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Mariel here. My son has always been pretty good about trying new foods, but as he approaches the Terrible Twos, dinnertime has started to take on a different tenor. One day he’ll eat something, the next day it lands “splat” on the floor. I don’t intend to transform myself into a short-order cook to please his newly picky palette, but the last thing I feel like doing at 530pm is engaging in a food fight. So I’ve been trying to incorporate some new tricks into my toddler feeding routine.
I read in a recent study out of Penn State that children are more likely to eat their veggies if they are accompanied by a dip. He used to eat his vegetables with glee, but much to my dismay, lately he’s been banishing his greens (and oranges and yellows) to the outer edges of his tray or, worse, stuffing them down the sides of his pants where I discover them at bathtime. Luckily, my man loves hummus, so I’ve been able to diffuse the situation by offering him a side of dip. That’s what’s working this week anyway…
I usually buy his favorite brand at Whole Foods, but for this month’s Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned Simply.Food, which touted a recipe for traditional Mediterranean hummus. At first I felt a little guilty about choosing such a tame recipe from her repertoire; Nayna has a vast array of international delights that were oh-so-tempting. But since we’re dealing with a bit of pickiness at the moment, I was hesitant to go out on a limb only to have my son huck it on the floor. He eats what we eat; I’m not interested in cooking multiple meals per day, so right now we’re all staying pretty basic.
In any event, Nayna’s hummus is light and fluffy, smooth and creamy, it’s as good as any store-bought brand you’ll find. And luckily, my pint-size sous-chef agreed.
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Classic Chickpea Hummus
Makes about a pint
Slightly adapted from Simply.Food
Ingredients:
15-oz can of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed – $1.29
1 clove garlic – stock
2 tablespoons water – stock
1 tablespoon olive oil – stock
3 teaspoons tahini (sesame seed paste) – $4.79
2 teaspoons lime juice – $0.59
Freshly ground black pepper – stock
1/4 teaspoon salt – stock
1 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro (optional) – $1.19
Grand total assuming well-stocked kitchen: $7.86
Directions:
1.In the bowl of a food processor, combine all the ingredients except cilantro. Puree until smooth. Taste and adjust salt, if necessary.
2. Fold in the cilantro using a wooden spoon.
3. Serve with warm pita bread, chips, crudite or as a sandwich spread
I love hummus! I make it all the time…..so easy, and much tastier than store bought. Great pick!
Denise @ Creative Kitchen
Fellow “group c”
I love hummus…It is one of the most delicious and versatile dip/spread! You did a great job adapting the recipe from Simply.Food. I was very happy to make your mango upside down cake. Wishing you both a great week!
Oh, yum. We love hummus and yours looks wonderful. My son love hummus too which is perfect. He can be a little picky too.
There’s nothing like homemade classic hummus and such a great vehicle to get kids to eat veggies. My 6 year old used to gobble it up and now is getting picky again. Recently I’ve tried yogurt and oatmeal topping bars with fruits and nuts and she’s loving that. Will need to try hummus again now 🙂
I can only imagine how much better homemade hummus taste than the store bought version. This is a must make. Nice SRC pick!
what an awesome pick for SRC! i love a good classic hummus. usually i have some fancy flavor but simple is always good! 🙂
Lucky little boy to get this hummus.
Love, love, love hummus! Great choice of a classic- sounds fantastic
That’s awesome that he loves hummus, this recipe is wonderful!