May 21, 2010

God Bless a Chick Pea

Oh, little ball of wonder, you are so good to me. Not you -- a chick pea. These cute little nude-colored balls are one of my favorite super foods. Nutty and buttery-flavored, chick peas are a versatile legume that packs a good amount of protein. Otherwise known as garbanzo beans, chick peas are a good source of both insoluble and soluble fiber. Fiber, my favorite topic of discussion, came up last night between my nursing student roommate and me. On Saturday, I bought a bottle of these fiber gummies I found at Target:
For 2 gummies you get 5 grams of fiber and these suckers are delicious. I told Diana I've been eating them like candy and she looked at me like I was wacky. I told her they weren't doing the trick but they tasted great. She asked me, "Well, are they soluble or insoluble fiber?" Excuse me, what? I heart fiber so much but I never pay attention to different kinds of fiber! Well, nursing student/genius pulled out her school books and we learned the difference:
  • Soluble fiber: binds with fatty acids, attracts water and turns to a gel during digestion. Soluble fiber lowers cholesterol and regulates blood sugar. It is found in oats, oat bran, rice, quinoa, barley, beans, lentils, peas, oranges, apples, pears, berries, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, and celery.
  • Insoluble fiber: helps the food pass more quickly. Insoluble fiber prevents constipation and therefore reduces your risk for colon cancer. It is found in wheat, wheat bran, green beans, onions, broccoli, cabbage, leafy greens, seeds, nuts, raisins, and grapes.
I grabbed my bottle of "candy" and checked out the nutrition label. A serving size is 5g of soluble fiber. Hear soluble - think SOLID. So I'm thinking I have like 25 gummy bears packed together in my intestines right now. LOVELY!

And if you're still reading, let's go back to the chick pea. The main reason why I love them is because lots and lots of chick peas = hummus! Hummus is essentially chick peas, olive oil, fresh garlic, tahini and lemon juice. Easy to devour on pita chips, and just as easy to make at home. 

I put the following ingredients in a food processor. I omitted tahini because I couldn't find it at Publix and was too hungry to go to Whole Foods.
  • 1 15 oz can of chick peas, drained 
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • salt & pepper optional
 Process for about 5 minutes or until you achieve your desired consistency.
Make sure you make just as much of a mess as I did:
And store your hummus in a completely appropriate container:
 Making hummus is easy (chick) peasy!

24 comments:

  1. deliciousness! I love homemade hummus. Check out broccolihut's blog for some AWESOME recipes. They have a few flavors of hummus at Harris- Publix Jalapeno cilantro hummus is the BEST though. I swear- try it try it

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  2. mehhhh i hate chickpeas. ugh they make me gag! i will never eat them in any form other than hummus...which i LOVE haha

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  3. I've never attempted homemade hummus, but there are over 10 different recipes in my new cookbooks. I just need to take the plunge and try it!

    Also, I love the "and was too hungry to go to Whole Foods." Been there! Have a great weekend, chica!

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  4. chick peasy!!! That looks ohhh sooo yummy!!

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  5. Mmm...I've only had hummus once but it was delicious! I'd love to be able to make it at home. Your recipe makes it seem pretty easy :)

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  6. I do love me some chick peas! And I've tried that pistachio gelato at whole foods before- LOVE IT!

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  7. I LOVE chickpeas and your blog! I saw you out last weekend (at Social), but was too starstruck to say hello :P

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  8. hehe easy-chick-peasy!!

    chickpeas/garbanzo beans are amazing little guys! one of my fav beans. i agree hummus is easy and fun! simple to whip up when ur in a rush too and wanna make a quick snack using up leftover veggies from the fridge. :)

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  9. thanks for the fiber lesson - i always get them confused, too :P
    i've never made my own hummus, even though i realize i ought to since i like saving money. i just know i won't be able to achieve the standards i have set after having so much cremay, delicious cedar's :D

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  10. Homemade hummus rocks. My friend makes a raw, sprouted hummus that's to die for!

    I hope those 25 gummie bears find there way sooner rather than later!!! ;)

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  11. Just FYI, if you cannot find tahini, throw in some sesame seeds. Tahini is just sesame seed butter, so one sesame seeds are ground you will get the same flavor. :) I had to do that until I found a jar of tahini. My hubby looooooves homemade hummus. We will make an entire greek meal with it. Grilled chicken, feta, hummus, ect all on lettuce wraps (we don't really eat wheat products). Sooooo good. :)

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  12. i LOVE HOME MADE HUMMUS! andddd i love you! you are awesome! and beautiful! just sayin

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  13. Yummy!!! I am going to try this.

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  14. For some reason I cannot get into hummus at all. For me the texture is weird and I just cant eat it. Yet I see tons of people eating it or making it and it just looks so good. Maybe I don't like store brand and fail at making my own? Who knows!

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  15. I really need to start making my own hummus with the way I have been eating it. save me some money haha.

    looks great :)

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  16. I love chick peas! Hummus is such a staple for me, but I've never tried making it! I finally dug out my old food processor though, so maybe I'll give it a shot. :)

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  17. Goal-need to try this sometime this week. I always go out for my beloved hummus but need to save $$ :D

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  18. I had to learn the difference between soluble and insoluble fiber about 8 years ago due to health reasons.

    PS - I had the WORST thing the other day...Artichoke hummus. Now, I love artichokes and I love hummus so I thought this was a no-brainer...It was HORRIBLE! Don't do it!

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  19. ahh, HUMMUS<3 Sabra fire roasted tomato is the best ive ever had. i use it in place of mayo for egg salad. yummm!!!

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  20. Making hummus IS super EZ. I just whipped up some broccoli hummus yesterday : )

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  21. Would you believe that I am not a hummus fan?! I will probably be banned from the bloggin world for that, huh?

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  22. Christina, what an amazing recipe!!! I totally am going to try this. I love recipes that use items we have around the house. Of course, I'll need to get some chick-peas but agree that they are the BEST!!

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  23. They typically have tahini at Publix... I can't remember but I think last time I got it in the ethnic food section. If you don't have it you can blend sesame seeds with sesame oil in a coffee grinder/something similar to make your own :)

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  24. Wow that hummus looks awesome and so easy! I love an easy hummus recipe like this :)

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