Hummus Recipes are
Healthy and Delicious

Hummus recipes are real kitchen helpers. Hummus is a lemon and herb bean dip from Middle Eastern cuisine. Even people that don't like beans will probably like hummus, with its lemony taste. Hummus makes a good dip for crackers or veggies, or as a sandwich spread with sprouts, lettuce, olives, and tomato.

Hummus has three main ingredients: chickpeas, tahini and lemons. Each of these is a healing food.

Garbanzos, or chickpeas, are higher in iron than all other beans. And like all beans they contain magnesium and fiber.

Garbanzos are good food for the heart. If you look at the beans, you can see they even look like a heart! That is the doctrine of signatures, an old herbal way of identifying food and its healing properties.

Tahini is a paste made from hulled sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are a good source of calcium, protein and iron.

When you buy tahini be sure to buy a brand that uses mechanically hulled sesame seeds. Otherwise the seeds go through a chemical process that affects the taste. The brands I like to use are Maranatha and Eden foods.

Some cooks prefer to use sesame butter instead of tahini, because sesame butter is not hulled. The hulling of the seed does cause some loss of nutrients. But the hulling process also removed oxalic acids, phytates and enzyme inhibitors, so tahini may be easier to digest.

I prefer tahini because it is lighter tasting. You may want to try both and see which you prefer.

Lemons are healing, too. They provide vitamin C and biofavonoids. Lemon helps you to digest fats, so they go well with the oily tahini.

First you need a pot of beans

to make hummus, I first I soak garbanzos overnight, pour off the soaking water add fresh water and cook on a low flame for about 4 hours. Yes, its a long time to cook, but it helps in digestion. See my article on bean cooking here.
You can also use canned garbanzo beans. You can rinse them off if they have added salt.

Once you have a pot of beans, its easy to make hummus. Just add lemon and tahini and your favorite fresh or dried herbs. Here are some recipes:

Hummus recipes #1

2 cups cooked garbanzo beans

1/2 cup sesame butter or tahini

1 clove garlic

6-8 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

dash cayenne pepper

sea salt to taste

Combine all ingredients and blend in a blender or food processor. You are done!

Hummus recipes #2

3 cups chickpeas

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp coriander

1/4 cup water to thin dip as needed.

Process all ingredients in a blender of food processor. Add water slowly as needed to thin.

Hummus Recipes #3

2 cups chickpeas

1/2 cup tahini

4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced

1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

2 tsp salt or to taste

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend. Ready to serve.

I think you'll enjoy these hummus recipes. Its easy to adjust them to your needs, adding your favorite herbs and just the right amount of lemon for you!

Food for thought:

"To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear" --Buddha

More snack recipes for you:

Granola recipe

Guacamole recipes

Salsa recipes

Tomato recipes

Carrot recipes