Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Posts Tagged ‘olive oil’

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Chayote Part Two – Roasted Chayote

Posted by terrepruitt on October 30, 2019

As I said in Chayote Part One, I roasted the chayote just like I do all my veggies, although with this one, since I had gloves on I decided to put it in a bowl and toss it with the seasoning.  Usually I put the veggies on the baking sheet and just sprinkle the oil and seasonings on.  When I think of using a bowl I think of tossing with my hands and I never want to get oil all over my hands.  I used gloves to protect my hands from the corrosive enzyme PLUS the spikes.  I was able to hold the fruit-vegetable and cut it.  The gloves “protected” my hands from the oil when I tossed it all together.  So here is what I did.

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three spiky chayote
salt
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
Season All

Preheat the oven to 450° F.

USING GLOVES cut the ends off the spiky chayote, then cut it in half at the point of the seed.  Get out ALL of the seed.   Then use the knife to carefully slice off the spiky skin.  Salt the entire skinless fruit – letting it set a minute.   Then rinse each half off. Then slice it.

Put the sliced fruit in a bowl and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and seasoned salt.  Mix the seasoned fruit well, making sure it is coated with the vinegar, oil, and seasoned salt.  Then spread the slices out on a parchment lined baking sheet, making one layer.

Put it in the oven.  After about 18 minutes take it out and turn over each piece.  Then put it back in the oven for anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes – depending on how you like your chayote cooked.

Then serve.

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Because the video I watched stated that the enzyme was bitter and I didn’t do what it said to take it out, I was afraid it would be very bitter so I salted it first.  I also used balsamic vinegar to try to cut down on the bitterness.  There was NO bitterness at all.  In fact, all I actually tasted was the seasoned salt.  I didn’t get any flavor from the fruit at all.  The texture was nice.  Really if I didn’t know what it was I might have just said it was a turnip or parsnip.

Because of the benefits touted I surely wouldn’t mind eating this regularly.  I have never seen it in a store – but then again, maybe I have and just shrugged and walked away.  I would have never known what to do with a spiky green thing.  I just happen to be lucky enough to have been gifted three in order to try something new.

How have you cooked chayote?  What seasonings do you like on it?

 

 

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Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Popped Corn Toppings

Posted by terrepruitt on March 11, 2019

What do you like to put on your popcorn? What is your favorite popcorn topping? I love popcorn and lately I have been putting a little bit of butter, olive oil, salt, and nutritional yeast. The butter gives it that rich flavor. The olive oil helps the nutritional yeast stick. The nutritional yeast gives it a nice flavor and adds a little bit of protein.

I have really been loving this lately. And it got me thinking . . . . there are so many things that can be put on popcorn . . . . I was wondering what your favorite thing is.

My husband doesn’t really like popcorn and I find that kind of surprising because popcorn is one of those things that I think of as EVERY ONE liking, but he doesn’t.

A few wiki facts (many copied directly):

–Archaeologists discovered that people have known about popcorn for thousands of years.Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes, Cambrian Yoga & Cardio Dance, CYCD

–The term popped corn first appeared in John Russell Bartlett’s 1848 Dictionary of Americanisms.

–Since popcorn remained fairly inexpensive during the Great Depression, the popcorn business was a source of income for many farmers . . . including the Redenbacher family.

–Americans ate three times as much popcorn as they had before when candy production was reduced by sugar rations during World War II.

–In 1981, General Mills received the first patent for a microwave popcorn bag.

–When referring to multiple pieces of popcorn, it is acceptable to use the term “popcorn”. When referring to a singular piece of popcorn, the accepted terminology is kernel.

–Popcorn as a breakfast cereal was consumed by Americans in the 1800s and generally consisted of popcorn with milk and a sweetener.

I didn’t know popcorn was eaten as a breakfast cereal.  Did you?

So what do you like on your popcorn?

