Roasted red pepper hummus and pretzels make a tasty snack, but they aren't necessarily healthy. Some commercially available hummus is surprisingly high in fat and salt, and brands that contain soybean, cottonseed or canola oil tend to be lower-quality products. Pretzel brands also vary widely in their nutritional merits. For the healthiest possible snack, make your own hummus and choose unsalted pretzels.
Macronutrients
A cup of hard salted pretzel rings and 1/4 cup of commercially prepared roasted red pepper hummus have 292 calories, 8 grams of protein, 40 grams of carbohydrates and 13 grams of fat. The pretzels and the hummus each contribute 4 grams of protein. Most of the fat comes from the hummus, and most of the carbohydrates from the pretzels. The snack's calories consist of 10 percent protein, 51 percent carbohydrates and 38 percent fat.
Sodium
A pretzels-and-hummus snack contains 783 milligrams of sodium, which is 34 percent of the 2,300-milligram daily limit that the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends. However, if you follow a sodium-restricted diet, this snack will use up 52 percent of your daily sodium allotment. African Americans, anyone over the age of 51 and those diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease should limit sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams per day.
Smarter Hummus
Store-bought hummus is loaded with sodium and excess fat, but homemade hummus is just as satisfying and potentially much healthier. When making your own hummus, use 1/4 teaspoon of salt or less per can of chickpeas and add no oil. Hummus already contains fat from flavorful sesame paste, so the soybean or canola oil in commercial hummus is unnecessary. If you like the taste of oil in hummus, use extra-virgin olive oil, which contains heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and is true to the dish's Middle Eastern roots.
Smarter Pretzels
Instead of salted pretzels, choose unsalted pretzels to save over 400 milligrams of sodium per 1-cup serving. Better yet, seek out unsalted multigrain pretzels, which are very low in sodium and contain 4 grams of dietary fiber per cup, compared to regular pretzels' 1 gram per cup. Multigrain pretzels have a pleasing nutty taste, and you'll likely find them just as crunchy, delicious and satisfying as the ordinary salted variety.
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