Hummusing a healthy tune

Hummus.
I forgot to mention hummus in yesterday's post about new foods that have found places in my heart-healthy diet.
Hummus, for you carnivores, is a Levantine Arab food dip or spread made from chickpeas, tahini and olive oil, along with flavoring from lemon juice, garlic, peppers or artichoke, among other.
Now, I admit, I tend to overdo it with hummus. I can sit down with a package of carrots and polish off a good two or three ounces of red-pepper or garlic hummus as a snack. Now I've gotten plenty of fiber and some healthy protein out of it; but there is also a good serving of fat from olive oil. And I've probably eaten eight to 10 grams of fat, albeit a healthier fat, high in Omega 3 fatty acids. Then there is the 200 calories.
I like to use it as a meat substitute in sandwiches and wraps when I grab a bite at restaurants that feature hummus. I only know of a couple that do, but I hope it catches on so I have more options – not  that I'd consider abandoning my favorites.
It's not like potato chips, ice cream or even french onion dip, but you can overeat on anything, they tell me.
In a way I'm fortunate. I have always been willing to try new foods, and new other things. The family still talks about the time my mother took gourmet cooking classes and my younger sister, in particular, would turn up her nose at Mom's new experiments.
“It's not gourmet?” became her question for every new dish.
I'm more like my my late father, who loved exotic foods – much to his own waistline's demise. The family also talks about the time Dad got Mom to make him some escargot and he offered us kids a quarter if we tried a snail. My older sister swallowed hers whole, I think, but I took time to chew and taste. I don't remember really liking it, but I hadn't really started to like garlic at that age. I have had them since, and I would eat them again. But I wouldn't order them for myself.
For a long time, I was not a big fan of salads. Then I realized why: I've never found a salad dressing worth adding to the fresh vegetables that I do like. And I'm indifferent to iceberg lettuce, which seems to define most salads.
Now I judge a salad by its variety and a salad bar by the quality of a salad I can create without any lettuce from the big bowl. And I pass on the dressing, which is I guess the healthy choice anyway. But you know what does make a great salad addition? Hummus.
I have nothing more to preview on this week's Heart Month package, so I will just dive back into the writing. Suffice it to say, I expect all of the readers to be equipped to take ownership of their heart health after reading Sunday's and Monday's stories.