Some Hummus Among Us
Happy Friday! Here in Massachusetts, this is the last day of School Vacation. While these no-school days can be tough to figure out when you live in a two-income family, it’s nice to take advantage of the sunny weather and enjoy a break in routine. One of my blogging goals for this Spring Break was to arm Moms with some fresh ideas for lunch-making as we head into the last weeks of the school year. Yesterday’s post had some Favorite Things and today, I bring you the Infamous Hummus and Cheese Sandwich!
How did this sandwich become a favorite in our house? It all started when my son started pre-school at age three. A peanut-free, all-day, no heat-ups pre-school. We had been spoiled. Until that time, my son had attended a small daycare where the staff was very flexible about food. For lunch, they would heat up whatever healthy food I sent with him, including veggie burgers, homemade casseroles with vegetables, soups, etc. So the thought of a cold lunch with no peanut butter option definitely limited the choices. While my son will eat lean deli ham or turkey and cheese, it’s not his favorite. So, we started spreading hummus on 100% whole wheat bread and added some American cheese.
Soon, my son became known among the Pre-School Teachers and Teacher Aides as The Boy Who Eats Hummus and Other Healthy Things. Literally, as I was dropping off and picking up my son in the Pre-School Car Line, the teacher aides would ask me, “Can you make my lunch too?” It was interesting to watch my son develop an awareness of food and what was healthy and what was not. He would say, “Danny eats Doritos. They’re junk!” My son is now about to turn seven and he is finishing the first grade. While most of the time his first choice for lunch is Peanut Butter and Jelly, Hummus and Cheese comes in at a close second.
So, how does his sandwich score on the NuVal scale?
Cedar’s Roasted Red Pepper Hummus: 61(the highest of all hummuses we’ve scored!)
Freihofer’s 100% Hearty Whole Wheat: 33
Land O’Lakes Cheese from the Deli: Not Scored Yet
Not Scored Yet. What does that mean? NuVal is scoring just about everything in the grocery store. While our efforts started (and continue) in the Produce, Meat, Seafood, Grocery and Frozen departments, next we are embarking on scoring items in what we call Outlying Departments (like Deli, Bakery, Prepared Foods). When we’re done, you will be able to see which deli items score the highest. Pretty cool, huh? In the meantime, I feel pretty good giving my son this sandwich.
There are other breads that score higher than the 33, by the way. For example, sometimes I buy Arnold’s Flax and Fiber, which gets a 48. However, the Freihofer’s is the right size and consistency for my kids. They also like this sandwich on pita. Since I buy Joseph’s Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Flour Pita Bread which gets an incredible NuVal score of 65, that is a great choice.
But back to the hummus. What an incredible creation! I love to dip carrots, Stacey’s Naked Chips, and Wheat Thins in it. I bring it with some Joseph’s pita and have it alongside my salad for lunch. We’re big fans of red pepper hummus in our house, and as I mentioned above, Cedar’s gets the best score at 61. Tribe (the Hummus Formerly Known As Tribe of Two Sheiks) gets a 52. Sabra Hummus only gets a 26. Bummer. That’s the one I like to buy when we’re having company. It looks so chic, with red peppers and a little olive oil drizzled on top.
The lowest scoring hummus? Sabra Green Olive with a score of 23.
So Moms, gear up for one last stretch of lunch-making, homework-helping and school bus stop-sprinting. It’ll be sure to fly by. And children of all ages, try a Hummus and Cheese Sandwich today. You will soon be known at That Healthy Person Who Eats Hummus For Lunch!
Posted by: Melissa 14 comments
Posted in: Lunch
Tags: hummus
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 7:07 am
I love it! I am a hummus fanatic as a matter of fact, I bought the cutest individual packs of hummus at Costco yesterday. I have enough to feed me and your son until he graduates! Ha!
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 8:07 am
A perfect solution to a nut-free school! Why is there such a difference in the Hummus scores? I dig Sabara’s, but have recently been making my own, and I’m just curious!
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 8:20 am
Thank you for this post! I just said to myself yesterday – I wish Melissa would post the scores of hummus, since it is my everyday “go to” snack and I was very curious about the scores. It’s too bad about the Sabra – it is my fav!
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 8:21 am
We also LOVE hummus and cheese sandwiches ! They are even better heated, if you have that option.
I am a new reader and I think the NuVal system is the greatest tool since the advent of the nutritional label. I have written to the management of the stores I shop at, suggesting that they adopt the system and pointing them to the website for information . It is my hope that one day in the future the Nuval ratings will appear on the actual product labels themselves .
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 10:12 am
Love the idea of this sandwich – and you could add lettuce and tomato too! That’s great that you are teaching your kids healthy eating at such a young age.
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 11:10 am
I love hummus and cheese too! This might be a little sophisticaed for a first graders taste, but have you ever tried it with fresh mozzarella?!? So yummy! How does Sabra hummus score? It’s my absolute favorite!
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 11:38 am
Hummus makes a great replacement for mayonnaise in all kinds of sandwiches.
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 11:58 am
i think hummus makes everything so good! enjoy your weekend Melissa!
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 12:38 pm
I love hummus sandwiches too. I will have to try it with cheese. I also enjoy hummus on black bean burgers. Yum
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 1:42 pm
I’m so excited to see that Cedar’s Roasted Red Pepper Hummus scores the highest of hummus because roasted red pepper is my favorite kind!
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 6:57 pm
great blog! I have only tried hummus once, but I can say it is very good. I think I am going to go now and look up a recipe for my own hummus. Any great receipes someone would like to share with me?
I also just recently (2-days) discovered the NuVal scores and all I can say is THANK YOU! I love that I can just glance at the number and know whether or not its good for me. It saved me a lot of time in the store not having to read the labels.
<3 NuVal and <3 your blog!
on Apr 27th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
You can find a lot of recipes but if you make it simple with garlic, lemon juice, Tahini, and salt with a dush of cumin, it will be the best one. The essential is to use dry beans and soak them with baking soda for 12 hours.
on Apr 28th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Gjofran – Thanks so much for the suggestion. I just bought canned organic beans this past weekend but I will use dry beans in the future!
on Oct 24th, 2011 at 11:53 am
[...] Some Hummus Among Us – A Better Bag of GroceriesApr 23, 2010 … While my son will eat lean deli ham or turkey and cheese, it’s not his favorite. So, we started spreading hummus on 100% whole wheat bread … [...]