These mini veggie burgers include raw beets which can be much milder in flavor than cooked ones. Kids will love to mash the beans, help measure ingredients, and 
choose how to top their own veggie patties. Serve on a bun or on its own with a dip on the side. 

Makes 6 small veggie burgers
Ingredients    

• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed (flax meal)
  
• 1 ½ cups cooked black beans (1 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed)
  
• ½ cup peeled and grated raw beet* (about 1 medium-large beet)
  
• ½ cup grated carrot (about 1 small carrot)
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (or any soft green)
  
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
  
• ½ teaspoon coarse salt
  
• 2 tablespoons of oat flour (or any flour)
  
• 6 slider buns, if desired
  
• Topping suggestions: sliced avocado, sliced tomato, cheese, ketchup, ranch dressing

Instructions

1. Add flax to a small bowl and stir in two tablespoons of water. Set aside.
   
2. In a large bowl, add beans and mash with a potato masher or large spoon until most of the beans are mashed.
   
3. Add remaining ingredients and flax mixture to the beans. Stir until well combined. 
   
4. Divide dough into 6 equal sized portions then form into small burger patties. If the bean mixture is too sticky, stir in an additional tablespoon of flour and try again. At this point patties can be covered and refrigerated for up to a day. 
   
5. When ready to eat, heat oil in a non-stick or well seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook burgers until browned and crispy, about 1 minute per side.
   
6. Serve on slider buns, if desired, with any toppings you’d like 

*You can use a box grater or food processor to grate the beet and carrot. If doing it by hand, hold beet with a paper towel to prevent your hand from getting too red.

We are excited to bring you a very special guest blogger this month! Melanie Potock is a speech pathologist who specializes in picky eating. The kids that work with Melanie call her “Coach Mel” because she’s their food coach! After helping thousands of kids learn to eat a variety of healthy foods, Coach Mel decided to write her fourth book on a problem facing so many parents today – How to help kids learn to LOVE veggies. Just like Veggie Buds Club, Melanie embraces her work knowing that all kids can learn to love vegetables! 
Her latest book, Adventures in Veggieland, is based on her professional 3-step plan that takes kids from FUN to YUM! It’s based on Coach Mel's philosophy of the Three E’s: Expose, Explore, Expand. This delightful cookbook walks parents and kids through twenty different vegetables, presented according to season. Each vegetable experience starts with food play – a fun craft or a game that focuses on a new vegetable, like the activity below for exposing kids to beets before exploring simple, tasty recipes that kids make with their parents. The family then expands to fancier recipes, including some veggie-desserts, like super-moist choco-beet cupcakes.  YUM!

These Beet Tattoos are featured in this month’s issue of Parents Magazine and when we asked Coach Mel if we could share them with you too, she said “Of course, and I’ll be sure to tell you the secret to removing them too! Just take a piece of raw potato under running water and it will magically erase the beet tattoos. That is, if your kid will let you remove them. Chances are, your kid will be too proud of how s/he licked and stamped their own temporary tat! 

Beets come in a variety of colors and, fortunately, can temporarily stain your skin yellow, red, pink, and purple. Yes, it's a good thing! Kids need to explore foods in a fun way before they consider tasting them. Temporary tattoos are sure to be a hit with kids of all ages.
What you'll need:

• Fresh beets
• Kid-safe knife
• Mini cookie cutters in simple shapes, like a heart or diamond (optional)

What to do:

1. KIDS: Wash any dirt from the beets under running water.
2. PARENTS: Boil about an inch (2.5 cm) of water in a shallow pan. Place the beets upright in the water with the greens sticking upward. Boil gently on medium-high for 4 to 6 minutes, until the bottoms are fork-tender. Remove from the water and wait until the beets are cool enough for kids to handle.
3. KIDS: Press a cookie cutter into one of the beet halves and then remove it, leaving an imprint of the shape.
4. PARENTS AND OLDER KIDS: Cut away the beet around the shape to leave a raised "stamp" for the tattoo. Or create your own shape by whittling away at the beet!
5. KIDS: Lick the stamp, press onto skim, and let dry. The pattern will be faint on the skin at first, but if you hold still and let it dry (it takes about a minute) you'll have a lovely light-pink tattoo!
6. PARENTS AND KIDS: Be creative! How about putting the stamp to use for a little face painting? It all comes off in the bathtub or with the secret vegetable that magically erases beet stains that "Coach Mel" mentioned above.

