By Molly Patrick
Sep 6, 2016,
By Molly Patrick
Sep 6, 2016,
Raise your hand if you’re familiar with that little voice in your head that says you aren’t good enough. 🙋♀️
The one that’s quick to remind you how you could be doing so much better.
The one that insists that even your best doesn’t cut it.
The voice that clearly thinks you’re not great, regardless of how much progress you’ve made and everything you’ve overcome to get to where you are.
You know the voice.
We all have it. It’s harsh, judgmental, and unsupportive. It fills us with doubt and either keeps us stuck or makes the journey miserable. This voice can be especially loud when you’re trying to make healthy lifestyle shifts and you do things that aren’t in alignment with that shift.
That little voice never got the memo that NO ONE is perfect, and the road to a healthy life is not a straight line. It’s curving and winding and has plenty of switchbacks.
Even though the path to living a healthy life isn’t always easy, it doesn’t have to be a constant uphill battle in a hot and humid jungle while wearing a puffy down bodysuit and 6-inch stilettos with Ace of Base blasting in the background. It doesn’t have to suck that much.
But if you want an easier path, you have to stop giving power to that little voice in your head that’s constantly trying to bring your ass down.
Let’s say one of your goals is to eat whole-food plant-based five days a week. Awesome!
You ate like a plant-based boss on Monday.
Tuesday, you nailed it.
Wednesday was a blur of veggies, beans, and grains.
But Thursday…oh Thursday….
It starts out with a bang. You have a big bowl of steel-cut oats loaded with fruit and some toast with almond butter. So far, so good. Lunch is meal plan leftovers—excellent. Yummy and satisfying.
But when 3pm rolls around, your co-worker struts over and places a jelly-filled donut on your desk. Oh, for fuck’s sake, you think as the bright red jelly oozes out of the donut like it’s ready and waiting for you. Your co-worker smiles as she bites into her donut, making mmmm sounds and closing her eyes with pleasure.
You think about the apple you brought from home. It’s washed and ready in your bag, not even a foot away. You look at the donut. You look at your bag. You look at your co-worker, who is currently climaxing from donut delight.
Fuck it.
You grab the donut, you put it in your mouth, and you nosh. You don’t take dainty “ladylike” bites either. You eat that fucker like it’s saving your life. You close your eyes. You feel the rush of sugar hit you. And for one full minute, you’re in total bliss—the thought of your apple and everything else has disappeared from your mind completely.
You and your co-worker look at each other as you both lick your fingers and wipe sticky, red jelly from the corners of your mouths. As she returns to her desk, the dread sets in, and the voice starts.
Well, you’ve messed it all up AGAIN. I knew you’d never last five days. You’re such a loser. You may as well pick up a pizza and some ice cream on your way home because you’re never going to reach your goal anyway.
This is the fork in the road.
You can zip up your puffy down body suit, strap on your stilettos, head to the harsh jungle with Ace of Base blaring and battle your health goals. Or you can do something different. Something that makes reaching your health goals possible.
Either option is available and you get to choose—even after you eat the donut. This is because eating the donut doesn’t get you off track. It’s what you think about eating the donut that gets you off track. And that little asshole voice in your head telling you how much you suck is just…a thought. It doesn’t hold any power unless you give it power.
If you want the hard, shitty, Ace of Base path, here’s what you’d say to that little voice after eating the donut:
You’re right. I SUCK. Why did I do that? If I can’t be perfect, why do I even try? My goal is totally unrealistic. I’m never going to get there. I’m definitely getting pizza and ice cream on the way home—there’s no point in eating healthy the rest of the day, or week for that matter. I guess I’m doomed and not cut out to be healthy.
These thoughts will leave you feeling guilty, ashamed, and defeated.
What result can you expect from going this route? Eating greasy pizza for dinner, followed by plenty of ice cream, binge-watching shows you don’t even like, and going to bed late feeling like shit. Then waking up unmotivated to eat well and feeling far from your goals.
But let’s rewind this track.
If you want the easier route that keeps you aligned with your goals, here’s what you’d say to that little voice:
Thanks, brain, but you aren’t helping. I will reach my goal, and that one donut is not going to be the reason I won’t. It’s definitely not worth eating crappy pizza and ice cream over, especially when I have delicious healthy food in my fridge waiting for me. I’m in charge, not you. This donut brought me pleasure, and I know my work is sitting with discomfort instead of getting intense pleasure from food. I am going to continue working on this and love myself along the way.
These thoughts will have you feeling empowered and in charge.
And the result? Eating a plant-powered dinner and going to bed early, feeling proud of yourself for eating a healthy dinner. Then, waking up refreshed and excited to eat your oats, knowing your health goals are within reach.
