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- Eating healthy food that tastes good at an amusement park is impossible.
- Kids meals, i.e. affordable meals are going to consist of cheeseburgers with fries, fried chicken fingers with fries and popcorn shrimp with fries. Oh, and applesauce.
- Everyone expects treats daily on vacation, including hubby which may include but, are not limited to ice cream, doughnuts, popsicles, cakes, brownies, or whoopie pies.
- Fret not about your waistline. Enjoy yourself, try to make a few good choices and eat healthy and exercise when you get home.
I made homemade hummus and pizza *panini, which were not exactly panini because I don’t have a panini maker and used an ancient George Forman flat grill instead. Who cares? Everyone loved it and that means all the kids and I regretfully admit that compliments do not come easily around here.
My 9 year old helped with the hummus and carried on and on about how delicious it was. Here’s the tried and true recipe:
1 (16 oz) can Garbanzo beans aka chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup liquid from can
3-5 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp Tahini paste
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp Sea or Kosher salt
2-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Combine all ingredients in food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy, adding additional olive oil as needed. Serve with whole grain tortilla chips, Naan bread or carrot sticks.
I made the “panini” from a Giada de Leurantiis recipe, much to my husband’s delight as is any mention of the name Giada. My Dad says, “Giada is getting too big for her cleavage” hahaha!
I improvised, as usual.
I used bakery bread the hubs bought from the grocery, jarred organic pizza sauce, reduced-fat sliced mozzarella, sliced tomatoes and basil from our mini garden and extra virgin olive oil to brush the outside of the sandwiches.
I put the hummus and chips on the table before I began constructing the “panini” and there was all but nothing left when we sat down to eat. I’ve gotta say, if you have only eaten store-bought hummus, you have to make this one at home; you’ll never go back!
Here’s what my toddler was doing while I was writing this post…
Great. At least the Basmati rice was Great Value brand.
What my 13 year old was doing while I was writing this post? Reminding me that it was Taco Tuesday. He said he wanted to make sure I never forgot again. Hmph!
*in Italian, panino is singular and panini is plural
Related posts: Last Night’s Dinner, What’s for Dinner, Help Me To Help You!
If you feel overwhelmed by all the nutrition advice, calorie recommendations and diet trends, read these: Fact. Not Fad., Let’s Crunch Numbers!, Help Me To Help You!
