A Life Without Hummus Is a Life Not Worth Living

My name is Kait and I am a recovering hummus addict……think I am kidding, I assure you I am not! My addiction with hummus first began three years ago, I was sitting down to dinner at a small middle eastern restaurant when a bowl of a beige dip was set in front of me. Apprehensively I looked down at it and then looked at my Dad who smiled reassuringly as he spooned a tablespoon worth of hummus onto his plate and using a pita point shoveled it right into his mouth before going back for seconds!

“Whats it taste like” I inquired reverting back to my cautious and unadventurous five year old self.

“Taste it and find out” My Dad replied.

Tentatively I used a knife to spread a slight amount of the chickpea puree onto a pita before taking a very small bite, not too bad, I went back for more, this time putting more hummus on my pita, by the end of the night the once filled bowl of creamy hummus was now completely gone and my love for hummus began!

After that day I became obsessed with hummus, For the next year and a half I had hummus at least once a day, it became a staple in my diet, I had it with dinner mixed into mashed potatoes (don’t knock it until you try it, the hummus makes the mashed potatoes even more flavorful and creamy), for lunches spread on warm crispy Italian bread with grilled vegetables, and as a snack, eventually giving up on eating it with carrots, cucumbers, and pitas and instead opting for a spoon and eating it straight from the container, is this gross, maybe this is too much to share

A 32 oz container of hummus, intended for a family, would  last me 3 days tops, I made regular trips to the store to stock up on cans of chickpeas (as I began experimenting on perfecting my own homemade hummus), and I would frequent middle eastern restaurants on a regular basis for inspiration! Do you believe me now that I had an obsession with hummus?

The hardest thing since becoming Paleo has been not being able to have my hummus anymore, after the first week of being hummus free I found I was having intense hummus withdrawals, I craved the creamy texture and the delicious taste, I even resorted to looking at picture of hummus on pinterest, but that only intensified my cravings. I didn’t want to revert back to my old eating habits, but I knew there would be no way I would go through life without ever having hummus again ( I know you think I am being dramatic, but unless you too are a hummus addict you wouldn’t understand)!

Then one day fate led me to find a Paleo hummus recipe, which the author claimed tasted very similar to the real thing, so I decided to give it a shot! Not only does this dip look exactly like hummus but it has a quite similar taste, of course there are some key differences.

1) The Paleo hummus isn’t as thick or creamy as real hummus

2) The Paleo hummus has a less bold taste

3) Paleo hummus is much healthier and easier to puree

So all in all at the end of the day Paleo hummus isn’t real hummus, but it is an excellent substitutes and makes for the perfect replacement anytime I find an intense craving coming on, I knew I could never live my life without having hummus in it and thanks to this recipe now I won’t ever have to!

Ingredients

1 large zucchini peeled

1/4 cup of tahini

3 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp of lemon juice

1 tsp of cumin

1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil + 1 tsp used for garnish

a pinch of paprika (for garnish)

Method

1) Add zucchini and garlic to a food processor pulse on high until zucchini and garlic are finely chopped

2) Add in remaining ingredients and process on high until contents are smooth and creamy, taste and add additional seasonings

3) Garnish with additional olive oil and paprika, refrigerate for at least one hour before serving