Creamy Homemade Hummus

Making your own hummus is easy and economical. Once you make your own, you will never want to pay for store bought again.

Hummus is a middle-eastern spread made with chickpeas, or garbanzo beans, and tahini, a paste made from sesame seeds that has a texture similar to that of peanut butter. Typically eaten with flat bread or pita bread, hummus also makes a fantastic dip for vegetables.

Chickpeas are a good source of fiber, protien and potassium. Sesame seeds are also a source of protien, as well as Vitamin E and are a powerful antioxidant. Traditional hummus also includes garlic which has a multitude of health benefits including managing cholesterol.

All you need to make hummus are the following ingredients and a food processor. A blender will work if you don't have one, just make sure you add the ingredients in small amounts as you blend.

Ingredients:

1 can organic garbanzo beans, drained

3 Tbs. of tahini

1 clove of garlic

sea salt to taste

lemon or lime juice to taste (1/2 to 1 Tbs.)

water for desired creaminess

Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans.

Most canned garbanzo beans are packed with salt. Draining and rinsing the beans will reduce the sodium content of your hummus as well as giving you control over the creaminess of the final product.

Put the garbanzo beans in the food processor with the tahini, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Feel free to chop the garlic a little before adding. Some food processors do better when the garlic is chopped first. You can also add more if you are a fan of garlic.

Add water as you blend the ingredients. The more water you add, the creamier the hummus will be.

Olive oil is traditionally added as a garnish to the finished product.

My favorite way to eat hummus is wrapped in pita bread with falafel and tabouli.

Hummus can be kept in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Once you get started you will find all kinds of flavor combinations you enjoy. Hummus is also great made with roasted garlic, roasted red peppers or jalapeno peppers.

I've also seen hummus made with black beans, sun dried tomatoes, olives and even spinach.

Adding a whole roasted eggplant is also a fantastic addition and creates a whole new Middle Eastern spread called baga ghanoush. This spread tastes best once it has been refrigerated for at least three hours after blending.