Tangy Turmeric and Garlic Hummus

Hummus has got to be one of the best snacks there is, and did you know that when it is traditionally prepared it is incredibly healthy too?

Homemade hummus has a great macronutrient profile, being abundant in protein, good quality fats and low GI carbohydrates. It is also high in calcium from the sesame seeds in the tahini. This particular recipe is also abundant with therapeutic herbal actions too thanks to the inclusion of some great spices.

Unfortunately, most store-bought hummus has been made with the two main principles of the processed food industry guiding the procedure - make it fast and make it cheap.

By making hummus "the fast way", manufacturers neglect the crucial process of soaking the chic peas prior to cooking and end up with a very nutritionally inferior food. By making it cheaply, they substitute a quality oil like extra virgin olive oil with denatured, industrial garbage like canola oil. Don't even get me started on the health implications of this particular switcheroo. That's a topic for another post.

Chic peas, like all nuts, grains, and legumes, must be soaked before they are cooked for optimal nutritional absorption. That is because the raw product contains phytates such as phytic acid and oxalic acid which inhibit nutrient absorption by mimicking digestive enzymes and binding to the vitamins and minerals in your food so that they cannot be digested. And just what is the point of sourcing beautiful, organic ingredients if you are going to eat them alongside a food that is going to guarantee that your assimilation of the nutrients in that food is going to be poor? Phytic acid also can cause moderate to severe digestive upset in some individuals, and is responsible for the bloating and gas people feel when they consume tinned or non-soaked legumes. Oxalic acid is one of the principle elements in calcium oxalate - the most common material that makes up kidney and gall bladder stones.

Removing as much of these poisons from the diet as possible is imperative.

Some people go as far as to remove grains and legumes completely from the diet, but I believe that is extreme and unnecessary when the proper care and preparation is taken. Many traditional societies enjoyed excellent health without cutting these foods out, they simply took the time to prepare them correctly.

So how do you soak your grains, nuts, and legumes properly? Each food is a little different and requires a different soaking time and soaking medium.

All you need to do for the chic peas in this recipe is empty them into a bowl that they no more than half fill (as they will expand significantly), and cover them with the juice from half a lemon and some warm water. Cover the bowl with an upturned plate or some cling wrap and let the chic peas soak for 24-36 hours. You will notice a lot of bubbling, putrid scum rising to the top of the bowl. This is exactly where we want it, rather than trapped in the chic peas and then being ingested. After the 24-36 hours, rinse the chic peas thoroughly and then bring them to the boil in fresh water on the stove. Cook for approximately 90 minutes until they are tender.

That's it! Although the process takes a few days, it literally takes a total of maybe 10 minutes of you actually being in the kitchen doing stuff. So I'm calling BS on anyone that says they are "too busy" to prepare legumes the traditional way.

Suffice to say, this hummus recipe is prepared the traditional way. It is a lot more tangy and flavoursome than most hummus recipes, and that is what I love about it. I am big on spices, for both their flavour and medicinal value, so they feature strongly in this recipe. Raw garlic is hypolipidemic (lowers blood lipids and cholesterol), antimicrobial, and anti-coagulant. Turmeric is the king of spices: it is hypolipidemic, antioxidant, anti-platelet, anti-metastasis (the spreading of cancer), anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcerative, immune modulating, depurative, and hepatoprotective (protects the liver cells from oxidative damage). The. King. Of. Spices.

Anyway, enough nutrition talk... let's get to the recipe.

Tangy Turmeric and Garlic Hummus

2 cups soaked and cooked chic peas (measured after cooking)
1/2 cup tahini
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
The juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves crushed garlic (I processed mine in the coffee grinder)
1/6-1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (depending on how tangy you like it. I used 1/4)
1 tsp Himalayan salt or genuine sea salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground turmeric

Simply process everything together in a food processor until it is smooth. Drizzle with a little olive oil and garnish with fresh parsley or coriander to serve.

This is great as a snack with some raw vegetables and grass-fed cheese, or as I had mine today - a side dish for grilled chicken thighs and rocket salad.

Now get to soaking your chic peas so you can eat this beautiful dish on the weekend!

FFxx

Grain-free, sugar-free, high protein, raw vegan granola

I have discovered what is quite possibly the ultimate breakfast and snack recipe. The same basic, 10 minute recipe can either be chilled and crumbled over unpasteurised yoghurt or almond milk as a beautiful raw granola, or it can be rolled into bite sized spheres to create the most blissful of bliss balls for snacking.

And no, there is genuinely no way yet discovered by man to photograph bliss balls without making them look like poop. My apologies.

Anyway, this recipe is loaded with good, natural fats from the activated nuts, seeds, and coconut oil, and an extra protein kick from the optional addition of Sun Warrior protein powder - the ONLY protein powder I touch as it is made from sprouted brown rice and stevia and contains no denatured and unhealthy ingredients. This recipe contains lots of bioavailable calcium and magnesium in the form of activated almonds and raw cacao. Calcium is so important that the body will leach it from the bones and teeth in order to maintain optimal blood Ca+ levels if dietary intake is inadequate. Magnesium is especially important for muscle relaxation and is great for the ladies and gents who train hard or suffer from any niggling aches and pains. There are loads of antioxidants in this dish too, mainly from the raw cacao, goji berries, maca powder, and chia seeds. We've also got some good carbohydrates from the dates, with an impressive enough mineral profile (and not to mention the fact that it is paired with plenty of protein and fat) to keep this breakfast low GI and not drastically spike blood sugar levels first thing in the morning.

This recipe is grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, raw, and vegan. I tend to serve my granola crumbled over some Alpine unpasteurised goat's milk yoghurt with a handful of fresh blueberries, but to keep the recipe vegan it could easily be crumbled into some almond milk instead of the yoghurt. For optimal nutritional and probiotic profile, I would always recommend the yoghurt.

All you will need for this recipe is a food processor, a coffee grinder (optional) and a small slice pan.

Let's do this.


Raw Granola

2 cups activated almonds (I make my own at home)

¼ cup seeds (I use chia seeds, linseeds, and sesame seeds) pre-ground in coffee grinder (this step is optional but will make the seeds more easily digestible)

2 Tbs tahini

3 generous Tbs nut butter (I use hazelnut butter)

1 scoop Sun Warrior Protein Powder (optional - I used Vanilla)

¼ cup goji berries

¼ cup shredded coconut

6 juicy medjool dates (depending on the size you may need more – use as many as needed to make the mixture come together)

2 Tbs coconut oil

2 Tbs dried rose petals (optional)

1 tsp ground cinnamon (I do mine fresh in the coffee grinder with the seeds)

1-2 tsp maca root powder (optional, loaded with Vitamin C)

2 Tbs raw cacao powder

½ tsp Loving Earth Vanilla Bean Powder

½ - 1 Tbs orange or lemon zest (optional)

1 pinch Himalayan salt

¼ cup Loving Earth Activated Buckwheat

1 Tbs raw cacao nibs

Process all ingredients except for the activated buckwheat and raw cacao nibs in your food processor until it starts to come together. Then, stir in the buckwheat and cacao nibs and either press the mixture into a baking tray lined with cling-film for the granola, or roll into bite-sized balls for a snack! Keep refrigerated and simply crumble the granola over yoghurt, milk, pancakes, or fruit salad when you are ready to eat it!

The activated buckwheat and raw cacao nibs add crunch to this meal, but please omit the cacao nibs if you plan on eating this for dessert and are sensitive to caffeine, as they are quite high in it.

Enjoy, foxes. xx