You get to choose.
Magic doesn’t happen by being perfect.
Magic happens when you aren’t perfect and you don’t let that stop you from moving forward.
It’s time to mute Ace of Base and take off those ridiculous stilettos, babe.
I got you.
Ingredients
- 1 can organic garbanzo beans if you already have cooked garbanzos in your fridge that you need to use up, one can of beans is equivalent to about 1 1/2 cups / 260g, drained and rinsed well
- 1 garlic clove peeled left whole
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ cup tahini 60g
- ¼ cup water 60ml
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients into your food processor and process until super creamy and smooth.
24 Comments
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Yay hummus!
I usually just guess and make it up when I go along whenever I fancy whipping some up. Sometimes it looks like the above dip of gloriousness-ness, other times.. not so much. Think I’ll be checking back here next time!
P.S. just stumbled across your blog and rather enjoying it.
Hi Alex, glad that you’re digging the blog. If you haven’t already, join us in Molly’s private Facebook group to keep the conversation going. 😉
xo
Meghann
Team Dirty Girl
Joined! Well pending acceptance.. finger’s crossed!
Thanks for the heads up
Would this work in a blender?
Hi Amanda, high powered blenders, like Vitamix, Blendtec and even Ninja should all handle this recipe with ease. I would think a traditional drink type blender with a lower power motor might have a harder time blending a hummus.
Karen
Team Dirty Girl
Thank you!
I just whipped this – so yummy: I added some cayenne for kick- another keeper, thank you
Hi, enjoying your blog… I’d recommend adding extra virgin olive oil for the final element!
Hi Kaywhycee, Thanks for stopping by. As our meal plans are whole food plant based we are advocates for no added oils but if you like it, by all means, enjoy.
Karen
Team Dirty Girl
Can you provide calorie count?
Hi Donna, Molly has written about why we don’t provide calorie counts for our recipes, but because our recipes are whole food plant based it’s relatively easy to figure out the information. You’ll want to use one of the freely available nutrient trackers (Cronometer is one that comes to mind) to see the estimated macro / micro nutrient amounts for a particular recipe.
Karen
Team Dirty Girl
This is delicious. Very creamy and you don’t miss oil in it.
Hi Karen, Thanks for sharing that you enjoyed the hummus recipe! ~Karen
I used the aquafaba from the can instead of the water and cut the salt by half, with amazing results! I’m thrilled to have a good basic recipe that isn’t loaded with oil! Instead, it’s extra nourishing as well as delicious!
Thanks for sharing, Heidi! The aquafaba has water-soluble nutrients so you are getting more good stuff. ~Karen
Seriously, this is SO easy and DELICIOUS! Thank you for sharing this simple and flavorful recipe!
Right??
I make it all the time. It’s surprisingly tasty.
So glad you like it!
xo
Molly
Thank you for this easy recipe! If we want to complicate things and use dried beans, how would the recipe change? You can post a link here if you have that already! Thanks!
Hi Diane! Home-cooked beans are so wonderful and will work well in this recipe. Molly has a recipe for preparing dried garbanzos over here. ~Karen
Thank you!
This is the simplest recipe ever for perfect hummus. I use it as is or add roasted veggies or almonds and most times hot peppers. I love that there is no oil added. BTW, love this site.
Hey, Mark! We definitely agree and we dig that you really make it your own!
Thanks for the love,
Stephanie
Please, is it raw tahini, organic,? This is where I get stuck! I need my plant people to be specific. I have so many books, but most do not help with specific brands, stores, tips that could be healthier. I just got back from True North Health. I was trying to get to the root cause of my Sibo, Sjogrens, Hoshimotos, and Extreme Fatigue. When my Hyponatremia got so low I had a seizure bit my tongue and spent 5 days in Santa Rosa Hospt. I have been back in LA where I am a Dog Trainer and Author. For 2 days , last night I bought the new Rancho Gordo Bean Book, that is how I heard about you! I have just started to read the way you think and it is my kind of feeling. Happy to have found you! I need a Dr do you like any? I have been Plant, SOS free 10 months. You just stopped me from trying to find a tortilla, I will get collards, and blanch them today. The last thing I did before the seizure was ask Chef Bravo if I should buy a dehydrator to make the raw wraps Chef AJ likes.
Hi, Shelby.
Welcome! We’re so glad you found us.
For tahini, you can use raw, organic, or roasted. As long as there’s no added oil or sugar, we leave that open to preference. There’s a handy specialty ingredient guide here that you can use to find ingredients like tahini.
We don’t have a list of recommended doctors, but there are several sites online that host directories of plant-based physicians that you can use to find a doctor near you.
If you have other questions, you can reach out to us here. We’re always happy to help.