Archives January 2016

Hummus is one of my favourite dips and spreads and my go to brand is Just Hummus. It’s healthy and delicious which is always a win-win in my books.  With a base of wholefood ingredients including chickpeas and tahini, it’s a nutritious addition to the diet.   It’s also the only hummus on the market that meets the Heart Foundation Tick criteria too.

While I love Just Hummus as a dip and a spread, it also makes a delicious base for dressings and salads as it provides a good flavour kick while being healthy at the same time.  I’ve been playing around with the Just Hummus range and I’ve created some new healthy summer salad ideas to help you kick start your healthy summer eating.  These recipes are also budget friendly too, made with simple, nourishing ingredients.  You can also save 50c off your next Just Hummus purchase by downloading a discount coupon here.

Crunchy chickpea salad with Basil & Spinach Hummus

This simple and nourishing healthy summer salad is flavour packed and quick to make. Simply double the ingredients if you need a larger serving size.  This uses the new Just Hummus with Basil & Spinach.
Serves 2-3

1 tin of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 of a 175g tub of Just Hummus with Basil & Spinach
Juice from one large lemon
Half an orange, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 red onion finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped mint
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Place the rinsed chickpeas in a bowl and add the hummus and lemon juice. Stir well to combine.  Add the remaining ingredients and gently mix through. Top with a little extra herbs and seeds.

An alternative version of this is to make with Just Hummus with Kumara & Butternut. To turn this into a yummy lunch, serve on a bed of baby spinach, add some chopped cherry tomato and halloumi.

Iskander style salad with Just Hummus

This dish was inspired by my favourite Turkish takeaway.  I love the combination of flavours and textures, and that’s what I’ve created here. The ingredients list is quite large, but in reality it doesn’t take long to make.

Serves 2-3

Brown rice & quinoa tabbouleh
1 250g microwave packet of Sunrice brown rice/quinoa mix
½ cup finely chopped parsley
¼ cup chopped mint
3 tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
½ red capsicum, finely chopped.
Juice of one large lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil

Crispy chickpeas

1 tin of chickpeas
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon dried oregano

Red cabbage slaw
¼ red cabbage
1 small red onion
¼ cup Italian parsley, chopped
100g feta cheese

2 zucchini, cut into thin slices
2x 120g beef steaks

To serve: Just Hummus with Beetroot & Roasted Garlic and Just Hummus with Basil & Spinach

Cook the brown rice/quinoa mix as per the instructions and place in a bowl.  Fluff with a fork to help separate the grains.  Stir through the herbs, tomato and capsicum.   In a mug, briskly mix the olive oil and lemon juice together with a fork. Drizzle over the salad and mix through.

To make the chickpeas, heat the oil in a fry pan over a medium heat.  Add the chickpeas and sprinkle over the paprika and herbs.  Lift and shake the pan every few minutes until the chickpeas are slightly toasted and a little crispy to bite.  Be careful not to burn them.

For the salad, finely shred the cabbage and place in a bowl.  Finely chop the red onion and add to the bowl along with the Italian parsley. Crumble over the feta cheese and stir to combine.

Heat a cast iron grill pan (or any pan if you don’t have one) over a medium heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and cook the steak for 3-5 minutes on each side (longer if you want it well done).  Leave the steak to sit while you cook the zucchini slices in the pan.  These should take around 3-4 minutes.

Cut the steak into slices and plate up along with the salad, chickpeas and tabbouleh.  Serve with big spoonfuls of Just Hummus with Beetroot & Roasted Garlic and Just Hummus with Basil & Spinach

Mediterranean Salad with Beetroot Hummus Drizzle

The Just Hummus with Beetroot and garlic makes an amazing, healthy dressing for this salad.  And it makes it pretty too 🙂

Ingredients:
3 zucchini
1 eggplant
drizzle of oil
4 handfuls of baby spinach
8 baby beetroot
100g feta cheese
juice from one lemon
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 tub Just Hummus with Beetroot & Garlic

Rinse the zucchini and cut in half lengthwise. Cut each half into four long thin slices.  Cut the eggplant into rounds.  Heat a cast iron grill pan over a high heat, then turn down to medium once hot.  Drizzle over the oil then place the zucchini and eggplant in a single layer on the pan.  You’ll need to do this in batches.  Heat for around 2-3 minutes each side, or until cooked.  Place on top of the baby spinach.  Crumble over the feta cheese.

To make the dressing, mix the Just Hummus with Beetroot & Garlic with the lemon juice and olive oil.  Drizzle over the top and serve.

This makes the perfect vegetable dish to go alongside barbecued meat.

For more yummy ideas with hummus click here and to download your 50c off coupon for Just Hummus click here.

This post was made possible thanks to Just Hummus. All opinions are my own.

One of the things I love about summer is experimenting with new, fresh vegetable and salad ideas to go alongside barbecues, or even alone as a meal.  My vegetable garden is full of produce, and I’ve also topped up at the markets so that means there’s lots of colour to inspire me as I open up the vegetable bins.

Roasting beetroot and carrot brings out their sweetness and in my opinion, cauliflower is best served roasted so the combination of these three vegetables is delicious.  For this recipe, the beetroot are roasted in a balsamic glaze that adds a delicious flavour to the salad when combined.

This is delicious served with brown rice and chickpeas or a serve of protein.

Roasted beetroot, carrot, cauliflower salad with halloumi

Serves 3-4

2 large beetroot
1 bunch of baby carrots, or 4 normal sized carrots chopped into wedges
1.5 cups cauliflower florets
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup green bean
100g halloumi cheese
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius fan bake.  Cut the ends off the beetroot, peel and chop into wedges.  Wash or peel the carrots and chop in half (or into wedges if using normal sized carrots).

Place the beetroot into a slice tin and drizzle over half a tablespoon of olive oil, followed by the balsamic vinegar.  Toss to coat.  Sprinkle over the brown sugar.   (I roast the beetroot separately so it doesn’t stain the other vegetables)

On an oven tray, add the carrots and cauliflower and drizzle over the remaining olive oil. Peel and crush the garlic and sprinkle over the top.

Place in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the cauliflower is lightly browned and the vegetables are cooked.

Steam the beans for 5 minutes, or until cooked, but still firm – we don’t want soggy, overcooked beans.  While the beans are cooking, slice the halloumi into thickish slices (around 1/2 cm) and cut into squares.  Pan fry for a couple of minutes on each side.

To assemble the salad, mix the vegetables together and sprinkle over the cooked halloumi and walnuts.

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