​When you hear the word chips, do you automatically assume they will be a “less healthy” option or a “sometimes food”??? If so, you are not alone. I have great news that this is not always true! You can actually increase your child’s interest in many kinds of vegetables by making them into “chips”. We love doing this with sweet potatoes, purple potatoes, carrots, and most of all BEETS!!!! Also children love to dip so pairing Beet Chips with a nice Beet and Berry Dip is a definite winner for everyone! 
Today I want to share this recipe with you so you can make Beet and Apple Chips and a yummy Beet and Berry Dip for your family too!

Ingredients

• 6-8 small Purple, Red, or Yellow Beets
• 3-4 apples
• 1 Tbsp. avocado oil (or Chosen Food avocado oil spray)
• 1 cup (2% fat or more) plain Greek yogurt (or dairy free yogurt)
• ½ cup fresh or frozen strawberries

Instructions

1. Peel and slice beets into thin chip size pieces. You can leave them as whole circles or ½ circles.
2. Core and slice apples.
3. Place beet and apple slices on a baking stone and drizzle (or spray) avocado oil over them.
4. Bake at 400 for about 25-35 minutes (or longer) until they are cooked through. Baking time will vary by oven and thickness of the slices.
5. Once the beets and apples are out of the oven set about ½ cup aside and blend with the yogurt and berries until smooth. Pour dip into a container and serve with the chips warm or cooled down. 

While making these recipes you can use it as a teaching moment with your children. You can talk to them about the letter B for BEETS, the color PURPLE, and how the intense color of the beets takes over the white of the apples and dip. Also children may find it interesting that they are eating their beets in two forms…one CRUNCHY and one SMOOTH.  The preparation and eating of these may be on the messy side but the nourishment and enjoyment is SO worth it! If your child is an apprehensive eater then they may be more interested in trying this new food after they have prepared it as opposed to just seeing it on their plate. There is never a shortage of fun learning to be had when Kids are in the Kitchen!

Kids love to bake so this is a great recipe to get your little one interested in trying beets. Because of the veggie of the month, the cookie dough has the brightest magenta color. Unfortunately, the color fades when baked so make sure to add the 
beet to the blender together and celebrate the beautiful color it creates.

Makes about 20 cookies
Ingredients    

• ½ cup mashed ripe banana or applesauce* (*applesauce is less sweet than ripe banana so you may want to add another tablespoon or 2 of maple syrup)
• 1 medium to large red beet, cooked and peeled (or a heaping ¼ cup beet purée)
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (all-purpose or a gluten-free blend)
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• ¼ cup mini chocolate chips, plus more for top, if desired

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray.
2. In a blender, combine banana (or applesauce), beet, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, oil, and vinegar. Blend until smooth.
3. In a large bowl, add flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Use a whisk to slowly mix until combined.
4. Pour beet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. Add in chocolate chips and mix again.
5. Scoop about two tablespoon sized mounds onto your prepared baking sheets (using a cookie/ice cream scoop works best). Cookies do not spread much so you can fit about 16 on a pan.
6. Use the back of a spoon or your cookie scoop to flatten the top of each cookie out a little bit. If you’d like, press a few chocolate chips into the top of each cookie.
7. Bake until puffed and set inside, about 18-20 minutes. Once cooled, cookies can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for 2 days, in the fridge for 1 week, or frozen for up to a month.