Fat Free Hummus to Top Salad

This month both the hubby and I having been eating a big green salad for lunch and dinner and topping the salad with hummus and salsa instead of salad dressing. When we first started eating this I missed the mouth feel that came from a little oil in the salad dressing. But in just a couple of weeks this has become our new normal. Topping the salad with this fat free hummus has the added protein and calories to an otherwise low calorie salad.

I have been experimenting with a few different hummus recipes on our salad, but this is the one that seems to be our favorite. It has a mild flavor that works well with spicy salsa on top of a big green salad. Here is what we have been adding to our salad for protein in place of salad dressing.

Fat Free Hummus to Top Salad
Makes 8 large servings

Ingredients:

1 pound dried garbanzo beans
water to cook beans
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, zested and juiced
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
½ tablespoon onion flakes

Directions:

Cook the chickpeas in water to cover by an inch, with the bay leaves until the beans are very tender. Remove the bay leaves before draining. Using a slotted spoon drain the hot chickpeas and place them in your food processor. To the hot beans add some of the bean cooking liquid and process until smooth and the consistency you like. Add the remaining ingredients and process until everything is well combined. Remember that the hummus will get thicker as it cools so you want it to be a little softer than normal while still hot.

I use a 14-cup processor so I can make this in one batch. If you are using a smaller machine you may need to split the hummus into two batches.

Once the hummus has cooled, refrigerate until needed.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 210.12
Calories From Fat (13%) - 28.05

Total Fat - 3.35g
Saturated Fat - 0.35g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 306.94mg
Potassium - 397.3mg
Total Carbohydrates - 35.65g
Fiber - 9.68g
Sugar - 6.28g
Protein - 11.2g

Comments:

Hummus on salad is something we have been doing off and on for about 6 months. During the last few weeks as I have been trying to keep our diet more in line with “Eat To Live” (E2L), we have been eating this everyday. We use this and salsa on our green salads and it adds both protein and a lot of flavor. It has become my new favorite salad topping. I like the protein and calories it adds to a salad. It is sometimes difficult to make a healthy meal out of salad but this combination works well for a one dish meal when necessary.

Each serving of this hummus contains 180IU of vitamin A, 80mg of calcium, 4mg of iron, 210mg of folate, 210mg of phosphorus, 65mg of magnesium, and 5mcg of selenium. All this nutrition plus 11g of protein and 10g of fiber.