Hummus Pancakes–A Great RAD Diet Snack!

Are you feeling better now that you have been managing your fat disorder through dietary changes for a while?  All of you out there with Lipedema, Dercum’s Disease, FML, Madelung’s and more, who are trying to stick to the RAD Diet, know that it can often be a challenge to find a healthy but hearty snack.  You don’t want to eat salty snacks that are fried or loaded with empty calories, and you’re probably sick of more chicken or veggies!  So I thought you might enjoy this easy recipe for Hummus Pancakes with Tahini Dressing, originally published in Parade Magazine in 2008 and modified slightly by me.  They are made with heart-healthy fats, and chickpeas are loaded with fiber and great nutrients.  These are a savory pancake–great for lunch or a snack–but don’t make ‘em for breakfast!

Hummus Snack Pancakes with Tahini Dressing (optional)

1/2 C flour (choose oat, brown rice, or other gluten free)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1 C canned chickpeas, drained with liquid reserved

1/2 C tahini (sesame paste)

1/4 C reserved chickpea liquid

1-3 cloves garlic, to taste

Juice of 2 lemons

2 large eggs or equiv. egg substitute

Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.  Put remaining ingredients in food processor and pulse until smooth.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until flour disappears (it is a little messy–I prefer to pour chickpea mixture into flour and hand mix). This is a thick batter.

Lightly oil a skillet with olive oil.  Pour a small mound of batter onto the  skillet and use the back of the spoon to smooth it into a pancake shape.  Cook until lightly browned, flip, repeat.

You can eat them plain (hot or cold), serve them topped with cherry tomato halves, onions, and more chickpeas (as shown in the picture).  Or you can make a tahini dressing to dip them in with 1 C olive oil mayo, 1-1/2 TBS tahini, 1/4 tsp cumin powder, and a pinch of salt.

If you cannot find tahini at the store (often with Middle Eastern foods), these pancakes can also be made with ready-made hummus in place of the equivalent amount of tahini, chickpeas, chickpea liquid and some of the lemon juice.  You will have to experiment with the recipe a bit to get the right moisture because each brand of hummus varies in thickness.  Of course, my favorite place on earth, Costco, sells a large 2 lb. tub of either Basha or Sabra Hummus for around $5.

If you like hummus, you will like these pancakes! But you need to keep two things in mind.  First, they are made with a lot of chickpeas…which are beans…so you might wish to use Beano or Gas X Prevention.  Second, they are a substantial snack and, although healthy, they have about 150 calories per pancake (without the tahini dressing).