Lentil Hummus

As you guys know from this post, I'm a big fan of quality hummus. Sometimes it's hard to get real hummus (made with olive oil and tahini) from your typical grocery store, so it's often best to make it yourself. I came across this recipe from Whole Living and was really excited because I had all of the ingredients at home! Of course, as always I adapted it slightly, using cumin and more garlic instead of the parsley.

I liked to buy precooked lentils from Trader Joe's in the refrigerated section. The only ingredients are lentils and spices, and they can make a really convenient and hearty meal when heated with sauteed onions and mushrooms atop a bed of spinach. Lentils are a wonderful source of fiber and protein, and they have a great texture that lends a wonderful base to homemade hummus!

All you have to do is combine all of these ingredients in a food processor or blender. This recipe calls for cashew butter, which you can buy at Whole Foods or other health foods stores. You can also make it yourself by blending cashews in a food processor until smooth, then adding the other ingredients. This recipe made a nice, thick hummus paired well with carrot sticks, cucumber slices, tomato wedges, and rice chips. I also used it as a side for my salad. This recipe is a great source of healthy fats, protein, fiber, folate, and iron.

Ingredients:

1 cup brown or green lentils (again, I used TJ's precooked - the whole package)
1/4 cup cashew butter
Juice of 2 large lemons
1/2 tsp. finely grated garlic (I used about 2 tsp. of garlic powder)
1 T. Cholula or other hot sauce
Sea salt
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. cumin

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender.






Combine until smooth.


Below is my cheeseball attempt to do some food styling with rice chips. A little Stonehenge-esque, no?


Enjoy with cut up veggies, whole grain pita, or even smeared on a sandwich!

Enjoy!

*M*