Home-made Hummus

Supermarket hummus is great as there are so many varieties these days.  It's instant,  perfect for picnics, parties or to keep in the fridge at work to eat with rice cakes for lunch.  My only problem is the fat content.  Certainly the popular brands of hummus at my local supermarket are quite high in fat.  Don't get me wrong, supermarket hummus is often spotted on my shopping list, but I try and make my own when I can, as it costs less, is low in fat and my son just loves it.  He's not into the flavoured varieties, he likes plain old hummus.

My home-made Hummus Recipe

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas
1 roasted garlic (see below) squeezed out of it's skin
juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 heaped tablespoon lite greek yoghurt
salt and pepper

I use my kitchen whizz to make hummus and it literally takes 5 minute if the garlic was roasted the night before(or when I last cooked in my oven).

Place all ingredients in a bowl and blend until you get the right consistency. 

My son's favourite accompaniment to hummus is brown rice crackers.

Tuna Beans and Greens

This is a great lunch, easy to prepare and a good lunch box snack for those working people (I am an occasional working woman, so on my work days I need good portable food I can prepare in minutes)  Going along with my theme of the week being high avoidance of sugar and wheat based carbs, this recipe is both filling and tasty without leaving you wanting for more.

Tuna Beans and Greens Recipe

Ingredients
1 400g can cannellini beans
1 can tuna
2 lemons
2 teaspoons of garlic oil
chopped cucumber
baby spinach leaves
chopped spring onions
parsley

Method
Drain the can of beans in a colander and rinse with water.  Put the beans and tuna in a mixing bowl.  Squeeze the lemons over the tuna beans and drizzle over olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and mix together.  Add the salad vegetables and toss together.

I packed this into my lunchbox today with a sprinkling of sesame seeds on top.  Delicious.

Boysenberry and Apple Strudel

Tomorrow night we have decided to only have desserts for dinner because we can. As this isn't 'best practise' when it comes to parenting, I was trying to think of a recipe that might contain fruit and protein, that might be 'almost healthy'. Then the word 'strudel' popped into my mind. No, it is not healthy, but it is good, and if you're only going to eat desserts then why not have your favourites. It does contain fruit and ricotta cheese which is healthy, just ignore the sugar and butter parts of the recipe. If you want a truly healthy dessert, try freezing banana and strawberry bite size pieces. Blend these with a little yoghurt/milk until it reaches ice-cream consistency. The end result is sugar free ice cream which can be lactose free if you use soy milk or yoghurt.

Anyway, back to the strudel...

75g butter
90ml light muscovado sugar
3 egg yolks
1 lemon, grated rind only
¼ tsp nutmeg, grated
250g ricotta cheese
8 large sheets filo pastry
200g boysenberries
2 apples, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp sliced almonds
icing sugar, for dusting
To serve créme fraîche


Preheat the oven to 190C. Soften 15g of the butter. Place it in a bowl and beat in the sugar and egg yolks until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon rind, nutmeg and ricotta. Set aside. Melt the remaining butter in a small pan. Working quickly, place a sheet of filo on a piece of greaseproof and brush generously with the melted butter. Put a second sheet on top and repeat the process. Continue until all the filo has been buttered and layered. Spoon the ricotta mixture over the filo pastry and spread until it covers the pastry - leave a border around the edge. Scatter over the apples and boysenberries. Fold in the filo border and use the greaseproof paper to carefully roll up the strudel. Grease a baking sheet with butter and place the strudel on top. Scatter the almonds over the top. Bake the strudel for 35-40 minutes until golden and crisp. Dust with icing sugar and serve with créme fraîche.