Following a healthy diet that is as varied as possible is essential for keeping your body healthy.
To help in pursuing this goal are above all foods of vegetable origin such as legumes . In this category, among the most complete from a nutritional point of view are chickpeas , which guarantee a good supply of fibre , vitamins , minerals and vegetable proteins .
Furthermore, they are rich in phosphorus , magnesium and omega 3 which are useful for improving many functions of the body and preserving cardiovascular health ; and saponins , substances which together with the abundance of fibers and antioxidants would favor the reduction of triglycerides and fat in the blood .
One of the tastiest and at the same time fastest ways to eat chickpeas is to use them to make hummus , a dish widely used in Middle Eastern cuisine and present in many dishes of countries such as Turkey, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Greece and Cyprus.
How to make hummus at home
Chickpea hummus is available ready-made in most supermarkets but making this recipe at home is also quite simple.
The necessary ingredients are:
- 250 g of dried chickpeas
- 2 tablespoons tahina ( sesame seed dip )
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 cloves of garlic
- salt
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- parsley
- paprika
Tahina can be purchased ready-made but if you want to cook it you need:
- 100 grams of sesame seeds
- 20 grams of sesame or sunflower oil
Once you have all the ingredients, proceed with the preparation.
The first step is to soak the chickpeas the night before or a few hours before cooking the hummus, and then boil them for the time necessary to make them soft.
Once cooked, drain them and temporarily set them aside to prepare the tahina .
To make it, toast the sesame for 5 minutes in a non-stick pan , turning it with a wooden spoon so it doesn’t burn. Put the toasted seeds in a blender, add the oil and reduce the mixture to a cream .
Then pour the chickpeas into a tall container together with 2 tablespoons of tahini, the lemon juice , 2 cloves of garlic, the oil and a pinch of salt. Blend everything until you get a homogeneous mixture.
If at this stage you realize that the consistency is too solid, you can add a little water to the hummus, being careful not to get the opposite effect, i.e. a mixture that is too liquid. The right consistency of this food is in fact creamy.
Once this step is finished, add a little parsley, paprika powder and a drizzle of olive oil.
Chickpea hummus lends itself to infinite uses and is excellent eaten as a side dish, on its own for a light dinner or as a snack instead of more caloric or health-damaging sauces.
Benefits and nutritional properties of chickpea hummus
In addition to being rich in vegetable proteins , hummus also contains iron , potassium , calcium , B vitamins , magnesium, folic acid (very useful for pregnant women and children because it supports their growth), thiamin and riboflavin which they help strengthen the muscular and nervous systems, Retinol , essential for improving the skin and keeping the tissues young and elastic , and antioxidants which regulate hypertension and improve cardiac health.
This recipe also has diuretic properties , eliminates uric acid , improves digestion and helps fight constipation and eliminate toxins present in the colon .
There is no shortage of carbohydrates inside , which being good are slowly absorbed by the body, to which they give energy and regulate glucose levels .
The benefits of eating hummus are not only derived from chickpeas but also from the other ingredients needed to make it, rich in vitamins, essential unsaturated fatty acids , such as linoleic acid and oleic acid , or Omega 3 fatty acid .
Finally, hummus thanks to its antioxidant properties and the presence of garlic is an excellent ally to fight the cells that facilitate the appearance of tumors.
Hummus is a good natural antidepressant
The beneficial properties of hummus do not seem to be limited to the physical.
A study conducted in 2007 by the University of Tel Aviv, in Israel, in fact discovered that this dish would be a sort of natural antidepressant with effects very similar to those of the drugs used to combat this disease.
The reason lies in the presence of olive oil and paprika among the ingredients, both containing a type of amino acid that favors the production of serotonin which, in turn, gives a widespread feeling of well-being .
Furthermore, hummus satisfies you easily and this helps you relax and help you fall asleep .
Who should be careful eating it
Chickpeas tend to swell the belly slightly, so people suffering from colitis or intestinal problems should seek advice from their doctor before consuming this dish.
