For my kids who have a year-round calendar, it’s already back to school. So that means the struggle to make healthy, tasty, nut-free lunches is on. One kid likes sandwiches, the other doesn’t. One kid loves avocados, the other hates them. One will eat last night’s leftovers, the other won’t touch them. It’s almost enough to make me just shove a few dollars in their backpacks and have them just eat the weird, processed school lunch. Except I tried that and they hated it. After one week of school lunch, my daughter asked, “Mama, could you make me lunch again please?”
This morning, my son announced he wanted a blueberry bagel for lunch. My husband had brought a big bag of fresh bagels from a great place near his grandmother’s house after a recent visit and I needed those to be out of my reach as soon as possible! When I asked what he’d like on top, he said nothing.
“How about some sunbutter?” I inquired.
“No.”
“Hummus?” I tried.
“No.”
“Nothing?! You gotta have something!” I was practically pleading with him at this point.
Then I remembered seeing a few chocolate hummus recipes online and decided to throw something together before school. After several taste tests and adjustments, we had a hit. It was almost as good as chocolate frosting, but not quite as sweet, and certainly much healthier. I think if I tweaked it even more, I could make a really good cake frosting out of it.
I think this will be in the lunch rotation for a long time!
Chocolate Hummus
Ingredients
- 2 cups of homemade chickpeas or one can of store bought drained (save the liquid for later, known as aquafaba)
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup seed or nut butter optional
Instructions
- Put everything in the food processor and blend until smooth. Use the aquafaba (or water) to thin as you go, adding it slowly as you process being careful not to add too much.
- Taste and adjust sweetness to your liking.
- Spread on bread, bagels, or use at a dip for fruit and veggies.
