Faux Guacamole Recipe: Delicious, Low Calorie, Low Carb, Inexpensive and Healthy

Recipe:
1 16-oz can garbanzo beans (do not drain)
1/2 mild onion
1 large stem curly kale (equivalent to about 1 cup chopped)
1 handful spinach (equivalent to about 1 cup chopped)
1 jalapeno pepper (or less, depending upon hotness desired)
1 Tablespoon lime juice (or juice from one lime)
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt (if beans are already salted, otherwise 3/4 to 1 tsp.)

Place all ingredients into a blender. If necessary, add only enough water to allow the mixture to process. Blend on high until smooth, thick, and creamy. Note, some blenders may require stopping and stirring with a spatula periodically. Makes four 1/2-cup servings.

Serve with baked (low fat) tortilla chips.

The below nutritional breakdown was obtained by entering the above recipe into a recipe-nutrition calculator at http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp

1/2 cup of faux guacamole provides the following:

Calories 95
Fat 1 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 643 mg
Potassium 287 mg
Carbohydrate 18 g
Dietary Fiber 4 g
Protein 4 g
Vitamin A 111%
Vitamin B-6 21%
Vitamin C 37%
Vitamin E 2.5%
Calcium 6%
Copper 10%
Folate 16%
Iron 10%
Magnesium 9%
Manganese 32%
Niacin 3%
Pantothenic Acid 2%
Phosphorus 8%
Riboflavin 4%
Selenium 3%
Thiamin 4%Zinc 6%

The above Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

What do the above nutrients do for us? Below, we will examine each nutrient individually. The below information was derived from data gathered from Encyclopedia Britannica, Wikipedia.org, and TheFreeDictionary.com.

Potassium
The potassium in this fresh "faux guacamole" recipe is important in allowing muscle contraction and the sending of all nerve impulses throughout the body. A deficiency in potassium causes muscle weakness, abnormal intestinal function, brain abnormalities, decreased reflex response and in severe cases respiratory paralysis, alkalosis (pH imbalance-opposite of acidosis) and impaired heart function. The potassium in the above faux guacamole recipe could easily cure this type of deficiency if eaten often enough.

Dietary Fiber
Dietary fiber is the nondigestible roughage portion of vegetation. This important fiber helps to reduce appetite, regulate blood sugar levels, and reduces our risk of heart disease. Further, dietary fiber helps to reduce our risk of metabolic syndrome, a condition that causes people to stay obese once they become obese. And finally, dietary fiber helps to prevent diabetes, facilitates regularity (alleviates constipation), and reduces our risk of colorectal cancer.

Vitamin A
This vitamin is essential for healthy vision, cells and cell division, immune function, embryonic development, reproduction, bone metabolism, haematopoiesis (body's ability to make blood), skin, and heart. Without proper amounts of life-giving vitamin A, blindness occurs. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vitamin A deficiency is responsible for blindness in 250,000-500,000 children in developing countries each year. Something as simple as adequate amounts of vitamin A from the above faux guacamole recipe can provide a natural cure before blindness even sets in.

Vitamin B-6
Vitamin B-6 is necessary for metabolism, the making of blood, and healthy cell division. A deficiency in B6 causes seborrhea (skin condition), tongue swelling with ulcerations, cracking of the skin, red eyes, and mental confusion.

Vitamin C
Vitamin C is essential for maintaining our subcutaneous (beneath skin) collagen structure and collagen structures in other parts of the body. This vitamin also helps to transport nutrients into cells, aids in creating amino acids that aid in hormone production, and aids in the metabolism of protein. A severe deficiency of vitamin C produces chronic weakness and loss of teeth (scurvy). Thus, the life-giving vitamin C found in the above faux guacamole recipe is a natural cure for scurvy.

Vitamin E
Basically, vitamin E protects us from cancer and other maladies. However, an overdose of vitamin E is not good for the heart.

Calcium
Calcium, a mineral, is a basic component of bones and teeth, and is essential for the normal growth and development of most animals and plants. A calcium deficiency ("hypocalcemia") produces life-threatening complications involving the heart and kidney, not to mention bone density loss. Therefore, calcium (in proper quantities) can be viewed as a natural preventative for bone density disorders.

Copper
Tiny amounts of the element copper are essential for proper movement of muscles, and a deficiency of this element causes muscular spasticity. Too much copper is toxic.

Folate
Folate (also referred to as folic acid) is necessary for the formation of red blood cells, embryonic development, and metabolism. Inadequate amounts of this nutrient result in anemia.

Iron
Iron is a critical part of our hemoglobin (blood and ability to make blood), which makes it possible for the red blood cells to carry oxygen and carbon dioxide throughout the body. Inadequate amounts of iron can produce weakness, fatigue, and anemia result in.

Magnesium
Magnesium is one of the more abundant elements found in the human body. Magnesium is essential to all living cells for cell health, and cell replication. This element is essential for making numerous enzymes function within the body. These same enzymes are vital to the body's ability to absorb and use nutrients. Without proper amounts of magnesium, we would experience osteoporosis, asthma, and ADHD.

Manganese
According to Wikipedia.org, manganese is an essential trace nutrient, which is found in all forms of life. Our bodies contain a tiny amount (about 10 milligrams) of manganese, which is stored in the liver and kidneys. Thus, we do not require huge amounts of this nutrient. Manganese is used in countless chemical reactions that occur throughout the human body. Too much manganese is poisonous to us, and can cause motor skill and cognitive disorders, according to Wikipedia.org.

Niacin
This important element is required by the body for carbohydrate metabolism. Insufficient amounts of niacin are responsible for pellagra, a condition characterized by digestive and nervous system malfunctions, skin eruptions, and mental deterioration.

Pantothenic acid
This is a water-soluble acid which belongs to the vitamin B group. It is important in the metabolism of fats and carbohydrates. Pantothenic acid is found in all animal and plant cells, but it is particularly abundant in liver, rice bran, molasses, and many vegetables, including those in the above recipe. Without this vital nutrient, we would experience the following deficiency symptoms: irritability, fatigue, apathy, neurological disorders, numbness, paresthesia (skin burning, prickling, itching), muscle cramps, low blood sugar, sensitivity to insulin, restlessness, malaise, sleep disturbances, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, adrenal gland malfunction, and liver failure.

Phosphorus
Phosphorus is a critical element, essential for all life. Cell creation is impossible without phosphorus, a component of DNA, RNA, and ATP (a molecule that makes cell development possible).

Riboflavin
Also vital for metabolism and energy is riboflavin, required by numerous cellular processes. Additionally, riboflavin is needed for the metabolism of fats, ketone bodies, carbohydrates, and proteins.

Selenium
Selenium is key to cellular function, but toxic in large amounts. Numerous studies have shown selenium to reduce the occurrence of skin cancer.

Thiamin
Thiamin is important to countless cellular processes throughout the body, and aids in the body's processing of sugars and amino acids. A deficiency in thiamin is responsible for beriberi (pronounced "berry-berry"), a sometimes fatal condition of the nervous and cardiovascular system.

Zinc
Although a trace element, zinc is essential to all life. This element aids in prostate gland function and reproductive organ growth. Too much zinc actually reduces iron and copper absorption, and vice-versa. However, too little zinc can cause chronic diseases of the liver and kidney, and can also cause sickle cell disease, malignancies, and other chronic illnesses.

References: Encyclopedia Britannica