Make With Your Kids: Focus Fueling Traditional Hummus

Today we made this delicious recipe from the Q Wunder blog: qwunder.com/blog. It was not only tasty, but simple enough even for my 4 year old to help prepare. Anything that requires the use of a blender is exciting for the little ones in my house. I am often asked for ideas for wholesome recipes to incorporate into kids’ lunches and also to have handy for convenient snacking for picky kids. This dish is vitamin and protein-packed, and fits with a dairy-free or even vegan diet.

As my readers and social media followers know, most recipes on my blog are of my own creation, but today I am excited to share the following guest post from Q Wunder. I have enjoyed collaborating with this fantastic company for a few kid-friendly, brain-boosting recipes… So, be ready for more!

The Q Wunder website has been an incredible resource. It is jam-packed with awesome tips for parents, like myself, tasty recipes for kids via their blog, and a wide range of stimulating and fun activities. The games, toys, and resources all promote positive social and emotional skills in young children.

SKIP THE STORE-BOUGHT AND MAKE THIS FOCUS-FUELING HUMMUS WITH YOUR KID INSTEAD

Every kid loves pressing buttons. And as long as they’re not your buttons, hey, everyone’s happy. Encourage your kid to help you in the kitchen (and press the food processor or blender buttons while they’re at it!) by making this healthy, inexpensive, all-ages-approved snack. The chickpeas in this recipe contain magnesium and complex carbohydrates to fuel focus. And simply collaborating in the kitchen helps your child develop cooperation skills.

Plus, this recipe is forgiving and versatile. Want to sub cannellini beans for chickpeas? Go for it. No tahini on hand? Leave it out. The recipe is designed to be mild in flavor to make it kid-friendly, but ask your child to taste it and “see what it needs” — a bit more salt, say, or a sprinkle of cumin, maybe.

Serve hummus as a kid-friendly dip with whole-wheat pita triangles, carrot sticks and other cut veggies, or spread it on a sandwich. It’s good warm, room temperature or cold, so it’s a perfect summertime snack, picnic staple or even warm-weather dinner. Dig in!

Hummus

Ingredients

1 15-ounce can of chickpeas (a little less than 2 cups)*
1 small clove of garlic, pressed through a garlic press or roughly chopped
¼ – ½ teaspoon salt
Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
¼ cup tahini
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup water (if you cooked the chickpeas yourself, use cooking water)

Directions

Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend for two minutes, scraping down the sides as needed, or until completely smooth.
Serve with raw veggies (carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, and red pepper slices tend to be kid favorites), pita triangles and/or pita chips. If you want to get fancy, sprinkle paprika on top.
Store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

*If you have a pressure cooker, it’s easy to cook your own chickpeas, even without soaking them first. For this recipe, you’ll need one-third of a pound of dried chickpeas. Fill your pressure cooker up halfway with water, cover and lock the lid, and bring to pressure at high heat, about 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to low and cook for 40 minutes. You may also need to increase salt in the recipe.