Your Mantra: "Salt First, Taste Later"

Smart, satisfying snacks to feed your cravings

The problem with your salt habit isn’t just the empty calories in chips, pretzels, and popcorn. It might also drastically increase your blood pressure—and put you at risk for related problems like stroke and heart attack—if you are one of the 26 percent of Americans sensitive to sodium. Unfortunately, you won’t know if you’re one of them until it’s too late. To be on the safe side, health experts say we should limit our daily salt intake to one teaspoon a day—or about what you’d get in 24 large tortilla chips.

Which is why lightly salted garbanzo beans are a smart and tasty alternative. Chili and garlic powder make a zingy salt substitute, and garbanzo beans are a great source of protein and fiber. This recipe makes four servings so you can create a week’s worth of handy, good-for-you salty snacks.

Homemade Salt Fix:  Roasted Garbanzo Beans
Serves 4

2 15 oz cans of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sweet chili powder
½ tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place garbanzo beans in a large zipper bag with spices and olive oil. Shake well to coat. Spread out on baking sheet. Bake 25-30 minutes until beans become firm and spices are fragrant. Allow to cool slightly.

Store-Bought Solution: Lay's Lightly Salted Potato Chips

Instead of grabbing another bag of salty bad boys, try reduced-sodium chips. These have less than 50 percent the sodium of their regular counter-part, and less saturated fat.

Per Serving Calories: 150

---