I remember when I first discovered store bought hummus. Oh my goodness! I thought. Look at all that protein!
How times have changed.
Have you read a hummus label recently? Well yes, the container is green and it says “All Natural” on it, but often times you get a measly 2 grams of protein for 70 calories (what is up with that Sabra?) Further investigation yields 5 grams of fat, and the startling realization that they spike that shit with tons of soybean oil. No wonder it tastes so good, yeah? You’re eating oil flavored with chickpeas. A few other, less popular brands, fair a little bit better. Pitapal has more lemon juice than olive oil, and has 3 grams of protein per 70 calories.
Another hummus myth is that it has to involve chickpeas. Why not make some black bean hummus pizza? This week’s recipe!
But straight up chickpeas have about 5 grams per 70 calories. What is happening to all that protein? The next culprit is tahini. Low on protein, but packing that trademark hummus flavor, a high ratio of tahini to chickpeas guarantees a loss of that vital nutrient that every athletic vegan needs.
This makes me laugh whenever I see my protein shake chugging non vegan friend eating sabra hummus by the container at work. “So good for you!” they say, and I just shake my head. Some advertising executive is making bank by selling GMO soybean oil to consumers and marketing it as healthy.
That’s 6 cups of hummus for $6!
The reality? Hummus is healthy, but only if you make your own. Dried organic garbanzo beans are dirt cheap, and I can make 6 cups of hummus for about $6.00. That is double the amount I would get if I just bought a big container of Sabra. Furthermore, I know just what is in it, and I can control how much fat and tahini and garlic I want to put in the hummus myself. Hummus is easy to make, and a quick google search will give you tons of recipes to try. If you want my favorite, check out my easy breezy cheesy hummus recipe.
Another hot tip? Nutritional yeast flakes. Added to hummus, they produce a wonderful cheesy flavor, and at 9 grams per 60 calories, they give you a flavor and nutritional kick!
My favorite things to eat hummus with are veggie burgers, homemade vegan naan, and carrot sticks.
Naan with the easiest cheesiest vegan hummus . Happy hummus eating everyone!
This Week in Updates: Major Co-Op Spending Spree and new blog idea
A little bump by a little plane. Yay!
Good morning everyone! Happy weird weekend to me, where my Sunday is actually my Monday. Thus, you are all at work and I am running around trying to get all my weekend chores done. Awesome purchases at the co-op on Friday, because it being first Friday I had to take advantage of 30% off. I got protein shake, a couple pairs of made in the USA 80% organic cotton socks (I have like 7 pairs of non winter/work socks now, yay!) some stuff for friend presents, and a new Sacramento Natural Food Co-Op T-shirt which I have wasted no time in converting to a tank top. Hemming it is also on my to do list today. I tried to do math to figure out what the food bill would actually be, taking into account the discount. I think I got it in the ball park. I was hungry, okay? There is a cashew cheesecake in there!
A new blog thing (suggested by Jesse) which I plan on doing, is giving you an estimated price for each recipe. I say estimated because bulk food prices change from store to store, from week to week. I will write down what I list as the price in my weekly shopping list, and your cost should only vary up or down, at most $1-$2.
Oh yeah, I also braided my hair for the first time I can remember, and I am getting a small but respectable back of arm bicep bump. Yay!
The Recipe: Black Bean Barbecue Hummus Pizza
To make your own naan, click here for the recipe.
Delicious, nutritious and cheap, this recipe will help spice up your daily serving of beans. For this recipe, I spent $2 on black beans, $0.75 on a lemon, 0.25 on two garlic cloves, 0.25 on nutritional yeast flakes, 0.10 cents on both salt and olive oil, $2.00 on flour, 0.25 on yeast, 1.50 on tomato paste, .50 on balsamic vinegar, and .10 again on cayenne and molasses. Paprika was too cheap to even count. Salad mix for topping was $1.50.
By my math, that is $9.50 for about 12 naan pizzas.
Ingredients
- 2 recipes homemade naan or store bought (12-14 naan pieces)
- 2 cups dried black beans
- 2 cloves of garlic made into paste
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast plus more for topping
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 can tomato paste
- 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp paprika
- Cayenne to taste
- 1 tbs molasses
- 2-3 cups salad mix for topping
Instructions
- For the hummus, soak and cook the black beans.
- Put black beans in a blender with garlic, yeast flakes, lemon juice, salt, olive oil, and some water if you need to. I used about 1 cup water.
- To make the barbecue sauce, combine tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, paprika, cayenne, and molasses. You can make this sauce even more delicious with the addition of onion and garlic powder.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place however many naan pizzas you want worth of naan in the oven on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 7-10 minutes until crispy.
- Top the crispy warm naan with the hummus, salad mix, barbecue sauce, and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast flakes.
- Enjoy!
Yum
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