Hummus Two Ways

Whether it's a snack or a dessert, you can't go wrong with hummus!

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Prep Time 20

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine Mediterranean

Ingredients

Traditional Hummus

15 ounce can of chickpeas rinsed, drained and “peeled” (see note)
2 Tablespoons Tahini sesame seed paste – you can sub out for 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter, almond butter, sun butter, or cashew butter, but Tahini is what gives it the authentic flavor
1 teaspoon minced garlic 2 cloves
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin

Chocolate Hummus

15 ounce can of chickpeas rinsed, drained and “peeled” (see note)
¼ cup cocoa powder
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons oil
Pinch of salt
¼ to ⅓ cup liquid coconut milk, oat milk, almond milk, water, or orange juice – amount will depend on how thick you want the finished product

Instructions

Traditional

Combine all ingredients except oil in a food processor and blend on low.
Slowly drizzle in oil as mixture is processing.
Allow to sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours for flavors to meld.

Chocolate

Combine all ingredient except liquid (milk, water or juice) in a food processor and blend on low.
Slowly drizzle in liquid until hummus is the consistency you want.
Allow to sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours for flavors to meld.

Notes

Dip fruit or vegetables in it, spread it on a pita, eat it with a spoon or your use your fingers if you’re feeling like a barbarian. I’ll let you figure out which hummus to eat which way. I don’t judge.

Keyword chocolate hummus, hummus

Note: “Peeling” the chickpeas, or removing the outer shell, will make the hummus much smoother and creamier. It takes some time but it is DEFINITELY worth it for the finished product. To do this, pinch the chickpea and the shell should slide right off – like so:

chickpea1 1 Hummus 2 ways - Traditional and Chocolate Hummus

You’ll end up with a pile of naked chickpeas and a pile of husks, like this:

chickpea2 Hummus 2 ways - Traditional and Chocolate Hummus

It’s time consuming, but takes away the gritty texture. If anyone has a faster method PLEASE let me know, this took 15 minutes and was ridiculous. I tried to practice mindfulness and about fell asleep. Send help.

Obligatory Fictional Backstory

I was preparing to run a marathon, and was looking for some healthy snacks to fuel up before my run. But let’s be honest here, I have a killer sweet tooth. After all the goodies I ate at Christmas (I’m looking at you, Sugar and Spice cookies, Ultimate Chocolate Cookies and Coconut Macaroons), I decided that I needed to create something a little bit healthier for my sugar cravings. I also am trying to make an effort to eat more vegetarian meals, and traditional hummus is full of protein and vitamins and minerals and it’s also darn delicious.

Every commercial dip that I found was loaded with unhealthy oils, MSG and other questionable additives. Since food is fuel I did not want to fill my tank with garbage or I would never be able to finish the 26.2 miles! So, I decided to come up with my own, full of healthy delicious flavor. Dip fruit or vegetables in it for an extra boost of vitamins!

Real talk:

I don’t run. Like, ever. If you see me running, assume that I am being chased by something far more frightening than exists on earth, because I honestly would rather be mauled by a bear than have to run. The pain doesn’t last as long and death comes more quickly.

That being said, I do actually like healthy foods – carrots, broccoli (it’s fantastic in this soup), tomatoes (great in this soup), kohlrabi, green peppers, sweet potatoes (especially in Sweet Potato Casserole), and even (gasp) kale. But, I really like my dip. Anything tastes better if you put it in a good creamy dip.

I also really like my chocolate. Anything tastes better if you dip it in chocolate. Except maybe garlic.

I am making an effort to eat better lately, which is where the inspiration for this hummus recipe came from. I have found that if I have a bunch of fruits and vegetables already cut up and something to dip them in I’m more likely to eat them, since I’m inherently lazy and when I want a snack I don’t like a lot of prep work.

And now, I will now share with you the thrilling history of the marathon (and my comments)!

“The marathon may have ancient roots, but the foot race’s official length of 26.2 miles wasn’t established until the 20th century. The first organized marathon was held in Athens at the 1896 Olympics, the start of the Games’ modern era. The ancient games, which took place in Greece from around 776 B.C. to A.D. 393, never included such long-distance races.

The idea for the modern marathon was inspired by the legend of an ancient Greek messenger who raced from the site of Marathon to Athens, a distance of about 40 kilometers, or nearly 25 miles, with the news of an important Greek victory over an invading army of Persians in 490 B.C. After making his announcement, the exhausted messenger collapsed and died. To commemorate his dramatic run, the distance of the 1896 Olympic marathon was set at 40 kilometers.”

*record screeches to a halt*

Wait wait wait. So…the guy who ran 25 miles DIED….and we now run 1.2 miles FURTHER to ‘commemorate’ him??? Kinda seems like a giant middle finger to the poor guy, to be honest…

“For the next few Olympics, the length of the marathon remained close to 25 miles, but at the 1908 Games in London the course was extended, allegedly to accommodate the British royal family. As the story goes, Queen Alexandra requested that the race start on the lawn of Windsor Castle (so the littlest royals could watch from the window of their nursery, according to some accounts) and finish in front of the royal box at the Olympic stadium—a distance that happened to be 26.2 miles (26 miles and 385 yards). The random boost in mileage ending up sticking, and in 1921 the length for a marathon was formally standardized at 26.2 miles (42.195 kilometers).”

Aha. Always accommodating the royals/the rich, I see. Or maybe she was thinking ‘No one is dying anymore and this is boring, maybe if we extend the race someone will die? Or at least vomit and pass out?’

“Today, marathon races take place everywhere from the North Pole to the Great Wall of China. In America alone, there are now more than 1,100 marathons each year. For decades, marathons were only open to male athletes. The Boston Marathon, which kicked off in 1897 and is the world’s oldest annual marathon, began allowing female competitors in 1972, while the first Olympic marathon for women wasn’t held until 1984. In 1976, an estimated 25,000 runners finished marathons in the United States; by 2013, the estimated number of competitors who completed a 26.2-mile course had soared to 541,000.”

Who. The Hell. Is running A MARATHON in the NORTH POLE????? Is it to escape the polar bears? Because as I mentioned, I WOULD RATHER BE MAULED BY A BEAR THAN HAVE TO RUN A MARATHON. Is it Santa? It couldn’t be…though maybe that’s how he stays in shape for delivering packages all around the world in a single night…

Source: History.com

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