I was shocked to see the hummus selection at my local grocery store. The store has recently been bought by a new company and, as far as I can tell, has significantly downsized its inventory. Yet here they are with a full case of various flavors and brands of hummus--no less than 20 choices!
The one I bought was pine nut. It was an extremely creamy hummus with pine nuts and oil on top, with a small amount of chopped sun dried tomatoes as a garnish.
I was wondering why it tastes so much creamier than the hummus I usually eat. Ah. Turns out it's because it's made mostly of soybean oil. The nutritional content was poor when I compared the two--a third of the protein and fiber, almost no vitamins, and a lot more calories and fat.
Word to the wise: Store-bought hummus is not health food! It's probably healthier than cheese dip or something like that, but definitely not a healthy vegetarian main dish staple.
I did a little research and found out some companies have put baking soda in their hummus. Apparently it makes the product extremely smooth, but it's frowned upon because it robs the vitamins.
I'm going to stick to my brand, but I'm probably going to add more olive oil when I make it. I like the creaminess and need the good fats anyway. I'm also thinking about blending in some pureed spinach, artichokes, roasted peppers, or sun dried tomatoes.
I also made Zaa'tar to sprinkle on top, without the sumac. Haven't tried it yet. I just might pick some sumac berries to try, though. Hmmm...another adventure.
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