Chick Peas, Hummus and Dessert

I like chick peas. I like them in salad cold and I find them okay in chili. Hummus is one of those once in a blue moon type of snacks for me, but sometimes a craving calls and it hits the spot.

Recently a recipe for "Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip" has been circulating on all of my favorite "good for you" food blogs. I am all about this. I love chocolate chip cookie dough a little bit more than I love chocolate chip cookies, and man do I love me a chocolate chip cookie.  The photos of it, such as this one from Roni at Green Lite Bites had me drooling. I had to have it.

And then I read the recipe.

CHICK PEAS?!

I struggled with this. I really did. It looked SO good. And all the comments said it was! I have this same struggle with the recipe for "Black Bean Brownies". It just sounds so... welll you know. But the temptation for a low calorie, healthier fudgy brownie option is enough to make me consider trying it every once in a while.

Today, I decided to convince myself. Who says chick peas cannot be made into a creamy dreamy dessert? Who decided that hummus had to be a savory flavored dip. WHY CAN'T HUMMUS BE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH FLAVORED?  I really had myself riled up and ready to go. Off to the food store I went to get the supplies.

Back home, my confidence started to wear thin as I opened up the can of chickpeas to rinse and drain them. But I pushed forward. My sister came in around the time I was scooping the peanut butter into the blender full of chick peas.

"What could you possibly be making with chick peas and peanut butter?" I wasn't in the mood to explain to her because she would probably wear me down to the point that I admited this was a crazy experiement and went back to eating chickpeas in salad (where they belong...or do they?!). "Hummus" She mumbled something about hummus being green (thinking of guac maybe? who the heck knows) and I got back to business. Here's what I did. Adapted from Green Lite Bites. 

1 can of rinsed and drained chickpeas
3 tablespoons of peanut butter
3 tablespoons of agave and 1 tablespoon of honey
quick shake of salt
quick shake of vanila
1/4 cup of vanilla almond milk
a generous amount of dark chocolate chips
Combine all ingredients except for almond milk and chocolate. Add a small amount of milk and blend ( I used the puree setting). Keep adding milk to keep it going. It was not easy to keep it mixing. It took a lot of stiring and pulsing. Probably a food processor is a much better option for this reason, but all in all it was fine.
Pour in bowl and fold in chocolate chips.

Well, honestly, it was delicious. I would have liked it a bit sweeter and grainer so next time I will follow some other advice I saw and include some brown sugar. The idea of it is still iffy to me, but then I taste it and it's GOOD and it tastes like cookie dough. I just need to kind of gear myself up to eat it. I wish that wasn't the case, I wish I was a little bit more open. But I'm trying!

PB Banana and Honey Breakfast Sandwich- 5

A sweet gooey way to get a boost of energy and nutrients.

Toast a whole wheat english muffin, (I used fiber 1)
Smear half a tablespoon of reduced fat peanut butter and load with sliced bananas
drizzle honey across the top of the other side. Place on top and make a sandwich.

Flatbread BBQ Chicken Pizza

An experiment gone so right.

Red Onion
Chicken Breast
Lavash Bread
Jack Daniels Honey BBQ Sauce
Low Fat Mozzarella
Gouda

Preheat Oven to 450
Boil and Shred Chicken, mix with BBQ Sauce
Carmelize onion in olive oil on low heat until soft, sticky and brown
Toast Lavash bread (cut into 4 pieces) in oven. Spray cookie sheet and toast bread on sheet for 4 mins.
Remove onions from pan, brown and heat chicken in pan until hot.
Smear BBQ sauce on each "slice". Add chicken and Onions.
Sprinkle cheese
Bake for 5 mins until crust is crispy and cheese is melty.