Carrots + Dip = Pumpkin Patch
Halloween has wonderful treats, but they can still be nutritious like this Halloween carrots hummus snack. As a trick, the good kind, this one is also fun.
Finger foods and dips are popular with kids. It’s like combining eating and playing with food. Kids also like to help in the kitchen. They feel like part of the team and get a sense of accomplishment. Involving them in cooking also creates a positive attitude towards food and encourages them to make good food choices.
This dip is easy and uses readily available ingredients. We started with a can of chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans. Maybe they have a split personality, but they will certainly have a mashed one. Drain them first and then empty the can into a flat bowl. It’s easier for kids to mash the chick peas in a shallow or flat bowl. At our house, the kids don’t like it with too much lemon so after rolling a lemon around on the counter to make it soft and juicing it, we only stir in 1 or 2 spoons of juice.
When we have tahini or sesame seed paste we add it. When we don’t, we use some other nut butter. Fortunately there are no peanut allergies so we are okay with that. To make it nice and smooth, mix in a spoon or so of olive oil. A sprinkle of cumin adds a bit more flavor to the mild taste. Many people like garlic but that sometimes makes ‘monster breath’ so we omit this.
Instead of a Halloween carrots hummus snack, you can use black bean dip. (see our carrots in the garden from the spring) This dip is even easier and makes for a darker dirt.
While little hands are mixing, big hands can cut a carrot into circles. These are the pumpkins. For color, stick a toothpick through something green, like parsley, celery leaves, or small pieces of lettuce. Carefully stick the toothpick into the edge of the carrot circle. Don’t these look like pumpkins?
Spoon the hummus into a bowl to be the dirt. Set the pumpkins upright like they are growing in the pumpkin patch. Sprinkle on bits of lettuce, cilantro, parsley, or celery leaves for the leaves and vines. What fun to dip and munch. Do you know any kid-monsters that can eat a whole pumpkin patch?