Healthy Homemade Hummus (52 New Foods, Around the World Week 17) May 13 2013, 1 Comment

homemade hummus


A healthy homemade hummus is the first of many ways we plan to try our new food of the week: chickpeas.


There’s a lot to love about chickpeas. Mark Bittman recommends them as an ingredient in one of his top three go-to recipes. They are inexpensive, healthy and can be prepared in a myriad of ways. When I asked what we should make with our new food of the week, friends brought a bounty of ideas to the table: pop ‘em in stews, toss ‘em in salads, blend ‘em into hummus, snatch a few for a snack!

dried chickpeas


We decided to start with a simple, homemade hummus. And we did it the slow way -- gently toasting sesame seeds to create our own tahini, slowly soaking the dried beans overnight, then blending it all together to create a delicious homemade hummus.

Getting my kids to try our new food this week relied on two key strategies.

First, cook together. When my kids prepare a new food, they are much more likely to try it! Cooking together is an essential part of the equation.

The other key is timing. Fresh veggies (along with a new food or two) arrive at the table first. At our house we call it the “veggie course.” This strategy gives my hungry helpers a choice of veggies first (before they load up on carbs!). It also buys me extra time to put the finishing touches on the rest of the meal before we sit down together as a family.

What we Liked: Our healthy homemade hummus outshined any store-bought hummus by a long shot. From a taste perspective, there was absolutely no comparison. As for my kids, they were willing to give it a try, but the garlic in this version was a bit too strong for their liking. Instead of chalking it up to a failure (which it wasn’t), we talked about what parts of the recipe they might change. What did they think of the texture? Which flavors did they taste and which were too strong? The next version we plan to make is with roasted garlic, which we all agreed would soften the flavor a bit. Most importantly, we are working together to find the right mix for our family.

Healthy Homemade Hummus

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Crunch a Color points: 10 protein

Ingredients:

homemade hummus ingredients


2 cups chickpeas
½ cup olive oil
1 Tbsp tahini (see make ahead below)
Juice of one lemon
1 large clove of garlic, chopped

Make ahead:

For the tahini, lightly toast 1 cup of sesame seeds in a sauté pan over medium heat. About two minutes. Let cool, then blend with 1/3 cup olive oil in a food processor until smooth. 

For the dried chickpeas, cover fully with water and soak overnight. Drain, then boil gently for about an hour and a half. Let cool before using.

Directions:

1. Load your ingredients into a food processor. Blend! Add a touch more olive oil to adjust the consistency if you like.

homemade hummus step 1


2. Serve with freshly cut veggies.

homemade hummus


* How do you like to prepare hummus? Share your ideas!  

Craving more easy recipes to try? Catch up on last week’s post: Amazing Avocado.

About the author: Jennifer Tyler Lee is a mom of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color® -- award-winning nutrition games that make healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she struggled to get her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to make it into a healthy eating game and she’s giving back to support non-profit kids’ nutrition programs. Winner of the Dr. Toy and Parent Tested, Parent Approved awards, Crunch a Color® has been featured by Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, Rachael Ray's Yum-O!, Laurie David’s Family Dinner, Kiwi Magazine, Dr. Greene, and Yum Food & Fun For Kids, among many others, as a simple, fun and playful way to get kids to eat healthy and try new foods. Jennifer’s passion is making mealtime fun and healthy for busy families. Her easy recipes, quick tips, and new food adventures are regularly featured at Pottery Barn Kids, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, The Huffington Post, and on her weekly recipe blog at crunchacolor.com.