Zero Fat Hummus

[AdinaA]

Oasis brand makes a Zero Fat Hoummus. I picked it up at a Whole Foods in Chicago, and ate it with celery sticks.

It is seriously good.

The variety I had was Oasis brand "Mediterranean Medley" It has sweet peppers, onions and other veggies in addition ot chickpeas. 2 tbsp had 18 calories and zero fat. 2 tbsp Sabra has 70 calories.

I ate the entire 10 oz. tub - a whopping 180 calories, and it was a satisfying lunch. I know that this thread isn't about diet advice, but a satisfying, a low-cal lunch, that you can grab and go in a neighborhood without kosher restaurants is something I treasure.

It isn't available everywhere, (http://www.omcfood.com/location.html)

Lucky Chicago.

[Funkalicious]

Hummus without tahina should NOT be called hummus. The best low-fat bean dip I ever had is homemade instead of using olive oil I put in whole kalamata olives,roasted garlic, lemon, cumin & salt. A vitamix is the trick to get it super smooth. so so so so so good.

[mcf]

Low fat hummus or hummus with cumin shouldn't be called hummus, it should be called bean dip. ;-)

[cgarner]

My sister makes her “hummus” using the cooking liquid from the chick peas, in a pinch, she uses canned chickpeas (low sodium) and adds that into the food processor along with garlic, lemon juice a sprinkle of coriander and whatever else she wants to flavor with… it turns out pretty good… but honestly, I love real hummus with olive oil and tahini, I understand that this is a nice alternative, but the fats in real hummus coming from olive oil and tahini aren’t bad fats… so just eat less of the hummus or eat less of something else that day. (it’s all about balance)

[mcf]

How do they remove the fat that's in the garbanzo beans, 1 gram per oz? If they're calling it zero fat, it would be false unless they're processing the beans somehow to remove its healthy, natural fat.

[ferret]

Just a math game. 6 ounces of chickpeas has 4g of fat, add vegetables to it and limit your "serving size" to 2 tablespoons and the fat becomes too low to report.

[The Professor]

True.
In any case, this zero fat stuff may be good.
Especially if you add some olive oil and tahina into it. ;-)

[mcf]

My thoughts exactly, minus the tahini. I make mine with garbanzos, fresh lemon juice and garlic, and PLENTY of EVOO, then I spread it on a plate ringed with cucumbers instead of bread or chips, and drizzle more EVOO all over the top, the way it's meant to be eaten as traditionall served.

[barryg]

It's meant to be served with tahina in it :)

[mcf]

I know that's traditional, but it's also traditionally optional. A Lebanese friend didn't use it and I make it his way.

[The Professor]

Right. Sometimes I make it with tahini (or whole sesame seeds tossed into the blender with the rest of the stuff), other times not.

But I'm _definitely_ with you on the 'plenty of EVOO part.

[barryg]

Yea just jibing you, there are a lot of variations. A restaurant here (not Kosher) makes what they call a Turkish hummus with butter.

[craigcep]

What's it missing besides olive (or alternative) oil? What does it replace it with?

[barryg]

The ingredients are listed here: http://www.omcfood.com/products/zeroo...
Looks like just more water and no oil or tahina. Making it more of a chickpea spread than a true hummus--not that there's anything wrong with that.

I don't mind watery hummus but I've had the Whole Foods brand zero-fat hummus (not kosher) and thought it was disgusting, but I will try this brand if I come across it.

[mcf]

It's not zero fat, they're able to make the false claim by keeping the serving size so small that it's under a gram, just barely. It's 10 or 16 grams of fat per container.

[barryg]

Very true and good point. The total calorie count would be correct though, within a small margin of error.

[AdinaA]

No, Barryg. That's not the one I ate. As I stated above, I ate the Zero Fat Mediterranean Medley Hommus: http://www.omcfood.com/products/zerom...

Obviously, it is not traditional Hummus. It is a non-fat alternative. It contains Chickpeas, water, Red Bell Pepper, Cauliflower, Carrot, Celery, Onion, Fresh Garlic, Lemon Juice,
Sea Salt, Cumin.

There is almost no fat in chick peas and vegetables. By cooking and pulverizing the vegetables, Oasis has created a hummous with an excellent mouth feel.

It is not watery, it is delicious.

[mcf]

It would be more honest if they called it "low fat."

[hawkeyeui93]

Chickpeas are low in fat and most of this is polyunsaturated, but it is factually incorrect to argue there is "almost no fat" in chickpeas.

[AdinaA]

Okay. I get it. 2 tbsp., the same serving size that Sabra and many other dips and spreads use, is so small that the fat is not reportable.

My complaint, however, is that this hummus tastes really good - it is a meal or snack that is healthy, kosher, no-work, filling and delicious.

And almost no stores in New York are selling it!

IMHO this is a plot on the part of nefarious Midwesterners. They're truing to keep the good stuff for themselves.http://www.omcfood.com/location.html

[mcf]

That's because people in NY are stubbornly insistent on food with actual flavor. ;-D

[sueatmo]

I don't make kosher anything, but I do make a reduced fat hummus. I leave out the olive oil and add a little chicken broth to all the rest of the traditional ingredients.

I don't see how you can have real hummus without tahini. But then, there are probably some who don't see how you can have real hummus without olive oil.

[mcf]

Yes, I'm one. No tahini, or just a symbolic amount, plenty of EVOO. Drizzled on top, too.

[cheesecake17]

This sounds like something I could replicate at home. Did it have any color from the bell pepper?

[AdinaA]

I'm sure you could. The color and taste was remarkably like hummus. There is also a red pepper variety listed on the website, which I would love to try if they would stock it at Seasons or Fairway.

If you try it, let us know how it works out.