Beans for Dessert
When it comes to dessert, fruit is always your best option as it’s naturally sweet and offers a healthy dose of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It is also well established that fruit consumption is linked to lower risk of chronic disease. If you want to stay on track with your healthy diet, improve your biometric screening results and you’re bored with having fruit for dessert, try Dessert Hummus!
You’re likely familiar with hummus, the traditional middle eastern chickpea dip that pairs perfectly with crunchy carrots, cucumbers, and celery. Its main ingredient, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), has grown in popularity so much that the United States Department of Agriculture expects crop plantings to reach record highs in 2019. This trend reflects our newfound love for all things chickpea!
Put off by the idea of beans for dessert? We promise it’s better than it sounds! Ground chickpeas have a smooth and delicate flavor that serves as a backdrop for more distinguished sweet recipe ingredients. Dessert hummus not only tastes great, but it also contains many beneficial nutrients to support overall health.
One serving (1/4 cup) contributes approximately 4 grams of fiber towards your daily target. Reaching your daily fiber goal promotes digestive regularity and can reduce your risk of developing heart disease. Along with a healthy dose of fiber, chickpeas also contain slow digesting resistant starch which lends to steady blood sugars and sustained energy levels. Chickpeas make a great addition to any meal (especially dessert!) because they contain a soluble fiber called pectin, which can bind to cholesterol and block its absorption in your digestive tract. Soluble fibers also undergo fermentation (break down) by gut bacteria to generate substances called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs may help reduce gut inflammation, promote digestive regularity and elicit satiety. Americans, on average, eat only 16 grams of fiber per day, missing the mark for optimal digestive health by nearly 50%! It is always a great idea to incorporate more fiber-rich foods into your meals, snacks, and desserts.
Beyond chickpeas’ fiber-rich profile, chickpeas also contain folate, iron, magnesium and a plant sterol called sitosterol. This plant sterol inhibits the absorption of cholesterol from food, helping manage healthy blood cholesterol levels.
How do you transform a traditionally savory dish like hummus into a dessert? To start, whereas traditional hummus includes tahini, our dessert hummus opts for peanut butter! Peanut butter or any nut butter should only contain two or fewer ingredients – nuts and a small amount of salt. Many store-bought peanut butters include added palm oil (a saturated fat) and added sugars. This swap, along with the addition of dark chocolate and a small amount of maple syrup, makes for a mildly-sweet dip perfect for eating with a side of sliced apples, bananas, melon, or whole grain graham crackers.
Still not convinced? Try it out for yourself with one of the recipes below and share your dessert hummus creation with friends, family, and coworkers!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dessert Hummus
Servings: 8 Serving Size: ¼ cup Calories per serving: 175 calories
- 1 can chickpeas drained, rinsed, and skins removed
- ¼ cup creamy natural peanut butter or almond butter
- 3 tbsp. maple syrup
- ½ tbsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup mini dark chocolate chips
Blend the hulled chickpeas, peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract in a blender or food processor. Stir in most of the chocolate chips, reserving ~1 tbsp. to sprinkle on top. Serve with sliced apple, banana, or whole wheat crackers. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Brownie Batter Dessert Hummus
Servings: 8 Serving Size: ¼ cup Calories per serving: 150 calories
Ingredients:
- 1 can chickpeas drained, rinsed, and skins removed
- 5 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk, like almond- or soymilk
- ½ tsp. salt (or less)
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Add all ingredients except non-dairy milk to a blender or food processor. Blend ingredients until the mixture reaches a smooth consistency, then slowly add milk while blending. Add additional milk in small amounts until desired consistency is achieved. Serve with sliced apple, banana, or whole wheat crackers. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
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