You may know these as garbanzo beans, and you may know them as chickpeas, but either way, you cannot have Hummus without them!

These little buddies boast fabulous fiber content, and are a clean source of protein! They have a delicious nut-like taste and a buttery, yet starchy, pasty texture.

Both the outer layer and main inner portion of garbanzo beans contain a wealth of phytonutrients. The outer seed coat can be concentrated in flavonoids, including quercetin, kaempferol and myricetin. The interior of the beans is typically rich in ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and vanillic acid. All of these phytonutrients function as antioxidants, and many also function as anti-inflammatory nutrients. Garbanzo beans are an excellent source of molybdenum and manganese, and a very good source of folate and copper as well as a good source of dietary fiber, phosphorus, protein, iron and zinc.

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