Week two of my Meatless Monday experiment found me on my own for dinner, as Peter happened to have other plans today. I don’t know about you, but I’m not a real fan of cooking for one. I think a big part of what I find satisfying about preparing a meal is having others enjoy what I’ve made, so there isn’t quite as much motivation to go to the effort just for myself. When I’m on my own I still eat properly (well, for the most part!), but tend to be a little more relaxed about actual mealtimes and also what I choose to eat.
Never fear, though – I stayed true to my personal goal today, and had a Meatless Monday! And even though I didn’t actually cook a proper meal for myself, I did make something yummy and meatless – so I consider it a win.
Zesty Hummus
Today’s project was a batch of Zesty Hummus from The Eat-Clean Diet. I’ve made the regular hummus from The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook, but hadn’t tried this particular version, so thought I’d give it a whirl.
Whenever I make hummus it always takes a little longer than it should and turns out slightly less smooth and creamy than I would like, because while I am very happy to have rediscovered my Cuisinart Mini-Prep, the whole thing would be a lot easier with a proper food processor.
But I got it done and, if I may say so myself, the end result was absolutely delicious! (So delicious, in fact, that when I ran out of broccoli to dip I actually licked the plate clean. There’s one advantage of eating alone – no one to gross out but yourself!)
I rarely stick 100% to any recipe, and this time was no exception, though I actually didn’t deviate too much. I added two large cloves of garlic instead of the one called for in the recipe – because if one is good, then two must be better, right?! (No apologies – I love my garlic!). Also, I didn’t actually measure the pepper (because HOW do you measure out freshly ground black pepper, anyway?!) – I just ground some directly into the mix until it seemed right.
This hummus is, as the name (and my additional garlic!) would indicate, zestier than “regular” hummus – and I love it. I think this will be the hummus recipe I stick with and adapt in the future.
Do you have a favourite recipe for hummus?
Do YOU know how to measure out freshly ground black pepper?!
Please share your wisdom!

Yum. I clicked when I saw your post on FB GBE. We do meatless mondays, too; in fact, my hubby recently confessed mondays have been his favorite dinners lately, so we just did a whole meatless week. Anyway, I used to get my hummus creamy by adding a little MAYO, which worked well but was SO inauthentic it really bugged me! I finally figured out I can use a little plain yogurt instead, and this works well, too.
Twitter: alphabetsalad
September 30, 2013
Wow – good for you guys, doing a whole meatless week! I’d love to know some of your favourite recipes, as I am always looking for new ideas. And what a great idea about the yogurt – thank you! Glad you stopped by. 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Peche Island Day 2013
Becky is a hummus lover. I am not. I think Meatless Monday is going to be hard for me.
Twitter: alphabetsalad
October 1, 2013
It’s definitely a challenge to go meatless, even just for one day! I hope you’re able to find some vegetarian recipes that are yummy to you.
Laurel Regan recently posted… Photo A Day Challenge – September 16-30, 2013
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