Some weeks we like to have a little fun and instead of picking a color, we pick all of the colors! Rainbow is a color in our book. We grabbed one item in each color to go with our green kale in this month’s Veggie Buds Club box. My son picked some of his favorites for each color. Blueberries for blue, carrots for orange, yellow bell pepper for yellow, tomatoes for red, and purple cabbage for purple.
Salads may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of kid food, but making it full of color and having them help pick the ingredients makes it a little more exciting. The fun thing about this recipe is you could use almost any fruits or veggies that fit the colors, as long as you try to make a rainbow! Have your kids be a part of it from start to finish.

Ingredients

• 3 cups kale, stem removed and finely chopped
• 1 medium yellow pepper
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
• 1 cup blueberries

Dressing

• 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Place kale in a large bowl. Mix all dressing ingredients in a small jar. Shake it well to combine.
2. Drizzle dressing on top and gently massage dressing into kale (this is a fun part for the kids!). Add in remaining ingredients and toss to coat the vegetables in the dressing.
3. Cover and place in the fridge to let the kale become a little more tender.

November's featured veggie is KALE at Veggie Buds Club! We hope you enjoy these delicious recipes for Gluten-Free Kale Crackers and Kale White Bean Dip from this month's Veggie Buds Club subscription box.
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This recipe was developed by Heather Staller, a mom of two boys, ages 6 and 3, and cooking instructor specializing in bringing cooking into preschool classrooms. After college, Heather knew she wanted to be a teacher, but first followed her lifelong dream of going to culinary school. Teaching cooking combines both of her passions, and she truly enjoys introducing young children to the joys of cooking with fresh ingredients. Find Heather on Instagram (@heather_kidskitchen), where she shares inventive kid-friendly recipes and ideas for cooking with kids at home.

​Pumpkin is packed with incredible nutrition to support the development and strength of our eyesight, bones, and immune systems. For years I have been making pumpkin muffins, pancakes, and cookies and love how this nutrient dense vegetable adds to their flavor and nutritional value. This year I decided it would be fun to try using pumpkin in a new way and since my family loved it I couldn't resist sharing it here for PUMPKIN month at Veggie Buds Club! You can find the tasty PUMPKIN SPICE CHICKEN recipe below. And to make a really festive meal on Halloween you could serve it with orange sides such as carrots, orange peppers, golden berries, mashed sweet potato, roasted butternut quash, or turmeric spiced cauliflower rice!

Ingredients

• 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup pure canned pumpkin (or your own homemade puree if you prefer)
• 1/4 cup honey mustard
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric

Instructions

1. Place chicken breasts on a baking stone or in a glass baking dish whole or in strips.
2. Mix chicken broth, pumpkin puree, mustard, maple syrup, and spices together and pour over chicken. Add a small amount of additional chicken broth or water to the edges of the pan to prevent the chicken from drying out. 
3. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until chicken breasts are cooked through. (NOTE: Larger pieces will take longer to cook and oven temperatures can vary slightly leading to varying cooking times.)

With the leaves beginning to change and fall in the air, it’s the perfect time for pumpkins! We gathered some orange foods at the grocery store to make a family favorite for this week’s #eatprettycoloroftheweek. We had a lot of fun exploring the cheese department this week. There are so many varieties of cheese and they have such different tastes and textures. We settled on cheddar cheese, smoked gouda, butternut squash pasta, and of course pumpkin! Throwing these ingredients together makes a delicious mac & cheese that both my picky eaters and I devoured. The pumpkin isn’t too noticeable but it helps make it the creamiest texture.

October's featured veggie is PUMPKINS at Veggie Buds Club! We hope you enjoy this delicious recipe for Baked Pumpkin Donuts from this month's Veggie Buds Club subscription box.
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This recipe was developed by Heather Staller, a mom of two boys, ages 5 and 3, and cooking instructor specializing in bringing cooking into preschool classrooms. After college, Heather knew she wanted to be a teacher, but first followed her lifelong dream of going to culinary school. Teaching cooking combines both of her passions, and she truly enjoys introducing young children to the joys of cooking with fresh ingredients. Find Heather on Instagram (@heather_kidskitchen), where she shares inventive kid-friendly recipes and ideas for cooking with kids at home.

Whether you use homemade pumpkin purée or pumpkin from a can, these wholesome baked donuts are the most delicious way to celebrate the veggie of the month! Don’t worry if you don’t have a donut pan. You can bake up the same batter in a mini muffin pan and call them donut holes! Your little chef is going to love measuring, mixing, and scooping the batter. The pumpkin spice-sugar coating to top off the donuts is optional but really makes them a special sweet treat. 

Makes 6 large donuts, 12 mini donuts, or 12-14 mini muffins
Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour (or gluten-free flour blend)*
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, pinch of ground nutmeg and cloves)
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons pumpkin purée (from a can or homemade)
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• ½ cup coconut sugar (or 1/3 cup brown sugar)
• ½ cup milk (any kind)

Topping

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, melted
• ¼ cup maple sugar, granulated sugar, or coconut sugar 
• ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a donut pan or mini muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
3. In a second bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients (besides the topping). Add the wet ingredient to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined.
4. If making donuts, scoop batter into a small zip-top bag. Twist the top then cut the tip off of one corner of the bag. Squeeze the batter into your donut pan, filling them each about ¾ of the way. If making donut “holes,” scoop batter into muffin tin using a spoon or small ice cream scoop. 
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the donut or mini muffin comes out clean, about 10 to 12 minutes for large donuts and 8 to 10 minutes for mini donuts or muffins.
6. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes then transfer donuts to a cooling rack. Mix sugar and extra pumpkin pie spice in a small, shallow bowl. When donuts are cool enough to handle, use a pastry brush to coat the tops of the donuts with a thin layer of oil. Dip into spiced sugar mixture.
7. The sugar coated donuts are best enjoyed the same day they are made. Plain donuts can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

 *I used Bob’s Red Mill white whole wheat flour, oat flour, and gluten-free flour mix with success.

