Snack Time: Avocado Hummus

I love avocados and I love hummus, so when I came across a pin on Pinterest for Avocado Hummus, I was excited! (Food nerd alert: Yes, I get excited about recipes I see online.  And the other day, I found myself in the grocery store exclaiming aloud, “Finally!  Tomato paste in a tube!” So yeah, nerd.)  But much to my dismay, when I clicked on the pin, it was an invalid link.  I figured it couldn’t be too hard, so I just winged it!

What I ended up with is an amazing dip that’s great for a snack, with a salad for lunch, or to share at a party.  It is has a wonderful smooth texture.  The creamy butteriness from the avocado and the subtle zing from the lime compliment each other so well, while the beans add a lot of flavor and substance.  It’s sort of like guacamole and hummus fell in love and had a delicious love child.  You can play around with the flavors a little by adding more or less garlic and lime juice/zest.  You could even add some red pepper flakes or jalapeño if you’re feeling froggy!

Not only is this delicious and healthy, it really couldn’t be simpler.  You just add the ingredients to the food processor, stream in some olive oil, and there you go!  And it’s great because you know what’s in it – lots of protein from the beans and good fat from the avocado and olive oil, and what’s not – preservatives (yay!). I had all of the ingredients on hand…no going to the store to buy strange ingredients just to use once.  Plus it’s a pretty green color. 🙂

I love to eat this with multigrain pita chips or blue corn tortilla chips, but you could eat it with whatever salty, crunchy snack you like or even in a wrap or on a sandwich.

Avocado Hummus

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado, halved, pit removed, and removed from skin
• 1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 clove of garlic, grated
• zest of half a lime (about ½ teaspoon)
• juice of half to a whole lime (1-2 Tablespoons, depending how juicy it is and how limey you like things)
• salt and pepper to taste
• up to ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Place all ingredients except olive oil in the food processor.  Blend until beans are well ground up.  With the food processor on, stream in olive oil until desired consistency is reached.  I think I used about ¼ of a cup, but you could use more or less to your liking!

I recommend dipping with multigrain pita chips or tortilla chips. Repeat. 🙂

Enjoy!