Those of you who read my picnic posts last summer might remember my love for Wild Garden Hummus. It's my favorite hummus for camping, traveling, and picnics; the flavor is mild and not too garlicky for kids, it's oil-free, and best of all the jars are shelf-stable and don't need refrigeration. Yes, I've packed many a glass jar of Wild Garden for lunch on a long train or car trip.So imagine how excited I was to find out that Wild Garden now comes in single-serving "Hummus To Go" packs! Hey, no more heavy glass jars or leftovers going to waste! I plan to pack some of these with us on our outings all summer long.
Today I packed the hummus with some Wild Garden Roasted Garlic Pita Chips, baby carrots, sugar snap peas, and cucumber, and a fresh mandarin orange cut into wedges.
Next to the hummus a bite of Equal Exchange Dark Chocolate is peeking out. One of shmoo's friends was selling these fair trade chocolates and coffee as a student fundraiser. How cool is that? Most of the kids' group fundraisers I've seen have involved chemical-laden cookie dough, microwave popcorn, or cheap chocolate at a high price. It's great to discover that there are positive, vegan- and eco-friendly alternatives.
Verdict: Certainly this is one of the easiest lunches I've ever packed! Shmoo tore off a corner of the hummus pack and squeezed ribbons of hummus onto his pita chips, reminding me of the Cheez Whiz of my youth. 5 stars.
Interesting info about the dark chocolate...how does it taste?
ReplyDeleteI miss the Weight Watchin Vegan!
ReplyDeleteI just started WW today and I was wondering where she got the Gnu bars?
so nice to read this. my father is the one to help wild garden into markets...he is there food broker! i get ginormous boxes of it every few months or so since my littlefoodie lives on it! i'll have to send this along to him!
ReplyDeletewow. hummus in to go packs, how convenient. Where do you find that particular brand?
ReplyDelete>>about the dark chocolate...how does it taste?
ReplyDeleteIt's very dark chocolate, bitter and not too sweet.
>>where she got the Gnu bars?
You can order them online or go to their website and click on "Where To Buy" to see if they are sold in your area:
http://www.gnufoods.com/
>>Where do you find that particular brand?
My local health food store carries Wild Garden.
I love the traveling hummus!
ReplyDeleteI am hoping that I can find the Wild Garden Hummus in My Town, looks awesome! Anyone from Florida care to give me a head's up? Their website suggests a couple of stores but I've never seen it there.
ReplyDeleteHey!
ReplyDeleteI'm vegan and I also work for Equal Exchange and love to promote our vegan chocolates to the vegan community! Thank you so much for mentioning them and email me if you have any questions!
-Jessica
ps - I've always loved your blog, makes me want to have kids!
I live in WW, close to Tri-Cities. I'm curious which health food store (and any other stores) carry the products you featuer, such as Wild Garden. I'll be sure to check those stores out next time I'm over that way!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI've been reading your blog for a while now and thought it was about time I left a comment!
I live in Exeter, UK and we don't get Wild Garden (not as far as I know anyway), but one of our local supermarkets does do a 'hummous and carrot stick to go' pack. It's come in very handy when we've been stuck in town sometimes!
Oh my goodness gracious...finally, something vegan that's as convenient as those "tuna to go" packs! I'll have to get my hands on some of this stuff. Oh, and jo...I'm so jealous that you have things like a 'hummus and carrot stick to go' pack. What a clever, easy idea for a store to carry, and yet...no one does here. I'm just impressed that my local grocery store (not health food store) is finally carrying apple slices to go, but they still have a super fatty cream cheese dip with them. Maybe I should start asking them to carry something like that? I know we'd buy a bunch of them!
ReplyDeleteSince you started blogging I've loved seeing you develop more complex and creative recipes, but it's also lovely to be reminded how quick and easy it can be to pack a healthy lunch.
ReplyDeleteMmm, I love hummus! A container of dip with lots of raw fresh veggies is a favourite lunch of mine. I like to dip raw broccoli and cauliflower.
ReplyDeleteI love this hummus! I haven't had it for awhile, so thanks for reminding me!
ReplyDeleteWow, it would be great if I could get our 4-H to do this fundraiser rather than the additive loaded pizzas and junk they usually sell and we can't eat!
ReplyDeleteI love hummus. A tasty way to also eat it is to use slices of radish like chips with it. Not a good thing to kiss folks afterwards but it is tasty.
