Green Hummus

My decision to eat better for me food, was one that was not too difficult for me. I already ate like a stinky hippie! : ) But I have been trying to really push out all the highly processed foods completely now, which means having healthy food ready at all times. When I don't have healthy food ready and waiting, it is much harder to eat well, because good food takes much longer than the convenience options. That being said, I am no where near done working on this goal, but having a lot of exciting food choices has made it much more fun than I feared it might (not) be.
Because of this I have been making up a lot of new recipes in the last few weeks.
Tonight I made up a new one because I had a lot of fresh spinach to use. It is a very easy and pretty fast recipe too! Although it does taste better if made a day ahead of time. I am very lucky and have a farmer's market on the corner every Monday night. The produce is so fresh and local, some of it is organic, but I'll take local non-organic over the grocery store any day. When you eat food that is grown in your area, I swear you can feel the difference. There is more energy or something about it, that makes me very happy!
So with that I give you:

Green Hummus

I use my food processor to make this. I can tell you from experience that, yes, you can use a blender... but I can also tell you it is WAY easier(and smoother) with the processor. If you do use a blender than make it in batches, two or three, and then add them together at the end and process again.

I have another little secret for you, too. When you drain off the garbanzo beans, you can save the liquid and use it if the hummus needs to be thinned out at the end, but I didn't use any because the spinach has so much water that I didn't need it. I also rinse the beans under running water to remove some sodium content. If you use the liquid from the can you are adding more back in, of course, just as a reminder. : )

ingredients:

2- 15 oz cans Garbanzo Beans (yes I know I was just talking about processed stuff... but I will be honest it is much easier to make hummus with canned beans. I like dried beans in soups and salads, but for hummus I will usually choose canned. You can use soaked and cooked beans if you want, I'd say about 3 cups.)

3 cups (packed) fresh spinach leaves

*** ok here is where I say that all the following will have wiggle room to your own palate.. feel free to improvise as necessary! : ) But just so you know I measured this time just to try and get it the same next time, since I sometimes have a problem with that! ; )***

2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Cup onion, red or white
2 Tsp Cumin
1 Tsp Course Sea Salt
Freshly Cracked Pepper
3 Dashes Cayenne Pepper (I like heat so if you're nervous start off with 1, because you can always add, but not take away the heat!)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Tahini
6 Tbsp Lemon Juice (this is usually the juice of one large lemon, but if you get a stingy one you can add bottled and it's ok)

1. Add one half of the garbanzo beans to your processor along with the garlic cloves, pulse until coarsely chopped.
2. Add the onion and the rest of the beans, pulse until coarsely chopped.
3. Add the fresh cilantro, salt, pepper, cumin, and dash(es) of cayenne pepper, pulse until worked through.
4. Add fresh spinach about 1 cup at a time, pulse until it has all been worked in.
5. Add the olive oil, tahini, and lemon juice.
6. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

You can eat this right away, but it is usually even better the next day(or two or three) because the flavors marry more. We eat this with carrots, celery, assorted crackers, pita, pita chips, on wraps as a condiment(like with turkey, lettuce, red onions, & tomatoes, or thinly sliced cucumber, red onions, tomatoes and arugula... yum!), on sandwiches, and even just with spoons! The sky is the limit and the more creative the better. I find that my kids will eat more different things if they seem exciting or new. Honestly my kids will eat just about anything I make for them if I do it with a smile.. oh yeah, and cut it into bite size pieces... all sandwiches are in quarters! :) I am pretty lucky that my kids love to eat my cooking... but they are used to it and have always been good eaters.
I hope that you try this, and if you do let me know how it went! : )

Today I am grateful to have my food processor. It is an amazing little machine!
I am thankful that my kids love my cooking! I wish my hubby would get on board!! : )

** I just realized that I don't have a single picture. I need to do a quick alteration for Emily's promotion dress, but I will try to take a picture tomorrow and post it. have a good night! : )***