Handy Family Tips: Easy Healthy Spread

A couple of months ago, we went to visit some friends of ours who had a guest. Their guest was a young man who loved cooking but did not really think of himself as cook or a chef. To feed his love for cooking while travelling, he made a nice and easy garlic spread and which we tasted on a piece of bread. It was heavenly.

Since I love introducing the kids to special and healthy food options, I loved the idea. My kids are very much healthy eaters. When they make a sandwich it is full of vegetables and adding the garlic as a spread was a great way to add flavor to the sandwiches without adding junk to it.

When I came home, I had to try it. Here is what you do:

Put a heap of peeled garlic cloves in a pot, fill the pot with oil until it covers the garlic (I used cold pressed olive oil), add salt and cook it for an hour or so until the garlic turns soft. When it cools, put it in a glass jar, cover it with some of the oil to seal the top and store it in the refrigerator. Done!

Three days after we made this dish, the spread was entirely devoured. We even used the oil that was left over for cooking which added a great and very garlic-y flavor. The second time around, I decided to put it in the blender after it cooled. This made it easy to store and easy to spread on toast. You could even add it to Tahini or other dips and dishes. Think about it, it has olive oil, salt and garlic, is there anything healthier than that?

This week, I decided to try doing the same with sliced onions. I cooked it in olive oil as well and followed all the same steps. It was brilliant! It is a great addition to the garlic spread we have in the refrigerator.

All you have to do is thinly slice the onion and put it in a pot. Fill the pot with olive oil until the onions are covered. Add salt and cook for an hour or until onion is soft. Let it cool. Then you can blend it if you want to make a spread. Otherwise, just put it in a jar, cover with oil, refrigerate and enjoy!

Easy!

This is a very easy and handy family tip to encourage your family to eat healthy spreads. You know exactly what is inside and even your kids can make it for themselves.

If you have any other healthy and easy snacks ideas, please share them below.

Happy and healthy eating,
Ronit