Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Sandwiches

4 slices thick-cut bacon (5 ounces total)

8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets (may substitute 2 chicken breast halves; see note)

Kosher salt

7 ounces (half a can) no-salt-added chickpeas

Leaves from 2 stems fresh flat-leaf parsley or cilantro, plus a few sprigs for garnish

1 ripe avocado

½ teaspoon ground cumin

Crushed red pepper flakes

½ lime

2 Campari or Kumato tomatoes

4 slices whole-grain or multigrain country-style bread (5½ ounces total; see note)

Line a plate with paper towels. Cut each bacon slice crosswise in half. Arrange in a large nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until crisped. Drain on the plate.

Season the chicken lightly with salt and immediately place in the same pan; cook (medium heat) for about 3 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then place in a mixing bowl. Coarsely chop the parsley or cilantro leaves; add to the bowl. Peel, pit the avocado; add to the same bowl, along with the cumin, a pinch each of the salt and crushed red pepper flakes, and the juice of the lime half. Use a potato masher or large fork to mash the mixture into a chunky paste. Taste, and add more salt and/or crushed red pepper flakes, as needed.

Cut the tomatoes into ¼-inch slices, and season them lightly with salt. Let them sit for 5 minutes, then begin to build the sandwiches: Spread equal amounts of the avocado-chickpea mash on each piece of bread, then a few tomato slices. Next, the bacon and then the chicken. Top with parsley or cilantro sprigs. Serve with baked sweet potato fries.

Note: We preferred the bread toasted; you can do this while the bacon's in the pan. If you can't find thin chicken cutlets, buy 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves that are on the small side; cut them in half horizontally.

Serves 4

Nutrition | Per serving: 450 calories, 26 g protein, 35 g carbohydrates, 23 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 65 mg cholesterol, 470 mg sodium, 8 g dietary fiber, 5 g sugar

Adapted from "The Essential Diabetes Cookbook: Good Healthy Eating From Around the World," by Antony Worrall Thompson with Louise Blair (Kyle, 2010).