Do you Tahini? Ideas for getting more yummy Tahini in your life!

[MelanieC]

In two yummy tablespoons you get good Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA's), 6 grams protein, 6 grams healthy carbs, 3 grams of fiber and get this - 14% of your RDA for Calcium and 12% of your RDA for Iron. It contains B6, copper, vitamin E, Folate, magnesium, maganese, thiamin, riboflavin, zinc, and a few others.

Do you Tahini?
I do, and it's one of my favorite "nut/seed" butters. It's basically just sesame seed butter. It's a bit bitter tasting to just eat of the jar (maybe that is a good thing), but I've noticed the more I eat it in my homemade hummus the more I can lick the spoon and enjoy it these days. In addition to adding tahini to my hummus I now use it in a "dip" I make to replice canned refried beans. I make hummus all the time. I use hummus on veggies (including on roasted veggies - super yummy), in sandwiches, as a replacement for mayo (think tuna salad, egg salad and deviled eggs).

I ran out of almond butter a few days ago and this morning as I was about to pull the peanut butter out of the fridge, I see the tahini jar sitting next to the PB. I compared the nutrients and thought - hmm I'll use the tahini instead. I must say I was slightly scared to put the slightly bitter tahini in my sweet oatmeal smoothie - but why not, I'm game to anything once.
It was so good!!

Banana, Oatmeal & Tahini Smoothie:

1 whole frozen banana (if small use 1 1/2)
160-227g of plain nonfat or lowfat yogurt (the more yogurt the more liquid it will be)
1-2tbsp (or 16-32g) of Tahini (Depending on how many calories you want this to be)
40g of plain rolled oats

Throw in a blender or magic bullet till smooth and eat. I actually eat mine with a spoon because I gave up straws (for the good of the environment) and it feels more like a "meal" if I eat it with a spoon. This is high in calories though because of using. You could certainly leave the oats out or half some of the ingredients Depending on how much you want to make.


Tahini can be used in so many ways. It's just a matter of experimenting. Try not to fear the fat. Fat's are good for you, and this kind of fat is so good for you in moderation. Heck - think about how much better your body and heart will love fats from seeds and nut butters than from animal fats.

Try using it as an alternative to mayo: Tahini tastes great spread on bread in a turkey sandwich or mixed into tuna. It's also delicious as a topping for crackers or as an ingredient in salad dressing. Baba ganoush is another great middle eastern dip made with tahini and roasted eggplants.

So - how do you use tanhini? I'll post my hummous recipe and would love others to post some as well.

[MelanieC]

Easy Hummus

1 can chickpeas
1/3 cup hummus
1 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp lemon juice (about 1 or 2 fresh lemons)
sea salt
1-4 cloves garlic (optional) - base on how garlicky you want it since they are raw
water - add slowly till you get desired consistency

Food process until smooth. I usually push down the sides as I'm doing it too to get all the chickpeas trying to escape.

I often make it without garlic just to keep the smell factor down, especially if I'm eating it at work. Since I'm the only one in my house who eats it, I don't want to smell like garlic by myself.

I've got it down to such a science that it literally takes me 5 minutes to make it.

[MelanieC]

Just found this - this looks yummy:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/re...pe_id=1816368#
Chicken Shawarma


Shawarma is a Middle Eastern dish of garlicky meat or poultry served on pitas. Total time: 45 minutes.


Chicken:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 16 (3-inch) strips

Sauce:
1/2 cup plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt (such as Fage)
2 tablespoons tahini
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Remaining ingredients:
Cooking spray
4 (6-inch) pitas
1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
8 (1/4-inch-thick) tomato slices


1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

2. To prepare chicken, combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss well to coat. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes.

3. To prepare sauce, combine yogurt and next 4 ingredients (through 1 garlic clove), stirring with a whisk.

4. Thread 2 chicken strips onto each of 8 (12-inch) skewers. Place kebabs on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until done.

5. Place pitas on grill rack; grill 1 minute on each side or until lightly toasted. Place 1 pita on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1/4 cup lettuce and 2 tomato slices. Top each serving with 4 chicken pieces; drizzle each serving with 2 tablespoons sauce.



Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 384 (23% from fat); FAT 9.8g (sat 2.1g,mono 4.1g,poly 2.7g); IRON 4.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 64mg; CALCIUM 106mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40g; SODIUM 821mg; PROTEIN 34.4g; FIBER 2.5g

Cooking Light, JULY 2008

[pjlla]

Thanks for the yummy recipes!.....................P

[lisah0711]

Yum! You always have such delicious sounding recipes, MelanieC!

I did a quick Google search to see what would come up -- there was a good salad dressing recipe and another tahini sauce recipe that came up. They looked a little like watered down hummus recipes.

[ohMom]

huh.... i have a jar in my frig i've never touched! shame shame...thanks for the info

[Tiger Lily 03]

Hmmmm, have never tried it. I may look for it in the grocery store now.

[MelanieC]

Can't wait to see what you think. Just remember it is slightly bitter so eating off the spoon is not like eating PB or Almond butter, lol.