I love hummus. It is one of my favorite party foods. The problem is, some people can’t digest chickpeas and I like to make food that everyone can enjoy. I also follow a few Paleo diet bloggers, and I started to think, “I wonder if they miss hummus?” (Paleo diet excludes eating beans). So, I created a bean-free hummus. It tastes quite a bit like hummus and it is very flexible- allowing you to flavor it to your preference.
Olympic Bento: There is an open face sandwich on one side with the Olympic rings (simply cut from fruits and vegetables with cookie cutters). Then I used the hummus as “water” and green beans for the swim lanes. I cut the swimmers out with a paring knife after sketching the swimmer first on paper.
Note: I don’t eat nightshades and you won’t see them in my recipes, but my daughter does eat them, so occasionally they will appear in bento photos.
Bean-Free Hummus Recipe
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1 cup raw cashews (soaked for 3 hours)
1/4 cup raw tahini (be sure it is raw- toasted tahini will taste too strong)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Lemon juice (1/2-1 lemon to taste)
1/4-1 clove garlic (to taste)
Salt to taste (1/8 teaspoon)
1/4-1/2 cup water
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This recipe is all about personal preference. Basically just puree everything until very smooth in a food processor. Add water to achieve a nice dipping texture. Add lemon, salt, and garlic to your tastes. Garnish with chives or scallions (I used lemon zest too- my husband said, “too much”, while I loved it lemony.
Serve at room temperature. If refrigerated it will thicken, so just let it come back to room temperature before serving.
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I am sharing this recipe on Allergy Free Wednesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Bento Blog Network, and Wellness Weekend
Cuter Than Gluten 
Hi! Just ventured over from And I love it too’s “Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger”.
I love the idea of bento lunch boxes! So cute and will definitely be using this when my toddler gets a little older.
We eat a ton of bean dips but it’s refreshing to see something that doesn’t include beans. Am looking forward to trying this!
Thanks for stopping by. Bento is such a fun way of giving kids cute food without the “designer” yogurt containers and brand name junk food. (My daughter would rather have her “Apricot Monster” than her friend’s Fruitloops.) Lucky me!
Wow! I especially like your swimmers and pool.
Thanks!
Hi Dawn,
Your Bento is ridiculously cute…AND delicious. You are so creative and inspiring. I love it. And your bean free hummus is out of this world. I’m obsessed with cashews, and just love this!!
Hugs,
–Amber
Thank you! My daughter did eat the whole bento… so it must have tasted good. She lost her second top tooth yesterday so she is going to need everything in small bites for a while. (It will be fun thinking of bento with that theme.)
I think this si the cuteset thing I have ever seen :)
Thank you!
I made zucchini hummus a couple of weeks ago, and although it turned out more like a dressing (no added water next time!), it was delicious!
That sounds very interesting.
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I love how bright and colourful it is! The swimmers in hummus is a great idea ^-^
Another Hummus lover here. And another Cashew lover… combining them together? Fantastic! I’ll have to try it one of these days. Also love the Olympic bento. Mine has the same theme, but I went the easy route- my swimmers are cut out with cookie cutters. Beautiful job!
Thanks! If I had the right cookie cutters I would have used them- easy is always great. Cutting with the knife was surprisingly simple though.
My daughter wanted me to do hurdles, but ummm… I wasn’t up for that.
This is super cute!
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