Fantastic Friday: Chocolate Hummus!

Chocolate. Hummus.

Stay with me, here.

I didn’t know this was a thing.

I really wanted to write about the 75-degree weather for this week’s Fantastic Friday post. In fact, the reason I’m late (posting this on Sunday instead of Friday) is that I was out enjoying the unseasonable weather while it lasted. Today is cold again, so I’m sitting by the fire at my laptop, catching up on the blog.

But I think chocolate hummus is much more unique than the beautiful weather we’ve all been enjoying.

To understand the significance of chocolate hummus, I have to share my “chocolate frosting” dreams. A while back, when my husband and I decided to collectively lose 100 pounds, one of the things that helped was cutting down on desserts. As I decreased my sugar intake, I found I didn’t miss it that much. Ever since I was a kid, I haven’t really been super interested in food (just ask my dad about the tricks he had to do to get me to eat). I prefer just to eat quickly and efficiently and then move on.

Except for chocolate frosting. It’s my Achiiles’ heel.

As I lost weight, I literally had dreams that I was eating a spoonful of chocolate frosting.

Multiple dreams, over days, weeks, and months.

And it’s not like I used to eat tons and tons of sweets. It’s just that I really love chocolate buttercreme frosting. So every once in a while—and this still happens—I will have a dream in which I am about to eat a spoonful of chocolate frosting. And then, just as I’m about to take a bite, I wake up.

And there is no chocolate frosting to be had!

Enter chocolate hummus. I was at Giant picking up my weekly package of hummus (hummus and veggies for lunch helped me lose 50 pounds two years ago), when I saw “Twisted Chocolate hummus.” I figured, what the heck? Give it a try. The package suggested it would be good for dipping fruit or pretzels.

I packed some strawberries the next day for lunch and hoped for the best. And I wasn’t disappointed. It’s not quite buttercreme frosting, but it hits the chocolate spot without doing too much calorie damage. It’s chocolatey and creamy with a bit of cinnamon/heat to it. I could imagine it topping cupcakes and cookies, as a matter of fact.

When I went to Google it, I was startled to find so many recipes for it. In fact, there are numerous recipes out there for dessert hummus, including peanut butter and cookie dough versions! So as I continue to make choices and substitutions in what I eat in an attempt to be as healthy as possible, it’s always exciting to discover alternatives to something as unhealthy as chocolate buttercreme frosting.

Because what would the world be without chocolate?