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , , , | 15 Comments »

Grecian Soap

Posted by terrepruitt on September 3, 2018

Soap. You might be thinking, “AGAIN?!?!?!” Yeah, again. When I find soap I love I like to post about it. Although, I am remiss in regards to this soap. We got some of this soap last Labor Day at the Belmont Greek Festival and we loved it. I bought a particular scent and I was going to buy some more on the website, but I couldn’t find that particular scent on the website. But I was still going to buy some, but I didn’t (I don’t remember why, probably got distracted and never went back to it) and then here we are Labor Day again — so we bought a lot. I don’t even remember what scent I had wanted, so I just bought a bunch of different ones. This soap is so nice. It lathers up really well and they have a large variety of scents. The vendors are very nice. I cannot remember how many places he said were carrying it now, but I remember being amazed. You can either buy if from their website or at the stores that carry it.

There are a couple of different types of soap. I like the Goat’s Milk and Olive Oil mix. My husband bought the Half Goats Milk and Half Olive Oil kind. The mix is made with Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Safflower Oil, Goats Milk, and Olive Oil*. As I said, it lathers well.  As per the website: Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes no “harsh chemicals, NO parabens, NO sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and NO other sulfates found in most soaps.” And it smells great. We got a variety of different scents.

Coco Mango
Lemongrass (half and half)
Egyptian Musk
Blueberry Thyme
Lemongrass
Plumeria
Sandalwood
Milk & Honey
Aegean Sea (it looks like sand and sea!)
Tuberose
Plumeria (a different look)
Lavender

Believe it or not we only bought a few compared to how many scents they have.  There are a lot more scents available, such as Almond, Coconut, Cranberry-Pomegranate, Cucumber-Melon, French Vanilla, the list goes on and on!

If you like to treat yourself to soap that is nice on the skin or you like to gift special soaps as gifts I would suggest you try this.  I am sure you would be able to find a scent you would love!

Have you ever tried goat’s milk soap?

 

*see their site for the full list of ingredients

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Soap From The Angels

Posted by terrepruitt on October 3, 2016

In my post, Homemade Soapy Goodness from 2014, I talked about how I found some soap that I loved.  I loved it so much I was asking for it as gifts.  My hubby would say, “What do you want for Christmas/your birthday/our anniversary?”  And I would reply, “Soap.”  In 2015 when I went to order more soap, I could no longer find the soap lady.  Her Etsy landing page is still up, but I can’t find that she makes soap any longer.  I did receive some soap from a friend and I loved it so much that I started buying it.  But it went from $4.00/$5.00 a bar to $8.00 a bar – not including shipping.  So I decided I needed to find a new soap to use.  I was just making do with some other kind I had found that was kind of drying, but it was ok.  Since I am always on the hunt for some great soap, my hubby and I usually buy a bar or two from the vendors at any Art and Wine Festival we go to.  Which is funny because we don’t go to many.  We have been going to one – the Milpitas one – for the past two years.  It also funny because the first year, I didn’t buy any. Well, this year we bought some soap from Three Angels Soap – again.

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Then after the second time we went to the Milpitas festival we both bought some soap.  When I used it the whole bathroom smelled great.  That is when I realized that it had to be this soap that my hubby had used and that had made his bathroom smell so great.  I love this soap.

I have tried three kinds so far Memories of Rose, Purple Moon, and Lavender Swirl.  They all smell GREAT!  Lavender Swirl does not lather up as much as the other two.  It also does not make my bathroom smell as good as the other two.  I really liked Purple Moon.  It lathered up great and made my bathroom smell awesome.  I also really like the way it make the skin of my face look and feel.  But so far my favorite is Memories of Rose.  It lathers up great, makes my bathroom smell great and I love the way it moisturized my skin!

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The ingredients include:  Olive oil, Cocoa Butter, Mango Butter, Buttermilk, Greek Yogurt, Coconut Oil, Avocado Puree, Confectionery Sugar, Goat Milk, Palm kernel oil, Aloe vera, just to name a few.  (Not all of these are in one soap, I was just listing some of the ingredients in several soaps).

