Guest Post: Hollywood Director and Foodie, Scott Eriksson

Okay, it’s time for another food post… come on, you know you love them! Nutrition is a large focus of mine, because while exercise is more of a “glamorous” topic of conversation, proper nutrition is the key to losing fat and getting lean.

Scott Eriksson is a movie writer, director, and producer here in Hollywood. He is also very skilled in the kitchen and can whip up some very tasty but healthy recipes. He’s not a subtle personality in the least, as you’ll find out in the first paragraph. But he was nice enough to write up a brief post on “hummus.” The coolest part is he actually created a ton of different hummus varieties, adding an ethnic twist to each one.

You may or may not love hummus, but let’s set one thing straight. When you master making this stuff at home, not only can you control the exact ingredients that go into it (I’m a big fan of this), it’s much cheaper and tastier than the store bought variety. I was buying red pepper hummus at Whole Foods Market at about $5 for a decent size tub. Making it at home will cost you probably $2 or less and will make more than you’d get in a tub, so it’s about three or four times cheaper. More for less? Sounds perfect for the surviving actor! And since the recipe is so easy to make, as long as you have a food processor I definitely recommend making it yourself at home. Okay, here’s what Scott has to say:

Give your food a kick with hummus – Great on more than just pitas!

The Bland Chicken Breast, Part 1 – by Scott Eriksson

When it comes to losing weight, food is my biggest obstacle.  I love food… more than sex.  And just like sex, I like lots of variety and flavors. Therein lies the first problem with my intimate relationship with food.  The second problem is that while I can cook, I neither have the time to cook or to constantly update my kitchen cabinets with spices and other goodies. Finally the third problem is that if it isn’t simple to make it won’t be consistent in its taste nor will I make it!

So Craig tells me he loves chicken breast and it’s a great health food. I love chicken but like any food it really gets old eating the same thing no matter how much you love it.

So here is the problem that I must analyze:

• How can I transform chicken breast into a wonderful variety of flavors?
• How can I make it simple enough that anyone can do it easily and quickly?
• How can I minimize ingredients so I don’t have to constantly shop for new “stuff” to “stuff” in my kitchen cabinets?

The answered popped into my head as Craig explained another favorite snack of his is hummus. Hummus is delicious and easy to make. And it also is a very neutral flavor that can be easily altered and mixes perfectly with chicken.  So go ahead and bake or pan fry your chicken breast with no seasoning, no oil, no butter, just some nonstick spray… be glad it’s completely bland. Have some Romaine lettuce available to spread your hummus inside one of the leaves and layer it with some chicken breast. The Romaine leaf folds perfectly around your healthy meal or snack and you cut out the carbs that would come from the traditional bread, tortilla, etc.

Throw everything in a food processor and mix till smooth… simple…

Traditional Hummus
1 can garbanzo beans (drained)
3 TBLS Tahini (sesame paste)
3 cloves of garlic chopped
3 TBLS Olive oil
Juice from ½ lemon
Salt to taste

Greek Hummus
Traditional Hummus plus the following:
3 TBLS Balsamic vinegar
3 TBLS Kalamatra olives
After blending the ingredients stir in:
3TBLS Feta cheese

Italian Hummus
Traditional hummus minus lemon juice plus the following:
3 TBLS Balsamic vinegar
3 TBLS tomato paste
1 TBLS Sugar or sugar substitute
6 TBLS Olive oil (in addition)
2 bunches fresh chopped basil
After blending the ingredients stir in:
1 Chopped tomato

Thai Hummus
1 Can Garbanzo beans (drained)
3 TBLS Tahini
3 TBLS Coconut milk
4 TBLS Pad Thai sauce
2 scrambled eggs cooled
Juice from 1 lime

So easy even I can make it

As Scott explains, you can basically start off with the traditional hummus “base recipe,” and then add or tweak ingredients to customize it the way you like it. Basically you just need a small food processor and you can make good size batches of the stuff in no time. Just refrigerate and throw it on pretty much anything. It’s good on eggs, chicken, veggies, salads, and whatever else sounds good to you! It’s a very sensible and healthy addition to your list of foods. And it’ll help you stay on track. It’s true, eating plain chicken breast and broccoli will drop bodyfat quickly, but can you really keep up with eating just that day in and day out? Or is the boredom of that likely to toss you off the wagon and end up in a whirlwind of cheat meals? Heck if you are strong willed enough to eat everything plain then props go to you, my friend. But while I truly do admire that type of discipline if that’s you, food is also meant to enjoy. So if you want to add some flair to your food while trying to drop weight, homemade hummus is an excellent pick. I find that it’s pretty good at fending off my hunger pangs as well. I don’t have to eat a lot of the stuff and it will fill me up, which is obviously helpful when cutting calories.

And apparently, hummus is also quite useful if your house sets on fire… A clip from “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan.”