ReplyDeleteewww,you ate Cheez Whiz?!
ReplyDeletedo you hear the scorn(evil grin)
That's okay, I ate velveeta once too.
I have to look for the Wild Garden
Hummus to go...The only place listed in KY is way far away from the largest cities. ( I live in Louisville)
I've only been able to get DD2 to eat hummus once, on Pita Pizza.
BUT I'd love to take this to work.
Viki
Hi!
ReplyDeleteRapunzel, I live in Orlando and find Wild Garden in the "health food/organic" section of any Publix here. Also at Whole Foods, of course!
I have yet to see the travel packs, though. I'm going to be keeping an eye out!
I’ve seen that hummus at Cost Plus World Market but never bought it because I am worried it might get squished all over my bag. Obviously that’s not a problem for Shmoo with his little lunch box :)
ReplyDeleteI, too, love the Wild Garden Hummus. I was excited to see the pita chips. Don't think I've seen them before. I went to their website and was looking at ingredients in the Garlic Pita Chips and noticed that there was "whey solids" in them. Are these from an animal source? Hopefully not, since they look really yummy!
ReplyDeleteOops, whey would be from dairy. How did I not notice that on the package?
ReplyDeletei love your site, been checking it out for more than a year! one of my favourite parts is that you make so much from scratch, thereby avoiding a lot of wasteful packaging (as well as chemicals in processed foods). that's why i'm a bit disappointed to see you're pushing the single serving 'to go' hommous.... those packages are definitely not recyclable, whereas the glass jars are. just wondering what your take is on packaging and the tradeoff between convenience and waste. cheers :)
ReplyDeleteooh CHEEZ WIZ? I'm shocked to se you've eaten that :)
ReplyDeleteI have too, LONG LONG ago.
Teddy
That to-go hummus is COOL! Thanks for posting about it!
ReplyDeletehelp! what we do we do about this?? this is the #4 most emailed story in the New York Times, and it's titled "Death by Veganism"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/21/opinion/21planck.html
What to do about "Death by Veganism?" Look to Isa! And, of course, Jennifershmoo, who has a healthy little boy!
ReplyDeletehttp://isachandra.livejournal.com/
Love hummus!
ReplyDeleteIt sure sounds yummy, but am I the only one saying *overpackaged*?
ReplyDeleteAt least little glass jars are reusable or recycleable, but tetrapaks just get chucked into the trash =(
Seems like the trend towards extra packaging has spread even to the organic/vegan/health food market...
Anyone from Florida care to give me a head's up? Their website suggests a couple of stores but I've never seen it there.
ReplyDeleteweb design & development
Genuine question, I promise, rather than a provocation: is it healthy to reduce fat to such a degree? Surely a completely fat-free lunch is a little restrictive for a child of this age?
ReplyDeleteThis isn't fat-free -- there is healthy fat in the hummus from tahini (sesame seed butter). I also believe there is fat in the pita chips and chocolate, of course.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, I don't limit my son's fat intake -- good fats are important for health, especially for growing bodies. But I do prefer to stick to the healthy fats found in nuts, seeds, and avocados, versus fat from oils and margarine, especially in my own diet, which is why I made the comment about the hummus being oil-free.
>>I live in WW, close to Tri-Cities. I'm curious which health food store (and any other stores) carry the products you featuer, such as Wild Garden. I'll be sure to check those stores out next time I'm over that way!
ReplyDeleteSorry I forgot to answer this! Highland Health Foods in Kennewick carries Wild Garden hummus in jars and single serving packs, as well as the baked pita chips.
I was vegan for 4 years and loved it...husband does not want to raise son vegan (thinks he will be weak) HELP.
ReplyDeleteLove your book ordering it today.
Thank you.
ALSO, how to get a boy to try new stuff. He is basically vegan that eats chicken (YUCK)
That lunch sure looks a lot better than the old Lunchables I had growing up!
ReplyDeleteI don't know what hummus is or even how to pronounce it but I tried it at Naturally Yours last weekend on a sandwich and it was great! Love your site!
ReplyDeleteHi Everybody,
ReplyDeleteIf you are interested in getting Wild Garden Hummus in your local store please contact me directly:
Beril, Bright Light Marketing
510 610 2480
I am their broker so I will be glad to help you with this.
Hmmm healthy food. This is convenient too plus it's packed with food for health
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