Over the last year or so I have become terribly addicted to Hummus. Seriously no one would understand my addiction... Including my own husband. Hummus is just one of those things that is so easy, so healthy, so filling, and just so GOOD! Now that we have gotten over the fact that I love hummus so much I will go on about what this blog is actually about.
As I have become addicted to it, my addiction has become expensive. Paying $3.00 to $4.00 per container of hummus I think is outraged. Who could seriously charge so much for some garbanzo (chickpea) beans, tahini paste, whatever flavoring inquires them, maybe some lemon or garlic, and olive oil. I mean what a profit they are making charging people $3.00 or $4.00 for a container of hummus that they could eat in one sitting. People are crazy!
As an attempt to become self sufficient, I decided to inquire about making my own hummus. After finding numerous and numerous recipes online that all required "tahini paste" (sesame seed paste) as a main ingredient I was a tad bit bummed. Tahini paste is another one of those mystery ingredients that tends to cost a fortune. I am however, not willing to pay the $6.89 cents per bottle of tahini paste to make my own hummus. On to another solution.
I started with a can of chickpeas that cost me a whopping .50 cents in the food processor. I added the juice of 1 lemon that cost me .33 cents. I added 3/4 cup of olive oil (not sure how much this cost since I buy it in bulk, so we will count this as free.) I added 2 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds that cost me .08 cents at Central Market. You must add the sesame seeds, it gives the hummus the sesame seed taste but without the cost of the $6.89 cent tahini paste. I added salt and pepper and 2 cloves of garlic chopped. A whole clove of garlic cost .50 cents so two cloves probably cost 8 to 10 cents. Blended well in the processor. Placed in a bowl with dried parsley, Cayenne pepper, and additional olive oil for drizzle. So needless to say I made hummus for .96 cents and let me tell you I am forever an "anti-store bought hummus" lover.
Needless to say the purpose of this post was to not only inform you how easy you can make your own hummus, but to also advise you to not fall in the trap of prepared foods. You can easily make something at home, just as tasty, and be able to control the ingredients for one third of the price of the shelf stable prepared foods you find today in today's super markets.
So to the old store bought hummus OUT and homemade fresh hummus IN!
Happy Hummus Eating!
P.S. Trying putting anything and I mean anything to change up varieties. Here are a few suggestions:
Blue Cheese Hummus with walnuts
Spinach Artichoke
Vegetable Hummus (bell pepper, onion, etc.)
Ranch Hummus (add a package of Hidden Valley Ranch dried dressing)
Olive Hummus (do a mixture of black, green, kalamata olives)
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
There are endless options in making hummus! Pick a new one each week and you will never run out! Enjoy!
