One of the most frustrating things for me, when working with people who want to eat healthier…is their focus on wanting me to tell them what NOT to eat. The fact is…when you're eating healthfully, you're likely to be eating many more foods than you do when you're out of balance. Most people get into ruts and eat the same few foods over and over, because it's easy and convenient.
I always like to tell clients that my job is to get them eating a whole lot more variety, and to make eating FUN, not about deprivation. That way, if there ARE foods you need to cut back on, it will be a little bit easier because you're adding new and fun foods in their place.
So…I thought that challenging blog readers to incorporate a new food a week might be a fun way to move them (that means YOU) gradually toward more balanced eating.
This week I chose hummous. Way back when I was in college, this was pretty much a food that you could only find in esoteric vegetarian restaurants and middle Eastern grocers. Now, I see it in my local grocery store. And I see it in many new and different flavors…garlic, black bean, jalapeno/cilantro, sun-dried tomato…I know I'm leaving out some good ones, but you get the point.
From a medical/nutritional standpoint, I like hummous, because it shows up low on the glycemic index scale (means your blood sugar will like this food!). It's also typically made with olive oil, which is a better fat than the fats you'll find in some other processed foods. From a practical standpoint, it's cheap and it's ready made. On baked pita chips or with vegetables, it makes a great snack.
Last weekend I was doing a demo for a client at Whole Foods and the local hummous guy was down the aisle. His samples were flying off the table faster than he could serve them up, and practically everyone walking by MY demo had a box of pita chips and a package of hummous in their cart. So I'm not just pushing something because of my personal taste. I know that if you've never tried this gem, it's worth being curious to see what the buzz is about.
You can make hummous yourself if you plan ahead and have the ingredients on hand. There are a gazillion recipes to Google, so I'll let you do that legwork.
But for the next 7 days, I challenge you to try hummous. And if you think of it, share your comments. They might make it easier for another blog reader to try something new. What's your favorite brand? How do you like to eat it?