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Snack

Low-cal Crunchies

A low-calorie snack of microwaved frozen vegetables, seeds, nuts, and peas coated in soy sauce.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Lima beans and peas share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 85 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓

Low-cal Crunchies

Oven425°F (conventional range)

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Defrost frozen vegetables if not using seeds or nuts.

  2. Spread on paper towel or a shallow plate and cook at full power in the microwave for 6 minutes.

Make the coating

  1. Make the coating by mixing all ingredients thoroughly.

  2. Place the vegetables, seeds or nuts in the coating.

Cook and store

  1. Spread on a shallow pan and cook at full power in the microwave for 6 minutes.

  2. Spread on paper towel to dry.

  3. When cool, store in a tight container.

  4. Microwave time is 6 minutes; conventional range time is 15-25 minutes at 425°F.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

324Calories
13 gProtein
17 gFat
32 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 8 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Lima Bean1/2 cup (85g) cooked108
Pea1/2 cup (72g)62
Walnut1 walnut half (4g)26
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Seednot in our table0
Saladnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Lima beans + peastop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together85 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  2. Peas + nutstop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together36 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

  3. Lima beans + saucetop 27% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together50 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Peas + saucetop 27% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,109 recipes
  5. Nuts + saucetop 28% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together75 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Frozen lima beans
Form the base that is coated and cooked into a crunchy snack.
Nuts
Add crunch and richness to the snack once coated and cooked.
Salad or cooking oil
Carries the seasoning and helps the coating toast and crisp.
Soy sauce
Adds savory flavor and deepens the color of the coating.

The step that matters

Drying after cooking. Surface moisture softens crunch, so spreading the snack on paper towel to dry lets excess moisture escape and keeps it crisp.

Swap the nuts

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lima beans, peas, sauce):

  1. Beansfits better
  2. Kidney beansfits better
  3. Lentilsfits better
  4. Nutsthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lima beans, peas, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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