Chickpeas and Christmas

So I've decided i'm officially obsessed with chickpeas!
Today I made toasted chickpeas, which I have like one zillion different recipes for but I ended up just chucking together my own. I tossed (maybe about) a cup of chickpeas with 1 tsp tamari, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground hungarian sweet paprika, 1/2 tsp ground turmeric and 1/2 tsp dried rosemary and then put them on a tray in the oven on low for like an hour. They turned out really crunchy and delicious! I added these to a simple salad with a scoop of mango chutney on top (the chutney is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted, it takes a while to make but is well worth it; the recipe is courtesy of Karen Fischer and you can find it on her website here)

Finally I made Dreena's easy pleasin' oat bars from Vive Le Vegan for dessert and then I was really full...
Anyway on a non-related-food topic I actually went running this morning, a feat I haven't been bothered to accomplish for months. I use to go like every morning for a while then Winter hit and I was way too cold to continue getting up at 5.30am. but this morning I was really in the mood for a run, it was so serene outside and it put me in such a good mood for the rest of the day. It even encouraged me to finally put up some Christmas decorations (i know how lame it's like a week till chrissy but whatever, better late than never), we still don't even have a tree up I don't think we've been in a particularly festive mood of late, but I'm attempting to be a little merrier, hence the delicious Healthy, Low-fat, Low-sugar Christmas Cake recipe:

500g mixed dried fruit
1 cup apricot nectar
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 cup cold mashed pumpkin
1 + 2/3 cups wholemeal spelt flour
3 tbsps almond meal
3 tsps baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1. Combine fruit and nectars in a large bowl and leave standing and covered for 1 hour
2. Stir pumpkin into the fruit mixture, then sift in all remaining dry ingredients
3. Spread mixture into greased and base-lined 14cm X 21 cm pan
4. Bake cake at 180 degrees celcius (fan-forced oven) for about 1 hour
5. Remove pan from oven and cover with foil
6. When cool remove from pan, it keeps well in an airtight container for a couple of days and it freezes well also

Merry Almost Christmas everyone