Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus has been a game changer for us after adopting a plant-based diet. Let me explain…
My husband used to be anti-hummus. If I bought hummus he would laugh, and I’m not talking about a chuckle, a full on belly laugh. This is the same kind of laugh he would have had 6 months ago if I would have told him we were going to stop eating animals. Do you get it now? He though it was udderly ridiculous, just like so many other things that are now common place for us.
After we changed our diet it was hard to find a good plant-based meal when eating out. I took him to Pita Jungle and introduced him to Jalapeno Hummus. That is the day he stopped laughing at hummus.
We ate Pita Jungle’s hummus on many date nights, we would call in a to go order while running errands, and we even bought a huge Costco vat of Jalapeno Hummus. There are two problems with eating store/restaurant bought hummus. It is more costly than you can make at home and it is not as healthy as you eat at home.
I finally decided to stop the insanity, and all of the extra calories and fat from oil-YUCK, and make it myself.
Cilantro Jalapeño Hummus
Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus
This Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus is a quick and easy plant-based recipe! This oil-free hummus is the ultimate dip for veggies.
Ingredients
- 1 15.5 oz can chickpeas, drained but save liquid
- Juice from 1 lime (lemon can be used)
- a few cloves of garlic (more or less to your preference)
- 2 jalapeno peppers (remove seeds first for a less spicy hummus)
- a handful of cilantro (optional)
Instructions
- Dump drained chickpeas, lime juice, garlic, jalapenos and cilantro into a blender or food processor.
- Add just enough liquid to allow everything to process smoothly.
- Taste test, add extra peppers or spices until the flavor is just right.
- Chill for a few hours before serving.
Notes
This recipe is perfect for dipping veggies, chips, crackers, or adding to your favorite salads, sandwiches or bowls.
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Serve with fresh veggies, pita bread, tortilla chips, in a wrap or as a salad dressing.
I didn’t love this right after I made it, but my husband did. I put it in the fridge and tried it the next day and it was amazing. AMAZING!
Meal Plan Monday: Unprocessed
This week my husband and I are challenging ourselves to to eat only unprocessed foods. Read more about that here. I had noticed a lot of processed foods finding their way into our diet. We weren’t eating hot dogs or other faux food creations, but I felt like I was relying on pasta a little to often. I also love sprouted grain bread and eat it at least once a day usually with peanut butter or almond butter. Sprouted grain bread isn’t bad for you and I’d encourage anyone to try it and make it a part of their menu but I’ll attempt to do without. This week I want to replace it with fruit and vegetables. I will very likely be eating a lot of apples with peanut and almond butter. My friend Aletia will be joining us on this challenge as well as Allie. Thanks friends!
This Week’s Meal Plan
Breakfast will be oatmeal, fruit and smoothies. Sometimes I have leftovers, especially soup.
Snack will be fresh fruit, smoothies, or raw veggies with Jalapeno hummus.
Lunch is typically leftovers, baked potatoes, or a bean and grain bowl.
Dinner
Monday: Minestrone Soup
Tuesday: Black Bean and Quinoa bowl, think Chipotle
Wednesday: Split Pea Soup (I have never made this but my husband has been asking for it)
Thursday: Huge Salad with homemade avocado dressing
Friday: Lentil Taco Salad or maybe a Lentil Loaf from Chef AJ’s book.
Have you planned your menu for the week? Is it Unprocessed? Let us know!
A Happy Potato
On the weekends we like to use up odds and ends in the refrigerator instead of cooking a lot of big meals. One particular weekend we had baked potatoes, chili, broccoli, and black eyed peas. I really enjoy baked potatoes topped with broccoli OR with chili.
I had left the room and when I reentered my husband had this monster on his plate.
Now for a closer look, I believe I even see some spinach in this one…
I looked at this potato that had completely over taken his plate and asked, “What is that?”
My husband said (in a very playful voice),
“That is a Happy Potato!”
Unprocessed
**A special note to my friends: For those of you who think I’m weird enough already this is sure to send you over the edge!
On Monday I mentioned a challenge, an UNPROCESSED challenge. Look at what you ate in the last week, how much of it was processed. Not sure what that means, here is an excerpt from the book Unprocessed by Chef AJ.
What do I mean by unprocessed versus processed food? Whole foods found in the produce section or the bulk section of your grocery store or farmer’s market, and found there in more or less the same state that they were harvested on a farm, are unprocessed; packaged foods with long lists of ingredients are processed. Foods that have been stripped of fiber and refined are processed. Foods that have been concentrated and separated from the rest of the plants they come from– sugars and oils top this list– are likewise processed. Fruits, vegetables, pulses (beans and lentils), while grains, nuts and seeds are unprocessed; Fruit Loops and potato chips are processed. Brown rice, unprocessed; white rice, processed. You get the idea.
