Hummus can be your healthy breakfast meal: A healthy a.m. meal should satisfy your appetite. It should also provide you the maximum calories to remain energized all day long. Why not picking hummus, the popular Mediterranean diet, as a spread on your breakfast meal !!
Hummus is fully loaded with protein with 4 grams per 1/3-cup serving. Compared to carbohydrate and fat, protein has a high thermic effect close to 30%. Thus your body needs more calories to digest protein. Since the protein meal digests slowly, it can control your cravings for long. Thus hummus in the breakfast meal, will provide you the necessary energy for long. Remember the less you feel hungry, the less you will eat. Therefore, boost-up your metabolism early in the morning having hummus.
Hummus is made up of chickpeas, tahini (sesame paste), olive oil and lemon juice. All those ingredients have higher nutritional values. It is usually used as a dip for bread or pitta. Also as a spread on sandwiches and wraps, as dressing to salad or pasta, or as side dish for main courses. Here are some nutritional facts about hummus :
Excellent source of omega-3 fats: A 1/3-cup serving of hummus contains about 7 grams of mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats (PUFA). Both of these are healthy for your heart. PUFA lower the risk of developing arrhythmia (irregular heart beat) and atherosclerosis (plaque build-up in the arteries). They also decrease triglycerides levels in the blood. Moreover, polyphenols present in olive oil of hummus can help protect your blood vessels which is
also beneficial for colon and breast cancer prevention.
Free of cholesterol: An average size egg (50g) can give you 75-78 calories as well as 187-190 mg cholesterol. If you are watching your cholesterol level, swap egg in your breakfast meal with hummus having “0” mg cholesterol.
With “0’ added sugar: According to American Heart Association, women should consume less than 100 calories of added sugar and men 150 calories per day. With “0” added sugar hummus is a healthy food for you. Foods high in sugar can raise blood cholesterol.
A good source of dietary fiber and thus aids in maintaining your bowels health. Human GI tract is the reservoir of over 100 trillion bacteria. The bacterial gut populations can be shifted to a healthier composition by dietary fibers that provide substrates for bacterial fermentation. Moreover, an association between consumption of high dietary fiber diet and a low incidence of colon cancer has been reported. Furthermore, the FDA has approved health claims supporting the role of dietary fiber in cancer prevention.
Good source of Magnesium and Iron: Iron is the vital constituent of your blood and Magnesium is the essential trace element needed to maintain your heart’s good health. The good news is you are getting both from Hummus as both chickpea and sesame seeds of hummus are excellent source of these essential nutrients.
Can be used as a salad dressing: Though salads are heart healthy but with adding dressings or condiments like butter milk, sour cream or mayonnaise you are in fact gaining extra calories. Enjoy your salad with low salt, low saturated fat dressing like hummus.
Therefore, raise your metabolism with Hummus. Here is it’s easy and simple recipe:
Ingredients needed: 1 cup of mashed garbanzo beans,
1/4 cup tahini,
2 tablespoons olive oil,
The juice of half a lemon,
2-3 tablespoons water
In a blender or food processor, just combine all those ingredients. Whirl until the mixture has the consistency of a thick spread. Garlic or paprika can be added to add a different flavor. Check you tube for recipe videos.