So . . . YAY!  I found some new soap to love!  I hope that you will give Three Angels Inc. a try when you want to treat yourself to some luxurious soap.  Or you want to treat someone else to so luxurious soap.  Give her a call or check out her website!

Do you have a favorite soap?

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Coconut Oil Passes Muster

Posted by terrepruitt on October 27, 2015

For years I have been hearing about how great coconut oil is.  The claims are numerous.  You’ve probably heard them, too, right? Things like the information found on Medical News Today:  Coconut oil may increase level of HDL (“good cholesterol”).  It may also help improve glucose tolerance and reduce body fat accumulation.  May help decrease waist size. Coconut oil’s fat structure is more difficult for bodies to convert to stored fat and is easier to burn off. Well, I DO NOT like the taste of coconut at all, I don’t even like the smell.  I am not the one that enjoys all that suntan lotion and all those products that smell like coconut.  So I have never bothered to try coconut oil.  I didn’t want to buy it to try it then end up not liking it.  But, I finally decided to try it.  It does not taste or even smell like coconut.

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Wiki has the following to say about coconut oil:

“Coconut oil, or copra oil, is an edible oil extracted from the kernel or meat of mature coconuts harvested from the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). It has various applications as food or in cosmetics. Because of its high saturated fat content, it is slow to oxidize and, thus, resistant to rancidification, lasting up to six months at 24 °C (75 °F) without spoiling.

Many health organizations advise against regular consumption of coconut oil due to its high levels of saturated fat (similar to that of animal fat) having potential to increase risk of cardiovascular disease.”

Also the chart on Wiki shows that coconut oil is only beat out by hydrogenated cottonseed oil when it comes to saturated fat.

So, like everything, if you are interested, you have to do the research and then decide for yourself if it is something you care to add to your diet.  Since coconut oil does not smell nor taste coconutty like I thought it would, I might continue to add it to our diet.  I will at least finish off this container.  We use oil olive which seems to have more health benefits than coconut oil, but as I said, we will at least use up this container.

Do you use coconut oil?  Do you use it for all of your cooking or just certain kind?  What do you use it for?

 

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , , | 4 Comments »

Oil And Paws

Posted by terrepruitt on August 15, 2015

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It is Big Paw’s Pizzeria Savory Dipper – Dressing – Marinade.  It is olive oil with a mix of garlic oil, rosemary oil, herbs, and sea salt.  And it taste like pizza!  I love Big Paw’s products.  They have a Mission Fig Balsamic that is good enough to drink.  I haven’t gotten it in a long time.  But there was a time when it was a staple in my cupboard.  Now that I am talking about it, I think I should invest in some.  They also have a really yummy peach balsamic!

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Another oil that I love to use is Consorzio’s Meyer Lemon Olive Oil.  I am not a big fan of lemon flavor, but this add just the right amount.  I sometimes sautee vegetables with this, but my favorite use for it is to put it in the rice cooker when making rice.  It adds the PERFECT amount of flavor.

Oh, and I just remembered . . . speaking of BIG paws . . . have you seen this?  (The picture below)  This AMAZED me.  I knew bear paws were big.  I know that they are as big as a human head and combined with their strength bears can be very dangerous.  I know all that.  But seeing this woman holding this bear paw . . . . wow.  I stared at this photo for a long time.  It is amazing.

I also stare at photos of people next to lion’s heads and or paws.  Their noses are usually the size of half a person’s face.  Just so big.  This paw just floors me.  And then I look at the claws.  Look, they are longer than the woman’s nose!  Whew.  Just amazes me.
Update:  July 05, 2016 – someone commented on this post with a link to a picture with information as to the true nature of the photo.  I did more research and did find a few sites that confirmed the information.  I even found one site that claimed to have received an e-mail from the sister of the person who killed the bear.  So, the picture of the woman posing with the trophy-that-once-was-an-animal is no longer available on this site.  I only posted it because I believed the caption that was attached to it (it stated the animal was sedated).   It has been replaced with a big hairy paw!

