One thing to keep in mind when comparing grains is that when you boil them, they absorb water and their caloric density changes. It goes from 3.6 to about 1.2, quite the savings!
First, let's take a look at the macros. Each of these are listed in grams and as usual, normalized to 200 calories for easy comparison, so we're always comparing apples to apples.
| Rice | Chickpeas |
| Nutrient | rice | chickpeas |
| Protein | 4g | 11g |
| Carbohydrate | 43g | 33g |
| Fiber | 2g | 10g |
| Fat | 0g | 3g |
| Monounsat. Fat | 0g | 3g |
| Polyunsat. Fat | 0g | 1g |
| Saturated Fat | 0g | 0g |
Next, let's take a look at the Vitamin density. These values are shown in units of percent of recommended daily intake. And since we're showing 200 calories worth, this means anything above 10% is good.
| Nutrient | rice | chickpeas |
| Choline | 1% | 12% |
| Vitamin A | 0% | 0% |
| Vitamin C | 0% | 3% |
| Vitamin E | 1% | 4% |
| Vitamin K | 0% | 6% |
Chickpeas have significantly more Vitamins K than rice. Chickpeas are a good source of Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Zinc, Phosphorus. Chickpeas are a great source of Iron.
And here we see the B-vitamins: B1 (Thiamin), B2 (Riboflavin), B3 (Niacin), B5 (Pantothenic Acid), B6 (Pyridoxine)
| Nutrient | rice | chickpeas |
| Vitamin B1 | 4% | 26% |
| Vitamin B2 | 2% | 11% |
| Vitamin B3 | 5% | 7% |
| Vitamin B5 | 9% | 18% |
| Vitamin B6 | 5% | 27% |
| Vitamin B12 | 0% | 0% |
Now, lets look at mineral density. Here we have a lot of important electrolytes and minerals. Once again, units are in percent of RDI, thus for this 200 calorie serving anything above 10% would considered high.
| Nutrient | rice | chickpeas |
| Sodium | 1% | 1% |
| Potasium | 1% | 14% |
| Calcium | 1% | 12% |
| Magnesium | 3% | 18% |
| Phosphorus | 3% | 35% |
| Iron | 5% | 57% |
| Manganese | 23% | 53% |
| Selenium | 26% | 10% |
| Copper | 10% | 47% |
| Zinc | 9% | 20% |
Rice can be the base of a Rice bowl, over which you can add almost any toppings you like:
- pickled veggies
- sour krout
- sliced carrots
- diced cucumbers
- corn
- edamame
- quinoa
- avocados
- black beans
How to eat Chickpeas
- Roast them in the oven with olive oil and add any spices you want. My favorite is cinnamon.
- Roast them with fennel, peppers and grapes.
- Put them in a salad
- Make a chickpea burger
- Make a Cilantro lime chickpea salad