering of cholesterol in the bloodstream.

Ingredients

1 29 ounce Can tomato sauce

1 cup Canned garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 Onion, chopped

3 cloves Garlic, chopped

3 t Olive oil

1/2 teaspoon Dried Italian herbs

1/2 teaspoon Fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Heat a pot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, onions, fennel seeds, Italian herbs, salt and pepper. Saute until they start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the tomato sauce and garbanzo beans.

Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and blend using an emersion blender, food processor or blender, working in batches if necessary. If using a food processor or blender, be careful because hot liquids can expand during blending.

Return the sauce to the pot, make any final adjustments to seasoning. Serve with your favorite cooked pasta, vegetables, or as a dip for breadsticks.

Cook's Notes

I haven't made this one yet, but I am hoping to 'trick' my family into eating more nutrious things, so if I need to hide ingrediants, I 'll never tell =)

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