Oh yeah, back to oil . . . . do you have a favorite flavored oil that you cook with?  Do you have one you like to put on your salad?  Or use as a dipping oil?  Or one that you use as a marinade?

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I would like to note that I don’t know “West Coast Native News”.  One of my friends posted this or commented on it so it showed up on my newsfeed on Facebook.  I didn’t look at West Coast’s page, but this is their picture or it’s @sasagronomy’s picture and I want to keep the information regarding the picture with the picture.  This is not a trophy picture!  Update:  July 05, 2016 – Turns out it was a trophy picture, it is no longer available on this site.

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Roasted Green Beans

Posted by terrepruitt on July 28, 2015

You know how I love to roast veggies, right?  Well this is such a super easy one.  I usually don’t roast my green beans because they are not my husband’s favorite vegetable so when I cook them I like to do Green Beans, Onions, and Walnuts because I just love that.  Since my hubby is not that fond of green beans, I don’t cook them that often and I save my cooking of them for that recipe.  But recently I just wanted something to throw in the oven.  Like I normally do.  Wash it, season it, throw it in the oven, and walk away.  That is one reason why I love to roast veggies.  Well, we just happen to have received green beans in our produce box . . . so that is what I ended up roasting.

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Often I try to go into the room to work, because they are quarantined in my office, but usually once I go in they want to play.  Anyway . . . with the extra time I am spending in my office, it is nice to have an easy time with dinner.  And you know roasting veggies is my “go to!”

This isn’t so much about the recipe (because it is so easy) as the idea of roasting green beans.  It could be that someone hasn’t thought about doing it yet.

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Roasted Green Beans

1.5 pounds of green beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
garlic
pepper

Preheat the oven to 450° F

Wash and trim the green beans.  Line a cook sheet with parchment paper.  Put your beans on the pan.  Then drizzle the oil over the beans.  Toss the beans so the oil gets on all the beans.  Spread the beans out so they are one layer on the sheet.  Sprinkle the beans with salt, garlic, and the pepper.

Put the beans in the oven for anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes.  How long you cook your veggies is up to you.  You can check on them and decide how well done you like them.  Sometimes I like them not so done and sometimes I like them well done.  When roasting I am ok with them well done.  With other methods I like them less done.

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Of course you can season them with whatever you would like.  Salt, garlic, and pepper is simple seasoning.  And sometimes that is nice.

Do you like green beans?  Do you like them roasted?  How do you cook green beans?

Posted in "Recipes", Food, Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , | 12 Comments »

Helps My Knee And My Feet

Posted by terrepruitt on May 5, 2015

My knee has been burning.  I don’t know what is the problem in my knee, but I do know why.  So I thought I would put some Arnica Allay on it.  I have mentioned arnica before.  I mentioned it in my post about the cream called Trauma.  I also mentioned it when I posted about my having henna tattoos on my legs and feet.  I used it then not for its healing properties, but because oil is said to help set henna.  Then I mentioned it in a post when I broke a blood vessel in my hand.  At that time I said I would use it.  The thing with the broken blood vessel is that it didn’t actually hurt.  I had attention called to it because I had that 400 bubble survey to do, but aside from that my hand didn’t hurt.  So putting the oil on was to help it heal, but I didn’t need any pain relief.  With my knee there is that uncomfortable burning sensation, so I am using the oil to make that go away.  And ya know what?  It does.  The second I put the oil on the burning goes away.

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With some oils I would not think to rub any left over into my hands, but since this oil absorbs so well, I just rub it in.

A quick Google search revealed there are many arnica products available.  There are creams, oils, ointments.  This particular oil is for external use only.  It is made by Flower Essence Services.  The ingredients are listed as:  “Olive Oil*B; with infusion of Arnica flowers*B, non-GMO tocopherols, essential oils of Sandalwood W, Cedarwood*, Vetiver*, Palmarosa*, Rose*, Cistus* and Helichrysum*; flower essences of Alpine AsterWB, ArnicaWB, Chrysanthemum*B, Indian PinkWB and Star of BethlehemWB

*certified organic, BBiodynamic®, Wwild-harvested

The bottle also states that it is an Herbal balm that provides “soothing and centering during times of trauma, injury and stress.”  It says it is good to be used with a massage or in a bath.  I have put it in my foot bath recently.  It makes my skin really soft.  I feel it helps bring a little relief to my tired feet.  The past few weeks I’ve had a least nine classes a week so little extra care for my feet goes a long way.

