What comes to mind when you think of healthy snacks? Perhaps fresh fruit, nuts, or yoghurt? While those options certainly have their place, there’s another snack that’s gained significant popularity in the UK for its health benefits: hummus!
Originating in the Middle East, this versatile dip has captured the hearts and taste buds of people around the world, including the UK.
In this article, I’ll explore five reasons why making homemade chickpea hummus is a healthier and more eco-friendly choice.
Reason 1: Healthier ingredients
Nowadays, convenience is king, especially when it comes to meals. Takeaways, fast food, microwaved ready-meals, and store-bought sandwiches and dips are all convenient solutions for busy people.
However, despite claims of healthiness on food packaging, nothing beats homemade foods, especially those made from scratch.
For example, when you make your own hummus at home, you have full control over the ingredients you use.
In contrast, store-bought hummus often contains preservatives to extend its shelf life or lower-quality oils to cut costs.
By making your own hummus, you can use fresh and healthy ingredients, such as organic chickpeas, fresh lemon juice, and high-quality olive oil.
Reason 2: Reduce packaging waste
Aside from using healthier ingredients, making your own hummus can also help reduce packaging waste.
When you buy store-bought hummus, it usually comes in single-use plastic containers or packaging that cannot be easily recycled.
By making your own hummus at home, you can store it in reusable food storage containers, such as Tupperware bowls or meal-prep containers, that can be washed and reused.
This not only reduces the amount of waste you generate but also helps to minimise the impact on the environment.
By choosing to make your own hummus, you’re not only making a healthier choice for yourself, but you’re also contributing to a more sustainable future.
If you do occasionally find yourself buying store-bought hummus, you might notice that it typically comes in a plastic container, sealed with a plastic sleeve, and covered with a plastic lid.
You can actually reuse the container and lid once they’re washed, cleaned, and dried. In fact, these containers can be quite handy for storing snacks like nuts or grapes when you’re packing your lunch for a trip.
By reusing these containers, you can reduce waste and get more use out of them before they ultimately need to be recycled.
Reason 3: Lower carbon footprint
Another benefit of making homemade chickpea hummus is that it can help lower your carbon footprint.
First of all, you won’t need to drive to the supermarket if all you need is a healthy snack like hummus. So the less you need to drive, the less air pollution you contribute to.
Secondly, store-bought hummus is often produced in large factories, packaged, and shipped to various stores, which require transportation and refrigeration.
Again, this transportation process contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and increases the carbon footprint of the product.
By making your own hummus at home, you can eliminate the need for transportation for yourself and for the supermarket delivery trucks.
You can also choose to use locally sourced ingredients, further reducing the environmental impact of your food.
Furthermore, making your own hummus can also reduce food waste. When making your own hummus, you can control the amount you make, ensuring that you use only what you need and reducing the likelihood of leftover hummus going to waste.
So, by choosing to make your own hummus, you can save money on transportation costs, and make a positive impact on the environment while also enjoying a delicious and healthy snack.
Reason 4: Being more cost-effective
Another advantage of making homemade chickpea hummus is that it can be more cost-effective than buying it from the store.
With the recent rise in food costs and global chickpea shortage, the price of store-bought hummus has significantly increased. Even worse, sometimes there may be no hummus left on the store shelf!
While store-bought hummus may seem convenient, the cost can quickly add up, especially if you consume it regularly or almost every day!
On the other hand, making your own hummus at home can be a more affordable option with pantry-friendly ingredients, which are cheap and easy to store.
For example, buying a bag of dried chickpeas and cooking them yourself can be cheaper than buying canned chickpeas or store-bought hummus.
You can also save money by using other basic ingredients such as tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic, which are often cheaper when purchased in larger quantities.
By choosing to make your own hummus, you can not only save money but also have the satisfaction of creating a tasty and healthy snack at a lower cost.
Reason 5: Customizable
One of the great things about making homemade chickpea hummus is that you can customise it to suit your taste preferences.
While store-bought hummus may be convenient, it can be challenging to find a flavour that you absolutely love.
