Pumpkin Hummus

 

Silly me to think that things would slow down in November. Silly silly me. I'm not sure where I got that cock-a-mame idea, but boy was I dead wrong. Bright side people, its winter squash and root vegetable time. I love this time of year, mostly due to the fact that not only is orange my favorite color, I'll eat just about anything that is orange, including bags of candy corn at a single sitting. I'll eat them until my teeth ache - that's usually the sign to stop. I've got a few more business trips this month, but nothing like last month thank Jebus, where I spent 14 of 31 nights in a hotel room - meaning 16 days on the road eating road food. I came away with only putting on 3 pounds which I am going to take as a minor victory, it could have been worse, much worse. 

So, need an idea for healthy snacking, try this recipe from Cooking Light, its great with carrots, celery and pita crisps as dippers, and it's orange. Whip some up for your Thanksgiving appetizer hour, or as I like to call it, "someone better open up that friggin wine before I lose my shit" hour. Ah, the holidays, aren't they swell.

Pumpkin Hummus | WW 2pt

2 tablespoons tahini (sesame-seed paste)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon pumpkinseed kernels, toasted (optional)  

Place tahini and next 7 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor, and process until smooth. Add parsley; pulse until blended. Spoon hummus into a serving bowl; sprinkle with pumpkinseed kernels, if desired. Serve with pita wedges.

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: about 3 tablespoons hummus and about 3 pita wedges)

CALORIES 117(20% from fat); FAT 2.6g (sat 0.4g,mono 1g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 3.7g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 43mg; SODIUM 330mg; FIBER 2.1g; IRON 1.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 20.4g
Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2005