I’m cheating on my almond butter this week. I discovered sunflower seed butter, and I am in love lust (we just met…). This stuff is too good!
First taste, I thought it tasted a little peanuty (peanuts = one of my few strong food dislikes), but I loved that I was full of whole sunflower seeds so I kept eating. Then, I got hooked on the sweet/salty flavor and declared it a wonderful alternative to almond butter as a banana topping.
Nutrition info for “Sunbutter: Natural Crunch”
2 Tbsp contains 200 calories, 16 grams of fat, 7 grams of carbs, 4 grams of fiber, and 7 grams of protein. Also has 27% of your daily vitamin E recommendation.
Ingredients: Sunflower seeds, Dehydrated Cane Juice, Salt, Natural Mixed Tocopherols to preserve freshness
What the heck is a tocopherol?? A tocopherol is a compound with vitamin E activity. This is the form of vitamin E found in supplements. Most supplements actually use synthetic forms, so I like that Sunbutter uses natural tocopherols. I’ve never heard of them used as preservatives before, so I thought that was interesting.
Moving on to hummus! I about died and went to heaven when Caroline from The Broccoli Hut posted all her hummus recipes. I knew it was time to step away from the Sabra and buy some tahini when I saw her homemade pumpkin hummus recipe!
When I got home with my tahini, I realized I was missing one essential ingredient– chickpeas/garbanzo beans.* So I decided to substitute white kidney beans.
The ingredients:
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup white beans
- 1/2 cup pumpkin
- Generous shakes of Emeril’s Southwest Essence (I love this stuff…)
- 2 tbsl sesame tahini
After blending in the food processor, the hummus was a little think for my liking. So I added some pumpkin seed oil that I got in Austria.
This oil is so unique and delicious! It is a dark green color and has a really nutty taste. When I was in Austria, I was told that Austria is the only place that it is sold. While I think it is exclusively produced in Austria, you can definitely buy it online here.
The finished product:
Sorry about the messy presentation. The food processor container is actually perfect for storage when you put the top back on, so I wasn’t about to get another container dirty and create more dishes to clean….
See? It’s very convenient 
The hummus turned out fantastic!! I served it last night when I had some friends over with some white cheddar cheese and Carr’s water crackers. Delicious combo!
*Chickpeas/garbanzo beans have tons more names! They can also be called Indian peas, bengal grams, ceci beans, kadale, kaalu…etc. Why do these beans get so many names??? I think I normally say chickpeas. What do you like to call them?
Thanks for the shout-out! Glad you liked the hummus–it’s one of my faves!
Also love Sunbutter, but as with all nut butters, I prefer the creamy variety. I like how Sunbutter has so many vitamins and minerals that are absent from other nut butters.
I say chickpeas most often I guess (as demonstrated by my Blogger nickname!).
That hummus looks awesome! I have to admit i always call chickpeas garbanzos… i think its the spanish major in me haha
I’ve never actually tried sunflower seed butter before, but I’ll have to give it a try. That hummus looks delicious! I usually call them chickpeas too.
-kristen
Wow, I need to try that out! I have sunflower seed butter that I don’t get around to using nearly enough.
I ALMOST picked up a jar of TJs sunflower seed butter this morning but didn’t – now I’m kicking myself
Next time!!
Love the sounds of that hummus! As you know, I’m a big fan of anything chickpea/garbanzo/ceci/Indian peas/etc
Hi Tyler! Really nice to meet you and I can tell already I”m going to have fun reading your blog! I love getting a sunflower/cashew butter mix at an awesome coop around here. SO GOOD! To answer your question, the following is different than having me in your google reader. The button to follow is below the Dancing Flamingos ad in the left hand column of the page. It’s similar to google reader but it works through your blog dashboard main page. TTYL!
What a unique hummus – it looks delicious! I’ll have to look for sunflower butter.
Sunflower butter – how divine! And home-made hummus is the best. Love that you can personalize it to your own tastes. I bet this pumpkin one is just scrumptious.
ahhh that hummus looks SO good
i just made my own the other day too but it doesnt sound as good as this one! And I couldnt find tahini ANYWHERE
I’ve ALMOST bought sunbutter before. Umm clearly it will have to be my next nut butter purchase!
Pumpkin seed oil sounds awesome, i’ll bet it made the hummus extra amazing. I’ve been meaning to make some for a while now. Homemade is OH so good. And I refer to them as chickpeas
Oh, I love sunbutter! Trader Joes brand is the best! So creamy and delicious!!
The hummus also looks fabulous! We are going on vacation in a few days so it’s taking all the will power I can muster to not make a batch.
I normally go with garbanzo.
And I’ve never heard of sunflower butter before, but do admit its a good idea.
This is really interesting. Today was the 3rd time this week I’ve made hummus – we go through it like maniacs. I’ve tried nearly every kind of ingredient imaginable, but have definitively never tried these!
Pumpkin hummus? That’s a great idea! Glad it turned out so fabulous. I call them “chickpeas”, mostly.
Marantha brand is so much better than sun butter and not the extra sugar. I highly recommend it and it’s at Whole Foods and some King Soopers these days. Recipe sounds great so I will try ASAP. I also make a black bean lime hummus that is great and use no oil.