When you make your hummus at home, you can experiment with different ingredients and spices to create a hummus that is unique to your palate.
For instance, you can add more garlic for a stronger flavour or add cumin, paprika, or other spices to give your hummus a little kick.
If you have a sweet tooth, you can even have sweet hummus, such as dark chocolate hummus or snickerdoodle hummus.
Besides the flavour, you can also adjust the texture of your hummus to suit your preference – if you like it creamy, you can add more tahini, olive oil or even yoghurt, and if you prefer it thicker, you can use less liquid.
Furthermore, if you have dietary restrictions or preferences, making your hummus at home allows you to control the ingredients that go into it. For example, you can make a vegan version by substituting dairy yoghurt for a non-dairy version.
Overall, making your hummus at home gives you the freedom to experiment with flavours and textures to find the perfect recipe that suits your taste buds.
Now that you know making your own hummus can have multiple benefits beyond just health and sustainability, why not try making your own? !
Here’s my go-to simple and delicious recipe for creamy roasted red pepper hummus.
This vegan hummus recipe is perfect for a healthy snack, party dip, or, more often than that, I spread hummus to my freshly toasted bread. Yum!
With just a few simple ingredients and a food processor, you can have delicious and nutritious homemade hummus in no time.
Roasted red pepper hummus
Equipment
- 1 food processor (or 1 immersion blender)
- 1 saucepan (or Tatung ricer cooker)
Ingredients
- 100 g dried chickpeas (or 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed)
- 120 g roasted red peppers (you can also replace some red peppers with yellow peppers)
- 2 cloves roasted garlic (add more if you like your hummus to taste more garlicky)
- 2 – 3 tbsp tahini (add up to 4tbsp if you like your hummus to taste nuttier)
- 2 – 3 tbsp vegan yoghurt (add more if you like your hummus more creamy)
- 3 tbsp olive oil (use 1tbsp to roast red peppers and garlic)
- ½ tsp cumin (use ¼ when roasting red peppers and garlic)
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 – 2 tbsp chickpea water (reserved from boiling chickpeas, or use water if using canned chickpeas; to thin the hummus)
- 2 – 3 ice cubes (to thin the hummus)
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ lemon zest (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse dried chickpeas in a colander and remove any debris or stones.
- Add the chickpeas to a large bowl and cover them with tap water.
- Let the chickpeas soak for at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Drain the water from the soaked chickpeas. Then, in a saucepan, cover them with 2 inches of fresh water. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to low or medium-low, and simmer the chickpeas for 30 minutes.
- If using tinned chickpeas, drain and rinse them. Keep 2-3 tbsp of the chickpea water for later use. Transfer drained chickpeas to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the chickpeas on high for 2-3 minutes, or until they are hot and slightly dried out. Cooking time may vary depending on the wattage of your microwave. (see *note 1)
- If you have Tatung ricer cooker, you can steam your soaked chickpeas instead of boiling them in a saucepan. First, rinse the soaked chickpeas and place them in the rice cooker. Cover the chickpeas with a few inches of fresh water, and add 1/2 cup of water to the rice cooker. Then, place the lid back on the cooker and turn it on to steam the chickpeas. Allow the chickpeas to steam until they are tender, which should take about 30 minutes. Once they are cooked, drain any excess liquid and let them cool before using them in the recipe. (see *note 2)
- While your chickpeas are cooking, prepare roasted red peppers and garlic. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Roughly slice the red peppers, peel the garlic skin and rub both of them with 1 tbsp olive oil, ¼ tsp cumin powder and ¼ cayenne pepper. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes. (see *note 3)
- In a food processor, add the chickpeas, roasted red peppers and garlic, tahini, yoghurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne pepper (optional), and 2 tbsp of chickpea water and 2 ice cubes. Blend until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- While the food processor is running, slowly pour in the olive oil until fully incorporated.
- If the hummus is too thick, add another tablespoon of chickpea water or some more ice cubes and blend again until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve in a bowl. Enjoy with flatbread, pita bread, baby carrots, or crackers.