This particular oil also has a very nice flowery scent.

A quick Google search will also reveal that there is science has not documented that arnica works at reducing inflammation or pain.  So as with all things it is good to do the research and decide for yourself. My share is that I like it and it works for me. Even if it is just the moisturizing effects of the oil. 🙂

Do you ever use a cream(/oil/ointment) to reduce pain or swelling?  What is your preference?  Have you ever used a product with arnica in it?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Homemade Soapy Goodness

Posted by terrepruitt on August 7, 2014

One time I had my husband buy me some of those yummy soaps from an art and wine festival.  They were really nice.  I think they were glycerine soap or something.  I really liked them.  The had nice names that led you to believe they had ingredients that might be beneficial — as in STRESS LESS, MUSCLE RELAXER, MOISTURE MAGIC.  But, according to the creator, they didn’t actually contain any essential oils or ingredients that would actually do those things.  So that had me thinking I wanted to find some soap that did have some essential oils in them.  Some soap that might actually BE able to reduce stress or relax muscles or moisturize.  So I looked online, of course.  I found an Etsy store for Bubbly Seahorse Soap Company.  Always a bit of a risk buying something you have never tried before, but I took it and I am glad I did.  I love it.  I actually ask for this soap as a gift.  My husband thinks it’s an odd gift to be giving, but he is a guy and doesn’t understand that good quality soap is a great gift!  I like it and it is what I want.  I am not saying it actually has properties that can reduce YOUR stress or relax your muscles or magically moisturize you, but it makes ME happy.  I love it.

The Etsy site says her soaps are made of:  saponified oils, coconut oil, olive oil, palm oil, essential oils, herbs, exfoliates, vitamin e oil, grapefruit seed extract, shea butter, jojoba oil, distilled water, goats milk

My first order consisted of:

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1 – Love Spell
1 – White Honeysuckle and Patchouli
1 – Buttercream
1 – Birthday cake
1 – Cucumber Melon

 

Then in my second order, I had:

—LOVE SPELL (now the Bath and Body Works version! – When I bought it was was the Victoria Secrets version) – top notes of cherry blossom, grapefruit, clementines and strawberries. Middle notes are Georgia peach, black currant, and rose petals.And sweet, white musky base note.
—HONEYDEW MELON –  . . . . refreshing and invigorating fragrance and blend of floral notes.  (I don’t see this on the site currently)
—FLORAL BOUQUET – mixture with highlights of freesia, lilac, and lillies, with low notes of vanilla and berries.
—HONEY ALMOND – Blend of fresh honey and crushed almonds.

I chose these scents to be a part of a small little package of four.  Sadly, the last time I ordered I did not see the variety pack as an option.  I am not certain if she actually offers it any longer.  I really liked it because it was a variety and I learned I didn’t care for Love Spell and the Floral Bouquet.  But I really LOVED the Honey Almond and Honey Melon.  I THINK.  I was hoping she would have pictures of each scent so I could view it online and tell her which colors I liked and then she could confirm what I was thinking.  But she didn’t.  So this very last order I just ordered ones I know I like.

Funny because as I looked at my very first order so that I can tell you what I liked and didn’t like and I had already ordered the Love Spell in my very first order.  I forgot about it with my second order and order it again.  Or I might have thought I would give it to my niece, who I think likes that scent.  Hmmm . . .

Also in my second order (and third order):

—BUTTERCREAM – So rich you’ll want to eat it (but please, don’t), . . .  with heavy whipping cream, peaks of sugar, and enough butter to completely and irreversibly clog every artery you own. . . . . plus a hint of vanilla.
—CUCUMBER MELON – Watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, and fresh green cucumbers combined . . .

