What do carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, mini bell peppers, sugar snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, chips, crackers pita chips, pretzels, crostini, spoons, forks, knives, possibly even flip flops, the floor, the counter-top and even your friends face ALL have in common. They would taste extra delicious with HOMEMADE HUMMUS on ‘em! I mean really, do we need to buy this stuff when it takes about 5 minutes to make and the store bought version pales in comparison when you make it yourself. Don’t worry, I have bought it plenty of times, but once I made it for the first time, I promised myself NEVER to buy it again. The store bought version usually has canola oil in it instead of olive oil and it compromises the flavor drastically!
So, we have talked about trying to get more veggies into your day. Wouldn’t it be easier if you had a sure fire way to know you were gonna love to eat those veggies at 2:30pm while at work because the afternoon slump has hit ya and you need something to keep ya busy. Easy fix, hummus and veggies! Garbanzo beans (one of the main ingredients in hummus) have been shown to help regulate your blood sugar, reduce cardiovascular risks, improved satiety and decreased caloric intake. Plus, garbanzo beans have almost 12.5g of mostly insoluble fiber per cup, that’s half of your Daily Value of fiber! If you are interested in more information on the how and the why’s, check out http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=58.
Let’s make this short and sweet today.
Hummus…it’s delicious, ridiculously easy to make, fabulous source of protein and fiber and can be portioned out into small serving containers to make a quick grab-n-go snack along with a dipping element.
4 garlic cloves- 2 bags of frozen chickpeas
- 1 cup tahini (sesame paste)
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp. salt
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Pepper to taste
Place all the ingredients in a food processor (or a blender, because I have a VitaMix and I can put a flip flop in there and it would obliterate it to a creamy goodness!) and blend until creamy. And voila, you have hummus. Creamy, delicious and nutritious. Now, go figure out what you are going to dip in it, besides your finger!
**Also, you can add mix-ins to the hummus to change it up a bit. I made a traditional hummus but sprinkled it with a little smoked paprika and an extra drizzle of olive oil. YUM! And, I tried some green chile and cilantro hummus. Yes, please!! Mix in some Hatch green chiles (as many as you like), some chopped cilantro and a bit of cumin. Oh man, so good!! And finally, I kicked it up a notch with a Sriracha hummus. Just drizzle Sriracha on the top of the hummus and add 1 tsp Sambol chili paste (for about 1 cup of hummus). Cause….why not!! 🙂
Thanks for joining me on another Foodie Friday! Food is a constant journey that takes you to new places….& I love being part of your journey.
-Jamie
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