Dinner of dips makes Halloween night appealing

Halloween dinner is downright scary. You walk in from work to a ringing doorbell, a barking dog and kids salivating for candy. We're tempted to forget nutrition on this one frightful night, but then the pangs of parental guilt start. Here's our solution: Make dinner as appealing as the candy. (Well, almost anyway.)

This year our menu features a dinner of dips. All kids love to dip, and you'll be surprised at how many fresh veggies are consumed when they're dunked in something yummy.

The trick of this treat is to make the process easy enough for such a hectic night — and fast enough so the kids will actually eat before their mouths get stuffed with fake fangs.

As early as possible, we put out a tray of raw veggies, such as baby carrots, celery sticks, cucumber rounds, broccoli florets, bell pepper strips and black olives. Add a few whole-wheat crackers and tortilla chips for good measure.

Next come the dippers. Our favorites include salsa, ranch dressing, cheese sauce and today's recipe for Halloween Hummus. Hummus is a tangy Middle Eastern spread made from chickpeas and tahini, a sesame paste located in the supermarket imported foods section. (We usually find it near jars of Greek olives.) Prepared hummus is often available in the deli of larger supermarkets, but it's very quick (and more delicious) to make your own.

To complete the smorgasbord, you could add a few apple slices, grape clusters and cubes of cheese. Each time the kids pass by the platter, more good-for-you nibbles get popped into their mouths.

Menu: Halloween Hummus and other dips

Assorted raw vegetables

Apple slices and cheese cubes

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HALLOWEEN HUMMUS

Start to finish: 10 minutes

2 cloves fresh garlic

1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, loosely packed (optional)

1/2 very small onion (for about 1/4 cup minced)

1 can (15 ounces, about 1 1/2 cups drained) chickpeas

3 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)

juice from 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons water, or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon salt

Peel the garlic, and drop the cloves through the feed tube of the food processor onto the moving blade to mince the garlic finely. If using the parsley, drop the leaves through the feed tube onto the moving blade and mince finely. Peel the onion half, cut it into 2 pieces, and drop them through the feed tube of the process onto the moving blade to finely mince.