Now that I have an office job rather than a food service job, I get to pack a lunch and snacks for each work day! Because I’ll be sitting at a desk for hours a day, I want to be careful not to gain weight! What better way than by preparing and portioning ahead of time, and being careful to only stock healthy snacks?!
So, on day one I brought some fruit for a snack and decided to see what the other co-workers did for lunch. Most of them went out to lunch, but that can get expensive, and most of the options at restaurants are fattening. One girl had made a salad and kept her dressing in the break room fridge. Another was dipping into store-bought hummus. I love to make hummus! It is so easy, healthy and there are many variations that make it so delicious. Plus, pita chips aren’t the only thing you can dip into hummus- so this can be made very healthy!
I googled various Pine-nut Hummus recipes and created my own with elements of each. I prefer to use less tahini (because of the calorie content) in my hummus. I also drain and rinse my canned garbanzo beans. This helps keep sodium content down- I can always add salt if I need to. I like to add a lot of lemon juice in my hummus because I can get away with less salt (lemon is a kind of substitute for salt), and I like to taste the lemon and the garlic. I upped the amount of garlic that was used in all the recipes, and added parsley to mine, a detail that I noticed in one recipe and thought the added color and nutrients would be good.The best part of this recipe was the toasted pine nuts I used as garnish- added flavor and a little crunch to the creamy hummus. I toasted up the pine nuts first with olive oil and some of the parsley. Then I actually blended ¾ of that toasty mixture in the blender with all the rest of the hummus ingredients (for that toasted pine nut flavor) and used the rest as garnish and for crunch.
Pine Nut Hummus
To keep it healthy, I dipped in Low-Fat Wheat Thins, cucumber slices, and carrot sticks, rather than store-bought pita chips which can be high in sodium and fat.
Garbanzo beans are very good for you, and very high in protein. They are also high in calories, fiber, Iron and Vitamin C. Parsley and Lemon Juice will also provide your body with a lot of Vitamin C. Pine nuts add good fat to the recipe, as well as protein.
So, on day one I brought some fruit for a snack and decided to see what the other co-workers did for lunch. Most of them went out to lunch, but that can get expensive, and most of the options at restaurants are fattening. One girl had made a salad and kept her dressing in the break room fridge. Another was dipping into store-bought hummus. I love to make hummus! It is so easy, healthy and there are many variations that make it so delicious. Plus, pita chips aren’t the only thing you can dip into hummus- so this can be made very healthy!
I googled various Pine-nut Hummus recipes and created my own with elements of each. I prefer to use less tahini (because of the calorie content) in my hummus. I also drain and rinse my canned garbanzo beans. This helps keep sodium content down- I can always add salt if I need to. I like to add a lot of lemon juice in my hummus because I can get away with less salt (lemon is a kind of substitute for salt), and I like to taste the lemon and the garlic. I upped the amount of garlic that was used in all the recipes, and added parsley to mine, a detail that I noticed in one recipe and thought the added color and nutrients would be good.The best part of this recipe was the toasted pine nuts I used as garnish- added flavor and a little crunch to the creamy hummus. I toasted up the pine nuts first with olive oil and some of the parsley. Then I actually blended ¾ of that toasty mixture in the blender with all the rest of the hummus ingredients (for that toasted pine nut flavor) and used the rest as garnish and for crunch.
Pine Nut Hummus
1 Can Garbanzo Beans/
Chick Peas (drained and rinsed)
3T Tahini
1T EV Olive Oil
3-4 Garlic Cloves
4T Pine Nuts
1t Cumin ground
1T Chopped Parsley
6T Lemon Juice
1/2t Cayenne Pepper
1.
In a sauté pan: olive oil, pine nuts, cayenne pepper, parsley-
toast the pine nuts
2.
Put half of the mixture in the blender along with all of the
other ingredients
3.
Garnish with remaining Pine Nut mixture and drizzle of quality
olive oil
To keep it healthy, I dipped in Low-Fat Wheat Thins, cucumber slices, and carrot sticks, rather than store-bought pita chips which can be high in sodium and fat.
Garbanzo beans are very good for you, and very high in protein. They are also high in calories, fiber, Iron and Vitamin C. Parsley and Lemon Juice will also provide your body with a lot of Vitamin C. Pine nuts add good fat to the recipe, as well as protein.
No comments:
Post a Comment