A healthy dip!

Hummus is a wonderful middle eastern dip to have in your fridge. Instead of buying those expensive and high in sodium pre made hummus, try making it yourself. It will save you some money and taste fabulous!

Hummus is not only easy and taste great, but its a great source of nutrients. It's highly nutritional due to a high source of fiber and protein.  Hummus is low in sodium, fat and calories. The veggies that you dip in it, give you an additional nutritional boost. Enjoy this snack and be guilt free.

It took me awhile to achieve a smooth hummus. I had made it multiple times before and couldn't perfect the texture. There were many techniques to increase it being smooth, but did I really wanna spend time removing all the skins from chickpeas or starting from dried beans? This is supposed to be a quick and easy snack. After many trials and recipe adjustments, I had found a wonderfully quick way to make a beautifully smooth hummus.

Hummus Ingredients

Hummus

All ingredients are in

• 1 15 oz. can Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans, drained and liquid reserved

• 4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 1 Lemon, juiced and zested (zest optional)

• 2 Tablespoons Tahini (sesame seed paste)

• 1/4 Cup Chickpea Liquid

• 1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin

• 1 Clove Garlic

• Salt to taste

Directions

Place all ingredients except lemon zest in food processor or Vitamix. Make sure to stir your tahini. It is like the peanut butter of the middle east. It separates when it sits, so mix it up a bit. Blend until smooth. Add salt to taste and lemon zest to taste. Serve with cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, pita bread, or pita chips.

A delightful dip!

Some alternative uses for hummus include:

• middle eastern style seven layer dip
• middle eastern style pizza
• sandwich spread
• can be made in a light salad dressing
• serve with falafel

A colorful presentation!

My favorite green dip!

Guacamole my way! I never used to like guacamole, but when my boyfriend asked for some to put on his fajita, I decided to make it from scratch. Since then I have perfected this wonderful and healthy dip. It is a pretty classic version with a slight short cut. My family and friends all love this guacamole. I have even had people tell me they would buy it from me. But this post will share my secrets for free so that you too can enjoy this wonderful dip. I highly recommend trying guacamole with tacos, fajitas, or any mexican or tex-mex food of your liking. It's super simple to make and your friends will love it!

Guacamole

Serves: 4-6         Cook Time: 0 min              Prep Time: 10 min

• 3 Hass Avocados, scooped
• 1 Lime, juiced
• 1/2 Teaspoon Granulated Garlic
• 3/4 cup Garden Fresh, Jacks Special Salsa, Medium-Hot
• 1Small Bunch Cilantro, chopped
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Combine avocados, lime juice, garlic and salsa. Using a potato masher, mash all ingredients. You can leave it a little chunky or make it completely smooth. I personally like some avocado chunks in mine. Then mix in cilantro and salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Tip- Picking out a ripe avocado at the grocery store can be a challenge. There is always so much produce to choose from. How do you tell the perfectly ripe avocados from the not-so-ripe and overly-ripe? When looking for a ripe avocado, it should be a very dark green/black in color. It should still be firm to the touch, but give a little when you gently press on it with your thumb. It should not be easily dented or bruised. If you cannot find a ripe avocado, buy a hard one and place it on your kitchen counter for a couple of days and wait for it to ripen.