Colour up School Lunches with Vegetable Hummus 3 Ways

If your child can whirl up a smoothie, they can make vegetable hummus.

Blitz  about 3/4 cup of  cooked vegetables in with your standard hummus recipe to achieve these fab colours:

• Pink (beets)
• Orange (sweet potato or carrots)
• Green (peas or edamame)
• Red (red peppers)

Fun idea: Get your child to come up with their own signature veggie-hummus creation.

A great time-saving tip!

We all know fresh tastes best and homemade hummus costs about 1/3 less than store bought, but did you know you can freeze it for 3-4 months? I’ve tried it and the taste and texture holds up fine.

For times when homemade hummus seems like too much work (much like making a bed!),  you can always add pureed, leftover cooked vegetables to store-bought hummus.

I would love to hear what vegetable hummus concoction your child comes up with. Please share it here.

Cheers!

Carol

Colour up School Lunches with Vegetable Hummus 3 Ways Recipe 

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Photo from Yummy Lunch Club

Dietitian’s Tip: When choosing canned chickpeas, buy the no-added salt varieties or drain and rinse salted varieties to cut the sodium by 40% (as well as the gas producing liquids!).
Kids Cook* Younger kids can help assemble and put the ingredients into the blender. With your supervision, older kids can likely manage the entire recipe.

Source: Yummy Lunch Club

Recipe type: dips/spreads

Serves: 2¾ cups

Ingredients

• 1 can (14 fl oz or 398 mL) chickpeas, drained and rinsed OR 1½ cups cooked chickpeas
• ⅓ cup (75 mL) tahini paste (that’s ground sesame seeds)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh lemon juice (about ½ large lemon)
• 3 tbsp (45 mL) canola oil
• ½ tsp (2 mL) ground cumin
• ½ tsp (2 mL) salt
• ⅓ cup (75 mL) water
• ¾ cup (175 mL) cooked vegetables, diced (Ontario beets, carrots, sweet potato)

Instructions

1. Blitz all the ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add more water for a thinner consistency.

Tip: Make sure the veggies are well cooked to avoid starchy, slightly undercooked bits in your hummus.Recipe adapted from: Pulse Canada’s Chickpea Hummus* These ideas are meant as a guide only. You know best what your child can safely manage. Make sure they understand your rules for working in the kitchen safely and always supervise kids in the kitchen.