A huge thank you and virtual hug to S&W Beans for sponsoring this post! Those 60 minutes of torture every day was just another opportunity for me to embarrass myself in front of EVERYONE. I couldn’t run a full mile, and I had no innate sporting abilities. I particularly hated the fitness assessments where female P.E. teachers pinched my bingo wings with what looked like plastic tongs and announced my body fat percentage aloud. Thanks, Ms. Gym Teacher! It wasn’t until after college, when I started to incorporate healthy habits into my life, that I finally found myself enjoying exercise! What?! I once heard someone say that achieving success is addictive, and it couldn’t be more true in my case. Once I was able to run 2 miles without stopping, I pushed myself to do 3, then 4, until I was able to finish a half-marathon 2 years ago! I still can’t believe I did it. This year, I have my mind set on a few other goals: completing 5 pull-ups in a row, doing a handstand, and slaying this obstacle course race. (I’m nowhere near finishing those goals, by the way.) Right now, I’ve been focusing on doing more strength and agility-based workouts and just making sure that I properly nourish my muscles with healthy, protein-packed foods. I must admit that I am no fan of drinking protein shakes. I would much rather get protein from actual food. That’s where this hummus comes in. Beans are a slow-digesting carbohydrate and can provide sustained energy to get you through a good workout. That’s why when I’m going to one of my morning boxing or boot camp classes, I like eating a slice of toast with hummus before I head out. A small nutritious breakfast really helps me get through my workouts. When I’m done, I’ll head home and snack on hummus and raw vegetables to help my post-workout recovery and build those muscles that I desperately need for pull ups. I love using S&W Beans because they’re a quality brand that I can easily find in any major grocery store. They check the quality of their product every half hour, so no bad beans here! In my little bean dip number, I’m using three different varieties of S&W Beans. First, there’s the roasted garlic hummus made with garbanzo beans (or chickpeas); next is the roasted carrot harissa hummus made with white bans; finally, there’s the cilantro jalapeño hummus that is made with cannellini beans. They’re great alone, and amazing all together. I usually whip up a big batch of these hummus dips over the weekend and have them ready to fuel my workouts throughout the week. Pull ups, here I come!
MASTER MY MISTAKES / COOKING NOTES
Roasting garlic: I’ve been known to be heavy handed with garlic, which is why I roasted 2 bulbs of garlic for the three hummus dips. Garlic, once it’s roasted, mellows out a lot. Don’t be afraid to use all two bulbs in this recipe!
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Take a photo of your creation and tag me on Instagram so that I can give you a fist bump! Seeing your creations make my day! This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of S&W Beans.
