Roasted Edamame

To be honest, I love edamame. You know the fuzzy green pods that they serve in Japanese Restaurants? I've only ever had it in the pod version cooked with sea salt and right out of the shell. One of my must-have things I order at a Japanese place. Today , I tried the dried roasted kind for the first time and was surprised at how yummy they were!

Well apparently, edamam has the good fats found in nuts, a lot of protein, and is a little less caloric then your standard nut serving. Sweeeet. I am sold. Especially since I can't eat peanuts, hazelnuts or cashews because of allergies.

Apparently you can also made chick pea version to this! Just take a can of chickpeas, drain the liquid and rinse them. Pat them dry with a paper towel and spread them on a cookie sheet. Spray on a little bit of cooking spray and sprinkle with a bit of salt and garlic powder. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes to 1hr or until they are dried out and starting to crack. I will try this in the near future and let you know how they turn out.

There is also a difference between these and soy nuts, incase you were wondering! At www.wiki.answers.com someone asked " What is the Difference between dry roasted edamame and dry roasted soy nuts?" and the answer was " Dried edamame are made from younger green soybeans, and soy nuts are made from older beige soybeans." 

There ya have it folks! I really liked these dry roasted snacks and I recommend you give them a try for a lower caloric snack than nuts. I have to be careful not to eat the whole bag, because then the lower calories won't matter! Yummmm...

Perhaps next time I will try and roast them on my own from actual pods in the oven. Oohhhhhh!