Hummus, that creamy, Middle Eastern spread, is a great alternative sandwich filler if you’re looking to cut down on meat and cheese. It also works beautifully as a nutritious dip, or spread onto tortillas as a tasty base for a wrap.

You can get many varieties of hummus, including roasted red pepper or beetroot hummus – yum! But you don’t need to go to your local supermarket to get hold of a pot. Hummus is really easy, and fairly cheap, to make yourself at home.

Nutritional Benefits of Hummus

Before we get into the recipe, let’s just look at why hummus is such a great food to add into your regular diet.

The main ingredient of hummus is chickpeas, or garbanzo beans. These are high in protein, as is tahini, which is made from sesame seeds.
Beans such as chickpeas have been shown to balance cholesterol and blood sugar levels and help protect against cancer and heart disease.
Hummus is a fibre-rich food, which aids digestion and helps you feel fuller longer.
There are several ingredients in hummus, namely chickpeas, garlic and olive oil, which are known to reduce inflammation, which is an underlying cause of so many chronic diseases.
Hummus is also high in many minerals and vitamins, including iron, calcium, B vitamins, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc. This is great for bone health.
Other benefits of eating hummus on a regular basis include boosting energy, aiding healthy pregnancies for expectant mothers, building healthy muscle tissue, promoting weight loss, helping with skin care and hair growth and preventing anaemia.

What do you need to make this at home?

You’ll need a food processor along with all the ingredients. You can use canned chickpeas, but I prefer to buy a large bag of dry chickpeas, such as this one. It needs a bit of forethought, but it’s very easy to soak them overnight and boil them the next morning.

Left-over chickpeas are great to put in salads or have as a tasty snack. I like to drizzle them with olive oil and bake them for a few minutes in the oven first. The chickpea juice, known as aquafaba, can be used in other recipes including making egg-free meringue! You’ll also need to get hold of a tub of tahini (sesame seed paste), but most supermarkets stock this now.

So, without further ado, here’s the recipe:

Easy, Delicious, Homemade Hummus Recipe

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Servings 6 people

Ingredients

1 clove garlic, finely diced or pressed
2 cups cooked chickpeas (see tip above)
juice of half a lemon
3 tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
6 tbsp chick pea juice
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp roasted pine nuts (optional)
1/2 tsp paprika

Instructions

The night before, soak at least 2 cups of chickpeas in water. In the morning, drain and rinse.
Boil the soaked chickpeas, firstly over a high heat, skimming off the foam, then lower the heat and simmer for about 90 minutes. Don’t drain the juice just yet.
In a food processor, add the garlic, chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini. Blend for about a minute.
Add the salt, cumin and chickpea juice from the cooked chickpeas. Blend well for 2-3 minutes until smooth and adjust for taste.
Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts gently in a dry frying pan, stirring continuously. Toast until just turned brown.
When ready, spoon the hummus into a bowl and decorate with a drizzle of olive oil, some paprika and the toasted pine nuts.
Serve with carrot and celery sticks.

Enjoy!!

If you’re generally not feeling your best and would like to make some changes, there are a lot of simple steps you can take by modifying your diet and lifestyle which can have a hugely beneficial effect on your overall health and energy levels, as well as help ease your symptoms. If you’re interested to find out more, jump on a free, 30-minute discovery call with me, I’d love to hear from you.

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Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only and does not replace advice given by your primary care provider. Please see your doctor if you’re considering making substantial changes to your diet and lifestyle.

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