Last night my detox group reminded me that I had not shared my raw zucchini hummus recipe. What a dreadful omission. I’d much rather you be eating this than the traditional chickpea hummus.  Not that chickpeas are inherently bad, it’s just that zucchini is better.  Here’s why:

1. Beans (including chickpeas) contain lectins which can cause abdominal distention in some people.

2. Most of us are not going to soak chickpeas overnight and will opt for the canned variety.  Canned chickpeas are cooked, re-cooked and devoid of their natural enzymes.

3. One cup of chickpeas has 54 grams of carbohydrates while 1 cup of zucchini has 3 grams of carbohydrates.

4. Zucchini is coming into season right now and I’d rather be getting on my bike to head to the farmers markets to pick up zucchini than canned chickpeas.  The latter makes me think about hibernating in a bunker.

Back to my beach image… I’m adding raw flax seed crackers such as those from Gingersnap’s Organic or a large vegetable crudities plate à la Sunset Beach style – radish, shallots, raw cauliflower, raw broccoli, baby beets, purple carrots, heirloom tomatoes.

The key to this recipe is to NOT add too much tahini.  Tahini can be very powerful and will wipe out the delicate flavor of the zucchini.  Just add 2 tablespoons.  I’ve used very little EVOO but you can add more or even water if the hummus is too thick.

This serving size is for sharing so don’t be greedy.  Enjoy!