As you can see, I’ve ordered these two twice, well, three times if you count the order I just put in.  I love these two.  I don’t actually feel I want to eat the buttercream, but it does smell yummy and it FEELS rich.  Also in this very last order I just put in I ordered the Birthday cake.  It smells really sweet and edible.  It has little beads in it that go away rather quickly.

That is what I found I didn’t like in some of her other scents, like Honeysuckle and White Patchouli and I THINK the Vanilla Latte, the things IN the soap were to rough for me.  They are on one side so I tried to remember to use that side to scrub my feet, but they still escape and I didn’t care for the scratchiness on my skin.  So I am sticking with the soaps that don’t have rough stuff in them.

But other than that the ones I have gotten were all nice, I just like some more than others.

I like to share things I like in case other people might be interested.  I know a lot of people who are interested in soaps with these types of ingredients instead of chemicals.  Also, as I stated good quality soap makes for a great gift.  In fact, I was thinking of giving some of these this year as gifts.

Do you like hand-made soaps?  What scents grab your interest?  

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Hummus With Sweet Potato

Posted by terrepruitt on August 24, 2013

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle Yoga

I have mentioned before that I have fantastic Nia students.  Well, I also have fabulous students in my gentle yoga class.  When I posted about green beans being the only beans I like, except garbanzo beans in a couple of recipes, one of my students commented asking if I liked hummus.  Turns out she just made some with sweet potato.  I asked if she wanted to guest post or give me the recipe so that I could post it.  Just as I say about recipes she used the original recipe as a guide and made it her own.  She gave me kinda what she did (pictured). In addition to bringing me the recipe she actually brought me some hummus.  In a little baggie!  So cute.  So sweet of her.  It was a perfect addition to our dinner that night because I hadn’t really planned a well-rounded meal since I spent a good portion of the day at the vet’s office with my cat.  You know that all medications have side effects and one of hers had a big one so we are now on a different plan on how to handle her issue in order to deal with the issue that came up as a side effect.  I had my very first Thursday morning Nia class that will be Thursdays at 8:30 am the same day.  So being at the vet for hours then coming home and having to get some stuff done before having to leave for Gentle Yoga didn’t leave me time to think about dinner in detail.  So having the sweet potato hummus to serve with a raw bell pepper helped a lot.  And it was delicious.  I modified it only by roasting the sweet potatoes and adding more water.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaHummus With Sweet Potato:

Ingredients (pictured)

1 cup peeled and chopped up roasted sweet potato* (I measured it AFTER I roasted it)
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup Tahini
7 garlic cloves, roasted (or raw)**
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup water (not pictured)

Peel and chop a sweet potato.  Roast it in the oven (at about 450° F with garlic salt and olive oil).  Until it is cooked to your liking.***

Put all ingredients in the blender or food processor and pulse until smooth.****  You can start with less water than 1/4 cup and add as you see fit.*****

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Recipe notes

*I measured the sweet potato AFTER I roasted it

**I used roasted garlic

***I roasted the sweet potato less than I would have if I were eating it

****I don’t have a food processor, I used my blender and I had to scrape and pulse quite a lot.  I did not drizzle with oil or sprinkle with paprika.

*****I will use the “bean water” next time.  (I forgot that I needed water at all otherwise I would have saved the bean water to use.)

________________________________

As you can see there are two different colored spreads in the picture.  I think we might have used different colored sweet potatoes because I can’t imagine a sprinkle of paprika or her + of cumin would change the color that much.  Can you?

Either way they both were delicious.  Hers was more sweet.  Again not sure if it is because of different potatoes or not.  Could be the roasting.

Either way . . . this recipe is just a guide.  A place to start.  Something to look at to say, “Ok, someone has put sweet potato in a hummus and they thought it was good, now what can I do to make it my own?”

Right?  So . . . . go make it and report back!  🙂

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