Friday Favorites: Chickpea Salad + a New To Me Candy
Welcome back to another Friday Favorites! I round up a few favorites that have been making my life better, tastier, or just a little more fun. This week’s list has a little bit of everything — a candy discovery that’s way overdue, a fitness upgrade I’m obsessed with, and a recipe that’s officially entered my regular rotation. Let’s get into it!
Haribo candy
I have a confession to make: I’ve somehow only just discovered Haribo candy, and I genuinely don’t know how it took me this long. I must have been living under a rock! For those equally in the dark, Haribo is a German candy brand that’s been around for over a century. They’re most famous for their iconic Gold Bears gummy bears. One bite and I completely understood the hype.
What makes them so good? The texture is that perfect chewy-but-not-too-sticky consistency, and the fruit flavors actually taste like something. Needless to say, I’m very glad I finally crawled out from under that rock, and I have a feeling Haribo is going to be a permanent fixture in my pantry going forward.
Strava subscription
A few weeks ago I finally took the plunge and upgraded to a Strava subscription, and I have zero regrets. I’d been using the free version for a while and it was perfectly fine for the basics: logging walks, seeing my route on a map, that kind of thing. But I kept bumping up against the paywall whenever I wanted to dig into the deeper metrics, and eventually my curiosity won out.
The paid tier unlocks a whole new level of data: detailed heart rate analysis, pace and elevation breakdowns, training load tracking, and a lot more. I’m a numbers person, so being able to look back at all the stats after my walks is genuinely exciting to me. It’s also been a nice motivational boost. There’s something about seeing your progress laid out visually that makes you want to keep showing up. If you’re someone who enjoys tracking fitness data, the subscription is absolutely worth it.
Chickpea salad
If you’ve been following along here for a while, you’ll know that I’ve been on a mission to eat more plant-based. I’m not cutting out meat entirely. It’s more about adding more plants and making swaps when it makes sense. It’s a sustainable approach that’s been working really well for me, and I’ve been discovering some genuinely delicious recipes along the way.
The latest one I’m excited about is chickpea salad, and it’s exactly what it sounds like: a creamy, mayo-based salad that uses chickpeas in place of tuna or egg. The base is simple: chickpeas, mayo, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, with celery, red onion, and bell pepper for crunch and freshness. The secret weapon is a squeeze of lemon juice, which brightens the whole thing up and makes all the flavors pop. I’ve been eating it in sandwiches and crackers, and honestly just straight out of the bowl. If you want to make it fully vegan, just swap in your favorite plant-based mayo. It’s easy, satisfying, and a new staple in my kitchen.
That’s a wrap on this week’s Friday Favorites! Have you tried any of these? I’d love to hear your thoughts, especially if you’re a long time Haribo fan who’s appalled it took me this long. See you next time!
