My family is a big consumer of hummus. We just love the ease of including it as part of a snack or lunch. Starting on Wednesday however, I am doing a 3-week sugar detox and chickpeas, an important ingredient in hummus, is NOT allowed. Lucky for me, a friend told me to look into making zucchini hummus. WHAT?!
Zucchini is versatile
I know zucchini is very versatile; after all you can make zucchini noodles, zucchini roll-ups and zucchini boats. But who knew you could make hummus out of it!
Well I am here to tell you that you can and it tastes great.
Zucchini is full of health benefits
Zucchini is a summer squash, but is available year round. It’s high in Vitamin C, copper, manganese, magnesium and potassium. It’s a great source of dietary fiber as well. Zucchini’s health promoting benefits include regulating blood sugar, keeping inflammation in check and providing immune support through antioxidants. Make sure to eat the skin along with the flesh and seeds for these benefits.
So the next time you have some zucchini and are tired of making noodles, give zucchini hummus a try!!!!
Zucchini Hummus Recipe (adapted from Paleocupboard.com)
Ingredients:
1 large (or 1 ½ medium) zucchini, peeled* and chopped
1 large lemon, juiced (@ ¼ cup)
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (plus extra for garnish)
1 tsp. cumin
½ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
¼ tsp. of olive juice (from a jar)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Dash of cayenne pepper (to taste)
Dash paprika (for garnish)
Chopped cilantro (for garnish, optional)
1. Place the lemon juice the zucchini, olive oil, cumin, sea salt, black pepper, olive juice, garlic and cayenne pepper in a food processor (or blender) and blend until smooth. You may need to scrape the sides once or twice.
2. Transfer the hummus to a medium sized bowl and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a couple dashes of paprika for garnish. Eat within 3 days.
Serve ¼ cup of the hummus with sliced carrots and celery as a snack.
Note: Save the peels for soup or part of a zucchini noodle dish.
Reference:
George Mateljan. Summer Squash. In: The World’s Healthiest Foods, 2nd ed. Seattle, WA: George Mateljan Foundation; 2015: 420- 429.
Image: Copyright: http://www.123rf.com/profile_atoss'>atoss / 123RF Stock Photo
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