Lemony Low Calorie Hummus with Garlic & Cumin

It's no secret that I'm a chips and dip kinda girl. When the smoothness of a dip meets the crunchiness of a chip, my mouth just can't resist. Consequently, it's very easy for me to overindulge when chips and dips are at my fingertips, so I've refrained from buying them for quite some time. Last week, I welcomed guacamole back into the fridge, and this week I'm welcoming hummus! Normally, I buy Sabra hummus, but it's 2 Weight Watcher points plus values for only 2 tablespoons, which isn't worth it to me. The recipe I'm about to share with you is only 1 Weight Watcher points plus value for 1/4 cup! Can we say, "score"?! And I think you'll be very happy with the flavors. I over-salted my first batch, so be careful with the salt. Other than that, I thought the flavor combination was delicious for this low calorie treat.

In case you're unfamiliar with the main ingredient in hummus, let me introduce you to the garbanzo bean. (When the word "garbanzo" comes out of my mouth, it triggers visions of Gonzo from the Muppet Babies in my head. But I digress. Now back to the bean.)

Garbanzo beans are also called chickpeas. Like other beans and lentils, they are very high in fiber and also a great source of protein and iron. And they're cheap, so you get lots of bang for you buck. I used canned garbanzo beans for this recipe, but you could also buy the dried variety (which would increase your preparation time greatly because you would need to soak and cook them first). In my opinion, canned works just fine!

And now for the recipe...

 

 

Lemony Low Calorie Hummus with Garlic & Cumin

(adapted from Not Done Yet blog)

Ingredients

2 cans of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (about 2 cups of cooked beans if using the dried variety)
3-5 cloves of garlic, depending on your taste for garlic (I used 5)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth if you prefer)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Put all ingredients into a food processor and blend until all ingredients are fully integrated and the hummus is a smooth, thick texture. I started by pulsing the mixture several times, scraping the sides and stirring the mixture every few pulses. After pulsing for a while, I let the food processor run for about 1-2 minutes to get the mixture nice and smooth. Pour prepared hummus into a bowl and serve with pita chips, pretzel sticks, or your favorite veggies. Enjoy!

This recipe makes approximately 3 cups of hummus or 12 {1/4-cup} servings. Each serving is 1 Weight Watcher points plus value.