October's featured veggie is PUMPKIN at Veggie Buds Club, and we are very excited to bring you a recipe from Stephanie Middleberg's new cookbook, "The Big Book of Organic Toddler Food" for this week's post!

These no-bake pumpkin balls are tasty, and they freeze well so they're perfect on-the-go snacks your toddler (and probably everyone else in your family) will enjoy. I also find with energy bites that you can really add anything to them. Check what's in your pantry - these would be excellent with shredded coconut, dried fruit, or cacao powder added in. Use gluten-free oats to keep them gluten- and allergen-free.

Serves 10 to 12
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
• 1/2 cup sun butter
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• Pinch sea salt

Instructions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, sun butter, pumpkin puree, flaxseed, honey, pumpkin pie spice, and salt, mixing well.
3. Form the mixture into 1-tablespoon balls and place on the prepared tray. Serve immediately, or transfer to an airtight container and store, refrigerated, for up to 1 week.

Substitution Tip: For vegan, you can replace the honey with 3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup. You may need to add up to 1/4 cup more of the oats to adjust the texture of the balls.

Brown might not be the first color that comes to mind when you think of pretty food, but there are so many great brown options out there. Some are just brown on the outside, like sweet potatoes! We were all around the store for this week’s color. From produce, to eggs, to nuts, and spices. So many of our family’s favorite foods are brown! This week we got sweet potatoes, brown eggs, Bosc pears, pecans, and cinnamon. Sweet potatoes are so versatile because they are delicious both sweet and savory. That’s what makes them the perfect toast substitute! I can’t decide which way I like them best so I like to make one a little salty and one a sweet treat. It’s a great way to get in some extra veggies in those bellies. Picking out the toppings is half the fun so make sure to let the kids help!

It’s time to find all things RED this week to go along with our yummy veggie (technically a fruit!) of the month, tomatoes. You could literally just stick to the tomato section this week and just get different varieties of tomatoes because there are so many! Are your kids like mine and they love everything made from tomatoes, just not an actual tomato? This is a great time to make some of their favorites like ketchup and red sauce to show them that some of the things they love are made with this pretty red fruit. And calling it a fruit is such a selling point for my picky eater!
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This week we ventured out of the produce department and snagged some red lentils. While there are tons of great fresh food options for the color red, there are so many others throughout the store! Just make sure to stick with items that are just the ingredient. This week, we’re making a crowd pleasing PIZZA!!! It’s allergy friendly because there are no grains, no nuts, and no eggs! Can you guess what makes our pizza crust red?

Ingredients
Pizza Sauce

• 2 pounds whole fresh tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ½ tsp Italian seasoning
• 1¾ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1-2 teaspoons honey (optional)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

Red Lentil Crust

• ¾ cups red lentils, soaked up to 24 hours
• ½ cup water
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

1. First, prepare the pizza sauce. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Make a small X in the bottom of each tomato and dunk into the boiling water until the skins are slightly loosened, about 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water for 1 minute. Peel off the skin.
2. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook while stirring, until beginning to brown, about 4-6 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes (and any juice), Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and honey. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until tomatoes have broken down, about 2 hours. Taste and season with additional salt, pepper and/or honey.
3. Transfer the sauce to a blender (or use an immersion blender), add tomato paste and blend until smooth. Use caution when pureeing hot liquids! If not using the sauce right away, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 6 months. It will make more than you need for your pizza so you can also use it for spaghetti another day! Now it’s time to prepare the crust.
4. Rinse and drain lentils and preheat oven to 425 F. Place all pizza crust ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until smooth.
5. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour the batter onto the sheet and spread into an even layer about ¼ inch thick. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Remove pizza from oven, spread on pizza sauce and top with desired toppings and cheese. Bake pizza for additional 5 minutes or until cheese it melted, brown and bubbly. Slice and serve!

Get the kids involved!
Have them peel the tomatoes after they are tossed in the ice bath. Ask them help sprinkle on the pizza toppings and cheese! 

Ingredients

• 6 plum (Roma) tomatoes* (about 1 ½ pounds)
  
• 3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  
• 2 garlic cloves
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• Salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees then line a sheet pan with parchment or aluminum foil.
   
2. Trim stem end off tomatoes then slice into ¼ inch thick rounds. Tomatoes are difficult for little ones to cut, so have your child get involved by placing tomato slices side-by-side on the sheet pan.
   
3. Your child can help pick the tiny leaves off of the thyme stems and scatter them over the tomatoes. Make sure you both smell the fresh thyme and talk about what it makes you think of.
   
4. Gently smash the garlic cloves to make them easier to peel. Cut each garlic clove into thin slices then have your child scatter them over the tomatoes. Together, drizzle the oil over the tomatoes then sprinkle on a big pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Show your child how to hold his hand up high to “shower” the salt all over the tomatoes like rain.
   
5. Place pan in the oven and bake until the garlic is brown in spots and the tomatoes have shrunk in size, 20 to 25 minutes.

*You can also use small tomatoes such as grape or cherry tomatoes in this recipe. No need to cut smaller tomatoes, and they may take less time to roast, about 15 to 20 minutes.