For the Love of Hummus!

I know I'm not the only one who loves hummus but, I LOVE hummus! Competition prep or not, I need to have my "chickpea butter" on the regular. However, while keeping such a close eye on my nutrition, I am more cautious about the empty calories and fats that accompany ready-made foods. 

Oils are a big source of fat and calories that you don't need to add to large quantities of, to your foods. If you eat foods with oil, avoid cooking with it and vice versa, if you use it for cooking, don't added more to your recipe. 

As far as eating tasty snacks like hummus (which is relativity healthy anyway) while competing,  I see it as a challenge to attempt a healither version of it in the laboratory (my kitchen).

Oil free and macro friendly with all the flavour you can handle!

Trafitional Hummus

In a blender put the following ingredients:

2 1/4 cups of chickpeas 

1.5 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons of tahini

2 teaspoons of minced garlic 

1 teaspoon of pink salt

1/2 teaspoon of cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika (more for garnish)

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne 

Blend then add 1/8 cup of water. If you like your hummus creamier add water 1/8 cup at a time - it doesn't take much liquid to get desired consistency so go slow. If you are making the beet recipe from here, do not add more water at this point. Thicker hummus becomes smoother as you add beet juice.

Macros per tablespoon: Calories: 18, Protein: 0.8g, Fat: 0.8g, Carbs: 2g, Fibre: 0.7g

Can't Beet this Hummus

If you like a bit of sweet, spicy, pickled flavour, this one is for you! I love adding a couple tablespoons of this to my salads as a dressing substitute or as a dip for tofu steaks - try it yourself! 

Follow the recipe for traditional hummus then add the following ingredients:

3/4 cup of pickled beets

1/4 teaspoon of Sriracha (more if you like spice over sweet flavour)

1/8 cup of pickled beet juice 

... blend, and there you have it!

Macros per tablespoon: Calories: 20, Carbs: 2.1g, Protein: 0.8g, Fat: 0.8g, Fibre: 0.7g 

Hint: Your macros may vary slightly depending on the brand of tahini or your source of chickpeas - but not enough to make a significant impact on your daily macro count. 

Tahini, for those of you who may not know, is a nut butter - you will find it in the peanut butter or the organic nut butter section of your grocery store. 

Enjoy your day & your food!