Brilliant huh! She goes on to talk about how combining unprocessed ingredients is also eating unprocessed; like cooking veggies in a soup or making salad. She goes into much more detail but you need to buy the book of you want to know what she says. You can also read an interview with Chef AJ here or watch Chef AJ and Julieanna Hever create tasty foods here.
Anyhoo! Who wants to try this with me? How about 90% unprocessed, or just give it your best shot? It will take intentional effort and planning. I will go easy on my kids and feed them a healthy, although not completely unprocessed diet. Toast can be a life saver for my kids, as can coffee for me!
I’ll post a Meal Plan on Monday but a few of the foods we will be eating include oatmeal, Minestrone Soup, baked potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, beans, grains, salads, smoothies, and lots of fresh fruits, and fresh and steamed veggies. Stir Fry would be good also but after my last the Stir Fry Debacle and don’t know if we will try it yet. That means this weekend I will be cooking beans and grains to prepare.
Do you accept the challenge?
Meal Plan Monday
Last weeks meal plan did not work out. We ended up changing plans on several days. I only made the Italian Bake and the Veggie Pot Pie, they were both delicious but I felt like I didn’t cook enough or have near enough leftovers to eat for lunch.
This week will be a different kind of week too so I plan to take it easy on the meal plan, plus I haven’t done my normal “mega veggie buy” at the store yet.
Dinner Meal Plan
Monday: Homemade Veggie Pizza
Tuesday: Special Valentine’s Day Fare that will include Gluten Free Apple Muffins and Gluten Free Chocolate Mousse.
Wednesday: Bean Burritos
Thursday:Enchilada Soup, a.k.a Soup of Awesomeness
Friday: Baked Sweet Potatoes for the kids, dinner out for the parents (hopefully)
This weekend my husband and I notice that The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue was available streaming on Netflix. I’d really wanted to see this movie for a while as I’m a big fan of Fork’s Over Knives. We watched it and realized how we have let a lot of processed food back into our diet. It’s amazing how sneakily it creeps back in. So next week we are going to challenge ourselves to go unprocessed. It wont work for us this week and we want to be fully prepared so this week we will finish off some of the processed food and be ready for next week.
Do you want to join us? I’ll talk more about it this week but I’d like to challenge you to go unprocessed next Monday through Friday. If you are having trouble losing weight this could really help, have I piqued your interest yet? You can bet that the Minestrone Soup will make an appearance in unprocessed week.
Leave a comment if you plan to join us. If you’re a blogger and want to blog about it next week I’ll include your blog in all of next weeks post.
Italian Bake
When I did the grocery shopping over the weekend I bought an eggplant. One of the great thing about a plant-based diet is there are a lot of plants out there to try. I have only had eggplant one other time so when I saw it was on sale I decided to buy it.
Then I had to decide what to make that would be dairy free. I thought about all kinds of Italian dishes then decided to just wing it as usual. While grocery shopping I also saw and bought some Daiya faux cheese to try, more on that later.
I didn’t taste test this before dinner. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out so I didn’t take a picture. The picture below if of it re-heated this morning (for breakfast). I cooked/streamed all of the ingredients separately and put them in a casserole dish but next time I’ll make this a one pan meal. I’ll include directions for both below.
Ingredients
- cooked noodles, I used spirals whole grain noodles but you can use gluten free noodles
- eggplant, peeled, roasted and chopped
- chopped, steamed kale
- chopped, steamed broccoli
- chopped, steamed red bell pepper
- 1 jar pasta sauce
- a few dashes of garlic powder and onion powder
- Daiya faux cheese (optional)
Do
- Layer all ingredients in an oven safe dish.
- Heat for 20 minutes or until warm in an oven at 365 degrees.
To make this a One Pot Meal
- Bring a large pot of water to boil.
- Add noodles and peeled, cubed eggplant to water then boil for 10 minutes. If you want tender broccoli add it now too.
- If you prefer tender-crisp broccoli add it and the red bell pepper 5 minutes into the noodles/eggplant cooking cycle.
- Two minutes later add the chopped Kale.
- Once everything is cooked well drain water. I find it easiest to dump it into a large colander.
- Pour back into your large pot and add pasta sauce.
- Once sauce is warm add faux cheese.
Serve
This can be served with a side salad and french bread or on it’s own.
The Verdict
My husband and I loved this. My 3 year old liked it too but he didn’t like the chunkiness of all the veggies. Next time it might be worth it to puree them in his. The 1 year old loved this too but started having a reaction to something in it. We are not sure what so we will not be giving this to him again soon.
This was tasty this morning but not as good as it was when I first made it. I know it is not typical breakfast food but ever since I ate soup for breakfast last week I’ve been enjoying dinner for breakfast. Soon I’ll make breakfast for dinner and balance out the universe.
I bought the Daiya faux cheese to see what all of the fuss is about. The 3 year old, who really misses cheese like it, or at least liked seeing it on his food. It was OK but I’d rather not have any. It would probably be a good transition food if you really thought you needed cheese but I don’t miss it.
Have you tried any new foods lately?