Mediterranean Hummus Dip

Food and family gatherings go together like peas in a pod. Our extended family recently got together to celebrate the return of one of my nieces, who had spent 18 months in Greece. We had a wonderful time together visiting and enjoying various Mediterranean and Greek food dishes. What fun times! Colleen and I brought a huge vegetable tray that included a wide assortment of vegetables (perhaps seven or eight times larger than the veggie tray in the picture above). Generally, we bring back a lot of raw veggies after such and event and this veggie tray was the Godzilla of veggie trays and it was huge. Even with a huge banquet of tasty Greek food choices, there wasn't even a tiny morsel of raw veggies left. Now, consuming 1+ pounds of solid green veggies and 1+ pound of non-green, non-starch vegetables daily is a critical foundation to a healthful diet. When you consume 2+ pounds per day of raw veggies you "up" nutritional benefits significantly. This greek dip makes eating raw veggies a gourmet experience. Try it and soon you too will be crying for at least 3+ pounds of veggies daily. Bottoms up folks and you enjoy your favorite raw veggies with this dip! 

Ingredients

1 14.5-oz can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut into small pieces.
1  to 2 cups soy milk (could have used rice milk, almond milk, and so forth) 
1 to 2 Tbsp Johnny's Garlic Spread (Costco carries this)
1.5 Tbsp Italian Herbal Seasoning (dried herbs such as basil, oregano, and so forth)
2 Tbsp Chia Seed
3/4 cup grated Grana Padano (optonal)

 

Instructions 
Add beans, milk, garlic spread, herbal seasoning, and cheese to blender and blend until smooth; then fold into the hummus mix the sun-dried tomatoes and chia seeds. This will turn into a nice thick tasty Mediterranean flavored hummus. I haven't yet tried it without the cheese, but believe it would be equally good. Alter the amount of milk based upon thickness desired. The chia seed and beans end up creating a nice thick dip. If you leave out the chia seed, add a bit more milk. I'm going to try a variation of this recipe today using a different liquid.

Bonus Party Dips 

In addition to this "hit" dip we brought two others. In the first we blended together a dip using 1 can of beans (drained and rinsed), with 1 cup apple sauce, 1 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice, 3 Tbsp peanut butter, and 2 Tbsp of chia seeds. This turned out out to be a wonderful sweet dip. We also made a Ranch hummus that turned out really good.

Party Results 

Once the word got out on the Greek Dip and the other two hummus dips, there was a run on the raw veggies and before you could spell raw broccoli they were all eaten. We also brought naturally leavened bread and when folks figured out that you could spread the hummus dip on the bread, as you would peanut butter, there was a run on the bread too. Even though there were tons of other wonderful dishes brought by other family members, this was one of the few times that we've seen the "pure" healthful foods disappear so quickly.

Why did it work? If it is simple, enjoyable, and healthful people will not only eat it but will come back for more and more. When the palette is satisfied, the stomach is satisfied, and the cells in your body are satisfied you know it, and it feels good and right.

Best,
Jim

See a few other Hummus Blends here (this list will grow this week)

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This looks great! I'll be giving it a try sometime this week.

This Hummus dip looks really good. You also mention a Ranch Dip, but do not include the ingredients nor the instructions. Do you have that recipe elsewhere?

Chia Ranch Dip!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Great Northern beans
• 3/4 cups water
• 2 Tbsp freshly squeeze lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp real or himalayan salt
• 1 tsp dried basal
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1/2 tsp maple pure maple syrup (optional)
• 2 Tbsp chia seeds

Place all ingredients, except chia seeds, in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into container, stir in the chia seeds, and let it sit for at least 10 minutes while the chia seeds absorb liquid and swell (creates enjoyable texture in the dressing). Enjoy!

Julie Greenman said:

This Hummus dip looks really good. You also mention a Ranch Dip, but do not include the ingredients nor the instructions. Do you have that recipe elsewhere?

I made this Chia Ranch dip for Easter and got good reviews!  I thought it was a little strong, but the next day it tasted good to me.  I also wasn't very precise in measuring, so that may have been why it tasted strong too.  I used a date for sweetener instead of the maple syrup.  

Thank you for this recipe!

James Simmons said:

Chia Ranch Dip!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Great Northern beans
• 3/4 cups water
• 2 Tbsp freshly squeeze lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp real or himalayan salt
• 1 tsp dried basal
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1/2 tsp maple pure maple syrup (optional)
• 2 Tbsp chia seeds

Place all ingredients, except chia seeds, in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into container, stir in the chia seeds, and let it sit for at least 10 minutes while the chia seeds absorb liquid and swell (creates enjoyable texture in the dressing). Enjoy!

Julie Greenman said:

This Hummus dip looks really good. You also mention a Ranch Dip, but do not include the ingredients nor the instructions. Do you have that recipe elsewhere?

Becky, with any of our recipes, adjust them for preference. I've made this strong and not strong and prefer it less strong myself. Generally, you can taste what is too strong to you and then just dial those ingredients down a bit until it is perfect for your tastes.

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