Where my hummus lovers at???

Do you guys like hummus?  I sure do!  I used to buy the pre-packaged kind all the time.  It's pretty good, don't get me wrong........BUT, I recently had a fling with some home made hummus and don't think I'll ever be able to go back.

It started like this......I was on vacation at my Mom's place in Florida.  Her friends, Bakos and Nadiya, a super cool Lebanese couple invited us over for dinner.  Mom kept raving about what a nice couple they were and made some great food as well, so you know this girl was all about it!  We get there and Bakos is manning the grill.  He's grilling potatoes that he had just sliced, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper.  He pulled one off of the grill for my son Alex to taste and Alex just went into potato heaven!  He told me they didn't even need ketchup.  (Score! Who needs all that sodium anyway?)  Bakos also had some marinated beef and chicken going and he explained to me that we were going to take this meat, throw it into a pita, with some salad greens (with a wonderful home made dressing of olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar) and top it with hummus.  Can I get a HECK YEAH????  I gotta tell ya, not only was I excited because everything, outside of the pita, completely fell into my clean eating plan, but I was going to eat one heck of a delicious meal that I for once did NOT have to cook!  Can I get an AMEN!?

Well, the meal was incredible!  We had a wonderful glass of red wine, and great conversation.  Food excites me.  I love the flavors, colors, textures, smells......all of it.  And Bakos and Nadiya were my kind of peeps and we talked about food a lot.  Of course we discussed the importance of exercise, but it kept coming back  to food.........and that hummus!  So fresh, so good!  They told me what they put in theirs and I couldn't believe how basic it was.  Chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, and salt!  I knew I would do some experimenting when I got home.  So I did......today in fact.  Here's what I came up with.  I hope you try it and enjoy it!

In Good Health,

Debbie

Attend My Clean Eating Webinar - Learn More!

 Ingredients:

1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo beans, liquid drained

• 2-4 tablespoons lemon juice **
• 2 tablespoons no salt added tahini
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic (or you could use 1 to 2 cloves to suit your taste)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• fresh black pepper to taste (I gave a good 8 twists of the pepper grinder)
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more or less to your taste)
• 4-5 tablespoons olive oil **

Directions:

Throw all of the above ingredients into a blender or food processor (I used a food processor) 

Blend until it comes to a smooth consistency.  **Make sure the consistency of the hummus is to YOUR liking, start on the lower end of the amount for these two ingredients, and just add accordingly if you decide you want it thinner.

This made a little over 2 cups.  You could play around with it a lot.  Some avocado would be good added in, or even some fresh roasted red peppers!!!  Have fun with it.  Make it your own and eat your veggies!!!!!

The finished product was delish!  A smart and healthy snack that you can feel good about eating.  Enjoy!!