11/05/2026
Homemade preservative free hummus
Have you ever checked store bought hummus? Over 90% of the product contains preservative (for example potassium sorbate, 202; sodium benzoate, 211) , salt, sodium bicarbonate, and other food additives. When you have chronic kidney disease or reduced kidney function, you will want to avoid food additives especially sodium, potassium, and phosphate as our body absorbed 100% of them. It can be also high in sodium depending on how many serving you have. Most of them also contain oil which are high in calorie. The oil typically used is canola oil.
If you aim for low calorie hummus, I would recommend you to replace oil with more lemon juice or water. If you prefer to have oil in the hummus, I highly recommend extra virgin olive oil which is rich in antioxidant and good fat which is beneficial for cholesterol.
Making own hummus is easy and versatile. You can modify what protein to to add in, for example chickpea, red lentil, white bean, 3 bean or 4 bean mix or edamame (no added salt) or mixing with nuts such as walnut, cashew, almond. You can also make them with different flavour such as beetroot or pumpkin hummus. You can also consider using different spices such as curried powder ( can be high in sodium) OR cumin, turmeric, freshly ground black pepper. The variety is endless.
Hummus is a fantastic alternative to butter, can be an ingredient for salad dressing, or spread thickly on cracker or bread or wrap for protein and fiber.
Check my easy low calorie beetroot hummus recipe on my newsletter at Substack: Dr Evelyn Chang Newsletter
