Brits have an unhealthy obsession with hummus

[insoectorgina]

It seems to be the only chilled product where a third of an aisle is taken up with a mind boggeling array of versions. Most people think its some king of health food, when actually its filled with generic vegetable oil and has far far more than a packet of crisps.

Its also uber easy to make your own in less than one minute that is vastly superior.

I just dont get it.

I took against the chickpea dip ever since I read an interview with Gwyneth Paltrow where she said her child's first word was 'hummus'.

This thread will probably go, too, it's the same OP as the poppies and shellfish one.

Hummus is a healthy food.

Chickpeas- healthy
Olive oil- healthy
Garlic- healthy

As part of a balanced diet, it's an excellent food.

And all you low carbers, if you need to lose weight, yes it's a good idea to avoid processed high carb food. If you are a healthy weight there is absolutely nothing wrong with some hummus and a carrot stick! If you think that a normal healthy person should avoid that- you need help!

I hate self appointed food police.

They're joy suckers.

Oh I cba and don't have the time to make my own, the only one in our house who eats it is DD, once a week with carrot sticks as her healthy after school club snack. She doesn't like many unprocessed healthy snacks.

Toddler dd loves hummus. Getting meat into her is not always easy so at least this is something she likes that has iron and protein. She had it in pitta with grated carrot for lunch, and it used to be the only way to get her to eat a jacket potato. I mostly make it myself but only because of the amount of salt in supermarket versions. Not sure I'd bother if we didn't have a dishwasher

The nicest supermarket one I've had came from the Co op, but unfortunately we don't have any near us, only when we were on holiday.

Gravity my kids will love that song! DS already goes around singing "I'm all about that baste, 'bout that baste, more butter"!

I think people are confusing high calorie with unhealthy.

I have two dc who do a lot of exercise. Hummus is a fantastic, healthy ;), balanced snack before/mid/after they do their training. They need the calories, in a small portion.

I am currently dairy and egg-free while breastfeeding my daughter and I could practically MARRY hummus.

Thank you hummus, just for being you, even if I do get a bit bored sometimes having you every single week.

I'm quite flabbergasted that hummus/hummus is considered an unhealthy snack. And carrots?????? Eh?!

Surely it's better than digestive biscuits and milk chocolate that I have just scoffed as an afternoon snack.

You mean people that eat hummus don't all have dishwashers. How peculiar I thought the two wen together.

I eat hummous and don't have a dishwasher, I don't actually want a dishwasher

I made hummus for lunch because of this thread, I even fed it to the toddler. There are pringles in the cupboard but I didn't want social services knocking at the door.

I'm surprised that Gwyneth Paltrow didn't name one of her children hummus.

Better Pringles than carrot sticks though.

Carrots are so unhealthy I'd literally be crying and shaking for your toddler reading that you'd given those evil things.

Hummus is its own food group in this house - three-year-old with the world's smallest group of acceptable foods likes it, so it can do no wrong in my eyes. There's nothing unhealthy about it as long as its made with decent oil and isn't stuffed full of preservatives, although admittedly some of the longlife stuff you can get in Turkish groceries is rank.

I make it, DH makes it, we fight about whose version is better, how much tahini, and about different hummuses (hummi?) we ate while living in the Middle East. (Which is really the place to indict if you think Brits have a hummus obsession, OP -

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8375952.stm )

We have concluded that the best we have ever eaten was in a restaurant in Damascus which is, not surprisingly, no longer in existence, so the runner-up (a backstreet place I don't think actually had a name in Abu Dhabi) wins.

I think the only reason it comes up so often on Mn is that it's shorthand for 'midde class' for some people.

I'm also very upset to discover my humus eaters /dishwasher owners Venn diagram was all a lie.

I own lots of other poncey kitchen stuff if that helps moln?

Ooo, I like that yumbox!

Moln I eat hummus and havea dishwasher if that helps.

Do you have a fancy mixer IHaveBrilloHair? Like kitchenAid or dualit (not sure of spelling)

I might throw the current chart away and start a mixer make / hummus maker chart instead.

I most certainly do, and a Kitchenaid kettle and stick blender.

Carrots are only an unhealthy food if you're an anti-carb zealot. It's nuts.

Mmmm nuts...

If my dc weren't given evil, sweet carby veg like carrots, peas and sweetcorn amount of veg they actually consumed would be minimal. Also nearly every child that has ever come round for tea seems to only eat these vegetables!

Last night I made my own pesto flavoured houmous. Tomorrow I may be spiralizing some courgettes to go with my bolognaise sauce Do I win the poncetastic prize?