Dips.

Contrary to popular belief, this is not a post about my friends.

High protein bean dips are amazing.  I love making homemade hummus.  By making it from scratch, I have lots of adjustments I can make, besides the fact that it is a fraction of the price of pre-made. 

My Iraqi restaurant owner spilled the beans and gave me the secret of insanely smooth hummus.  After soaking the beans, he removes all the outer skins on every bean.  I am not that patient.  But I cook mine from scratch and add 1/2 the garlic in the cooking, which mellows the garlic flavor.  Then I "rub" the skins of the beans when they are soaking in water.  My goal is at least 50% peeled beans, which is enough to make it really smooth.  And I freeze it in 1/4 cup portions. 

 This combo is Black beans with home made pico de gillo. 

Once again, I am cheaper than I am lazy.  This is just 1/2 onion, 2 tomatoes, 1 jalapeno, and either cilantro or parsley ( I make a batch of each since hubby is a cilantro hater.) I was going to buy pico for this challenge,but the $4/pound price was off putting.  The scratch version was less than $2/ pound, and I could adapt to our variable taste with less onion, and cilantro vs parsley.

 I fell in love with a carrot/ginger soup and decided to replicate that flavor with some red lentils.

And this is how it turns out.  I freeze them in 1/4 cup portion cups from the local restaurant supply store. By mid day they are soft enough to scoop.  With veggies or whole grain crackers.  15 carbs/ 1/2 cup. Plus what ever you're dipping with.  The high fiber content drops the net carbs even more.  But more importantly, it is yummy and keeps you from being hungry or blood sugar spikes.
Enjoy.