This roasted artichoke & chickpeas recipe is easy on the glucose and the taste is … OK, I guess

Sooooooo …

I asked Google the following question:

are chickpeas ok for diabetics

And here’s Google’s awesome answer:

Wow, thanks Google!

OK, here’s a slightly better answer, courtesy of the dorks at Harvard:

Both dried and canned chickpeas have a low glycemic index and low glycemic load, and contain amylose, a resistant starch that digests slowly. These factors help to prevent sudden surges in blood sugar and insulin levels, which can improve overall blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes. 

Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans), Harvard School of Public Health

In other words, Google is right. Diabetics can apparently eat chickpeas with impunity, or something like that.

And that’s really great, but let’s be honest: Chickpeas kind of suck! Chickpeas are flavorless little balls of plant protein. Chickpeas are tiny orbs of edible boredom. Chickpeas are the work of the devil … if the devil’s plan is to bore us to death.

So why did I go out and buy three cans of chickpeas to make this recipe? I dunno!! I saw it posted by an old high school friend on Instagram and thought ehh ok I’ll give it a shot. I was already aware that chickpeas exist, but I had never tried cooking anything with them before.

So first, here’s the recipe from Simply Recipes:

• 3 (14.5-ounce) cans chickpeas
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans artichoke hearts
• 2 lemons <– I just bought a bottle of lemon juice instead
• 1 chopped shallot <– I think I bought shallots, but I’m not actually sure
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional, though recommended)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional) <– I skipped this

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and artichoke hearts, and add them into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Zest one lemon and then juice it over the chickpeas. Thinly slice the other lemon (discarding as many seeds as possible) and add the slices, shallots, and olive oil to the dish. Season it with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper, and stir well. 

Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake it in a 375°F oven for about 30 minutes. Uncover and add the feta and parsley, and bake it for an additional 15 minutes, until the feta has melted slightly and the liquid is bubbly.

I did most of what this recipe says, but my amounts were eyeballed as usual. I probably made way more than this recipe calls for because cooking in bulk is just kinda what I do.

So here’s what I made and the glucose test that followed!

Blood sugar reading before eating: 107

This reading of 107 was in the late afternoon. No Diabex yet (a Metformin substitute) and a pretty empty stomach.

Blood sugar reading after eating: 129

This reading was almost exactly an hour after finishing my bowl of roasted artichoke hearts and chickpeas.

So … 107 → 129 ain’t sh*t!! An increase of 22 mg/dL is close to nothing. And I kinda ate a LOT of this artichoke chickpea thing. What can I say, I was hungry.

Btw, I’ve gone to great lengths to make fun of chickpeas but I’ve said nothing about how amazing artichoke hearts are.

Artichoke hearts, I heart you! Eating an actual artichoke is honestly kind of labor intensive and the payoff is pretty so-so, but that “meaty” thing at the center is pure magic! So if there’s anything to love about this recipe, it’s definitely the artichoke.

Blood sugar reading after another 30 minutes: 137

I did another glucose test 30 minutes later just to make sure there wasn’t something goofy happening, like that time when I ate those kettle chips and got a nasty surprise at 90 minutes.

Thankfully that didn’t happen here. And unlike some recent “tests” I’ve done which were really just excuses to eat terrible things (pho, anyone? teehee) I was expecting some really mild glucose results. And that’s what I got!

So I guess if you’re not disgusted by chickpeas like I apparently am, give this recipe a try.

I actually like the idea of lemon with artichoke hearts and feta cheese, so I think I’m gonna try this again … but with button mushrooms next time. Button mushrooms are awesome. Chickpeas are very not awesome.