When You're Hungry for a Snack...

On a day where you don't feel like leaving the house (in my case because of my snow) and you are having people over, or you just plain need a healthy snack, you can still create this pretty, yummy and nutritious treat for cheap!

I also bring this to parties a lot because it looks a whole lot better than just bringing a plate of veggies with some hummus. The picture to the left is actually from one of my Healthy Eating Supper Clubs that I hosted at Whole Foods Market in Fort Collins, CO. I served this, to rave reviews, as an appetizer. The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

1 english cucumber

1 package of oil-free roasted red pepper hummus (or if you can't find it, make it yourself with recipe below!)

1 cup of raw cashews (toasted if you are feeling ambitious!)

NO JOKE THAT'S IT! I'll tell you how to assemble below and will also give you my recipe for homemade hummus that's to die for, in case you want to keep the "homemade and healthy" thing going on. I highly encourage this because then you can make your hummus without oil.

Method

Wash the english cucumber and cut off the ends. Then peel the cucumber so the skin looks like stripes! Slice into 1/2 or 1/4 inch rounds and spread on a plate. Spoon a heap of roasted red pepper hummus on top of the cucumber slice and garnish with a cashew. Serve! This yummy dish is fresh, healthy and balanced with all the components that make a dish taste great! Try for yourself!

WHY skip the oil?

Because if you look at the label here for Spectrum Olive Oil (it will be pretty much the same label for any olive oil you get), you'll notice that the serving size is only 1 TABLESPOON, and that in that one tablespoon there are 120 calories-all from fat!!! So if you are adding, say 1/4 cup of olive oil to your hummus-that's about 4 tablespoons equalling 480 calories all from fat!!! And you don't even feel full from those calories!

People will argue back and forth about the potential health benefits of olive oil. I'm not here to talk about that. Whatever you believe-fine. HOWEVER-no one can disupte that olive oil is 100% fat and if you are trying to lose weight or be healthier, it is not ideal because again you will be getting calories that won't fill you up. Instead I recommend ditching the calories and getting your fats from whole plant sources (not the extracted ones in this case) to fill you up with nutrients, fiber and the like. You'll see a real difference once you stop cooking like Rachael Ray and Paula Deen. Really! It can be simple if you let it be.

Homemade and Healthy Hummus (no oil in this recipe!)

Ingredients

1 can no-salt-added garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed-some of the liquid reserved

lemon juice (from a real lemon, not that funny lemon-shaped squeezie bottle)

1 tbsp horseradish (the kind from the store that doesn't have preservatives)

2 tbsp tahini (which is just crushed sesame seeds-good, healthy fat)

fresh ground pepper

dash of low sodium tamari

dash of cayenne

dash of cumin

dash of paprika

dash of coriander

(add a few roasted red peppers from a jar if you are making the hummus for the dish above)

Directions

Blend all ingredients to taste. You can used the reserved bean liquid to thin out the mixture with flavor (to replace the oil). Remember, taste along the way. Add more spice if it needs it. Enjoy!