green hummus

Have any of you seen the Brian Regan bit about how cranberries are getting into everything? Well, first of all, it's pretty funny, and second, I'm kinda feeling that way about spinach. But you know, I'm ok with spinach getting into everything. It's so good for you, and it's one of the few vegetables I can sneak into my two-year-old's diet.

So I came up with another way to sneak in some spinach this week: Green Hummus.

And it was actually really tasty, really healthy, really easy to make, and my little guy gobbled up his "green sauce" and asked for more!

One of the reasons I decided to experiment a bit with food this past week is that we took Jack off dairy to see if that was the cause of some tummy troubles. And let me tell you, taking a kid off diary whose favorite food is cheese is quite a task! I had to get pretty creative, especially getting protein and calcium into him. Hence the green hummus.

One other thing that's nice about this recipe - in addition to being very healthy and fresh, it's also dairy-free, gluten-free, and soy-free, which I know is a big issue for a lot of people.

I looked at a few different hummus recipes, and then (as my mom constantly teases me for) mostly ignored them and came up with my own recipe. So here it is!

Green Hummus

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp tahini
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1-2 cups spinach leaves
salt and pepper to taste
water (if needed)

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor. (I didn't measure the spinach, I basically just filled the rest of the food processor with as much as would fit.)

2. Blend all ingredients until smooth, stopping and scraping down the sides as needed. If it seems too thick, add a little water for a smoother consistency.

3. Serve with pita chips, crackers, vegetables, etc.

You could also add roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, or fresh cilantro for a little variety.


Update: I recently decided to start a separate blog for recipes and food/cooking tips. You can see this hummus recipe and a whole lot more over at Modern Mommy's Kitchen!