Hummus Recipe…

2 January 2013

Today started well and continued so.

Painting has taken a back seat as I settle into M O D and write about it. That’s fine though, and I am not stressing about it (acid action) because I will be giving equal time to writing and painting as soon as the farm house is finished and I come to the end of the Grand De-clutter! When the cleansing (alkaline) is done, I will have three kitted-out kitchens. Awesome. One for the bushveld, one for the mountains and one for The Tasting Place. (More about that in a couple of months. Watch this space.)

When my restaurant, Marloe’s, was running, I put on so much weight and it just kept coming. I was drinking lots of wine every night and eating great, rich food. Na-a-a! Not good. It has taken me a year to halt that high speed train. I have been at my heaviest about three times through the year (2012) and 6 kilos down at one point. I was always trying to diet and could often be found reading up on new nutritional information. Some diets I have tried over and over, and over…

I am an expert in dieting. I have a black belt in gleaning food information. But none of it has become my personal way of life, My Own Diet, M O D. Remember, you can have your own M O D. All you need is to make informed choices and work with your favourites. Find a way to include them in your daily life without going overboard. Like, right now I am looking forward to a single, Woolies shortbread cookie. It is part of the Plan. 20-30% acid, 70-80% alkaline.

Let’s look at the intake today: 

              Ripe banana (Alkaline)

Black filter coffee (Acid)

Olive ciabatta toast (Acid)

Extra Virgin Olive oil to drizzle (Alkaline)

Baby spinach (Alkaline)

Broccoli (Alkaline)

Arugula/rocket (Alkaline)

Watercress (Alkaline)

Apple (Alkaline)

Ginger (Alkaline)

Snow peas (Alkaline)

Cauliflower (Alkaline)

Peppers (Alkaline)

Cucumber (Alkaline)

Hummus (Acid)

Shortbread (Acid)

Ginger Tea (Alkaline)

Most of the food on that list is alkaline. I didn’t weigh or count anything. It is all about keeping most of my foods alkaline and not overdoing the acid foods, and enjoying a little of what I like.

There were times I thought I would never be able to beat this obesity ogre, but then I started putting a friendly face on it. Fortunately I like where I have come to in my life. I like who I am and where I’m at. Even though there is a large body of skin right now, I am comfortable in it. OK…except perhaps when I run or walk or climb stairs, that is.

I have been carrying this boot camp sack around for so long now, and really, I don’t have to. It is all up to me and finally, my choices. I am taking responsibility for the Plan that I wrote for myself and I am working that Plan.

Tonight I fed my husband a delicious home-made lasagne from the freezer with a side salad. For myself I made…        

Hummus/Houmus

1 tins chickpeas/garbanzos (drained – keep liquid)

1 tin cannellini beans with liquid

4 cloves garlic

¼ cup olive oil

4 Tbs tahini

Cayenne pepper to taste (I used about ¼ tsp)

Blend all in a food processor 

Add saved liquid or water if needed to thin out the mixture

Adjust seasoning

This served as a dip for some delicious raw vegetables. 

Snow-peas, peppers, cucumbers and cauliflower florets, anything you fancy.

I had about a half a cup of hummus and at least two to three cups of vegetables. I am still full.

With dinner I had a glass of good red wine. Now I am drinking water until I go to bed with my ginger tea, and my shortbread cookie.