Hummus - An Exploration

Sauces, spreads, choices to add and enhance dishes.

Often these are caloric nightmares. Additional concerns include dramatic jumps in sugars, destruction of a meal's intended nutritional benefits, and (most alarmingly) occasionally you introduce health-conscious no no's like trans fats.

Having started off in the horror section of the dietary library, a short meander to Careful With Your Choices department turns terror into tremendous joy! What started out as bad ideas can become highlights worth having on the table. As always, it's a matter of choice and portion size.

Hummus.

This tasty chickpea dish can be supremely evil, especially when served as an appetizer (I'm lookin' at you, California Pizza Kitchen). The fats-to-calories ratio negate main courses after this as a good idea.

However.... lunch has saved this delicious dish from the alfredo sauce bin. Roasted red pepper hummus with carrots and broccoli to dip? A great lunch choice that has lasting appetite suppression powers, without breaking the calorie bank.

What about condiment power? Careful application of one tablespoon of hummus to the inside of a piece of whole wheat flatbread, onto which fresh bell pepper slices and a couple pieces of grilled flank steak? A treat that tastes a lot naughtier than it is, and satisfying. I shamelessly stole this idea from my friend Lindsey, and I'm never afraid to admit that stealing from her is one of the smartest things I do.

A word on snacking. Hummus can be a delicious treat, it's true. If you're not careful, however, it can also be supremely detrimental to a diet plan. Having pre-prepped pieces of veggies in the fridge makes reaching for pita chips or other less-than-ideal pairings less of a threat, especially when said veggies are right next to the hummus you've got waiting for you in your fridge.

Sauces and dips always present danger to people watching what they're eating. What seems like a harmless handful of a reasonable snack can become loaded with unintended and unwelcome byproducts when add-ons happen. *Know* what you're eating, and don't be afraid to ask what's in the bowl everyone is dipping into before you cover a perfectly good carrot in a 1-tsp=70-calories-but-it-tastes-good nightmare. Just like everything else in life - if you want to be successful at eating healthfully, you have to be aware of the food around you.