Black Eyed Peas, Walnut and Spinach Hummus

I am sitting here writing this post a day later than planned and after considerably more stress than expected. For those of you that don’t know, I am in the process of moving house and the endless viewings of my property and going out to see other properties are taking up a lot of my time. I had planned to write this post yesterday which I had to change because of a last minute viewing of my house and so I had to run around and tidy up and then go out while the viewing was going on.

In itself this act really should not cause a problem but I felt like it was putting back the plans I had to work on this blog and then I started to worry about the knock on effects. Oddly I was thinking about how I was going to reschedule things yesterday evening when I read this inspirational post from Kristy on Keeping it Kind and it reminded me to ‘just breathe’.

I find being self-employed I need to set my own deadlines and schedules which is great but the point of living a life like this is to enjoy things more and if I create the kind of stress that I had when I worked for a big investment bank then what is the point of all the financial juggling to make it happen? Well the answer to that is clearly there is no point and so I took a step back and reminded myself that it did not matter if the post went out a day late or even if it was a week late. Doing this has to be fun, and it is, which is maybe why I get stressed when I can’t do it but I like to think that I am always learning how to be more zen in my life and letting things like this go is part of it.

So after a little stress and a lot of soul searching I am finally able to bring you a lovely simple recipe that is packed full of flavour. For this hummus I have replaced chickpeas with black eyed peas and the tahini with walnuts and then added some yummy spinach for some green goodness. I thought I would do a little run down of some of the main ingredients in this dip and why I love them so much:

 

Black Eyed Peas

 

The first thing to mention here is that these are beans and not peas and so have many of the same nutritional benefits as other legumes. Black eyed peas are high in complex carbohydrates and fibre as well as being low in fat making them an excellent energy source. One of the main nutrients found in these beans is vitamin K which is vital for blood clotting and 1 cup of these yummy beans will give you about half of the recommended daily amount. You will also find a good dose of many of the B vitamins in these beans as well as a decent amount of vitamin A and potassium which is something many of us do not get enough of. Check out my run down on Potassium.

Walnuts

These are one of the healthiest foods you will find and are literally thought of as brain food which is even backed up by the fact they look like little brains. As a vegan it is important to eat foods high in omega-3 and walnuts are an excellent source and a tasty way to boost your intake. A recent study has shown that the antioxidants and phytosterols found in walnuts could help reduce the risk of breast cancer. Like with so many nuts they are also thought to be great at controlling and balancing blood sugar and are an excellent thing to add to your diet in the battle against type 2 diabetes. There are also a number of studies that show numerous cardiovascular benefits and some suggests they could help with the regulation of blood pressure. You will get a good dose of vitamin E from a serving of walnuts which has a number of benefits including being good for your skin. Also in these little nuts are a wide range of the important B vitamins and high amounts of many minerals including manganese, copper, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium. So a small daily dose of walnuts could be a great thing to add to any diet.

Spinach

Spinach is one of those green vegetables we should all be eating more of. I know there is a never ending debate about whether to eat these types of foods raw or not and my take on this is some raw, some not, have a bit of balance and enjoy this wonderful vegetable. I will add it to smoothies, dips, pasta dishes and so much more, it is fairly versatile and packed full of a wide range of vitamins and minerals. Spinach is a good source of vitamins A, B2, C and K, and also contains magnesium, manganese, folate, iron, calcium and potassium. Some of the health benefits are that it has been shown to boost eye health and there may be some help with combatting a number of cancers. It has also been found that eating spinach may increase muscle efficiency so I guess Popeye did not have it that far wrong!

So now you know what is in your dip I have put the recipe below so you can get on an make it and I can go back to my kitchen and get on with chopping and freezing fruit for my smoothies. Trust me you would not believe the odd looks I get when I buy my bananas in bulk but I have a big freezer and love bananas in my smoothies.