Hummus - a toddler's delight!

My toddler is a picky eater but he LOVES eating hummus. Making hummus is one way I ensure that he gets enough protein and at least some green veggies. He calls hummus, "Thomas" and he has been known to eat 3-4 servings! (I love it too! If it were less points, I would eat half a batch myself.) We serve it on crackers, pita bread, raw veggies like cucumbers or carrots, or as a spread for sandwiches. Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C and chickpeas are a good source of protein and fiber.

Hummus is SO EASY to make and you can adapt it to add whatever flavors you like. We like it with spinach, but I have used roasted peppers or dill.

Hummus with tahini & spinach
POINTS® Value: 3
Servings: 8
cost when using dried peas: ~ $1.35 per batch, ~ $ 0.17 per serving
cost when using canned peas: ~$1.55 per batch, ~$ 0.19 per serving

Ingredients:
* 2 cup(s) cooked chickpeas
(I use 5 oz of dried chickpeas-see prep note below, but you can use a can of prepared chickpeas to save time.)
* 1/4 cup(s) water
* 1/4 cup(s) lemon juice, canned or bottled
* 4 clove(s) garlic clove(s) minced
* 1/2 tsp table salt
* 3 tbsp canned tahini
* 1 tbsp dried parsley
* 1-2 cups fresh spinach
* 3 tbsp olive oil

Instructions:
The day before soak the dried chickpeas in water for 8 or so hours. Then cook for 1 hour or so until tender. I soak them in the crockpot with the pot turned off and then cook them for a few hours in the crock pot.

Place all ingredients in the food processor or blender and puree to a fine consistency. Add more liquid if necessary. Serve with pita bread, crackers, or fresh crunchy veggies.

FRUGAL / SUBSTITUTION NOTE: To pinch pennies or if you do not have tahini on hand you can use 3 TBL. of peanut butter instead of tahini. It does change the taste. My toddler doesn't seem to care which version I make.

Peanut butter version is
POINTS® Value: 3
Servings: 8
cost when using dried peas: ~ $1.10 per batch, ~ $ 0.14 per serving
cost when using canned peas: ~$1.30 per batch, ~$ 0.16 per serving

Exercise and thriftiness

A friend of ours repaired and tuned up my bicycle. I have gone out several times in the past week or so to try it out. This area has lots of nice bike trails and parks. In addition to biking for leisure, I plan to begin commuting 1 or 2 days per week to work. I will combine cycling on the roads and a short distance on a bike path for a total of about 9.25 miles each way. I have done trial runs on the commute breaking it up into 2 halves for the purpose of testing it out.

This will save us gas. I can cut out the driving to the YMCA for the 2 days a week. I had been going to spinning classes. Plus I will save by cycling instead of driving the car to work 2 days per week. I used www.fueleconomy.gov to figure out that each day commuting by car costs me about $3.50 in gas. By commuting 2 days and not driving to the YMCA to "cycle" we can save almost $10-12 a week. This may not seem like much but we are pinching every penny and this will mean about $40-$48 a month. That is a week's worth of groceries!

Frugal posts ~Stretching a dollar

My friends have been persistent in their requests for how I save money. My husband has threatened to start sitting at my side and taking notes so that he can answer their questions. Therefore, I am going to begin trying to post on this blog some of our frugal practices. My future posts on this blog will include:

1.) my running and training, (It IS my addiction that gives me energy to do everything else!--If you are not a runner, just skip these posts.)
2.) my couponing practices,
3.) grocery shopping techniques,
4.) frugal, healthy recipes,
5.) my CVS mega savings scenarios, and
6.) other general frugal practices.