November is Beet Month at Veggie Buds Club and we are excited to bring you this yummy kid-approved recipe from Katie at Eat Pretty Darling! You can find more recipes and tons of fun beet activities in our Beet eBook, check it out here.

​Applesauce is a family favorite in our house! Making it homemade makes it even better. I will admit, beets aren’t something I enjoy but this is one of the ways I eat them. The sweetness of the apples helps balance out the earthiness of the beet. And the beet turns it such a beautiful color!
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Ingredients

• 4 large apples, cored and cut into chunks (peeled optional)
• 1 small beet
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup water

Instructions

1. Place a pot on the stove top over high heat and add the apples, beet, cinnamon and water. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low, covered, for 30 minutes or until the apples are tender.
2. Put all ingredients into a blender and pulse until desired consistency (be careful blending the hot liquid!). Place in a sealed container and chill in the fridge. Eat within 3 days.

It officially feels like winter here in Minnesota and this chilly weather has me craving seasonal comfort food. We always like to pack extra veggies into meals here at Veggie Buds Club so I hope you enjoy this tasty spin on quiche! I chose to fill my quiche with wild rice, fresh spinach, bacon, and goat cheese but quiche is such a versatile meal, feel free to omit or add a wide variety of veggies, meat, and cheese.
I made the quiche start to finish with my 4 year old son and he tried the ingredients as we went along (grated sweet potato! spinach! bacon! wild rice! even goat cheese, not a fan but he tried it!).
If you'd like to follow along as me and my kiddos make veggies fun and tasty through recipes, crafts, and growing projects please join our Facebook Group- our community is fantastic!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ½ cup cooked wild rice
• ½ cup cooked bacon crumbles
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• ½ cup goat cheese crumbles
• 10 eggs
• Salt and pepper, to season

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9-inch pie pan using cooking spray or butter.
2. Peel sweet potatoes and then shred them using the wide option on a box grater. You want to yield approximately 4 cups of grated sweet potato.
3. Place grated sweet potatoes between paper towels and wring out excess moisture over the sink.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the grated sweet potato, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
5. Press the grated sweet potato mixture into the pie pan to create the crust.
6. Bake the sweet potato crust in the oven for about 30 minutes, until lightly browned and crisp. Check on the crust half-way to ensure that the edges are not burning, if they are place aluminum foil on top for the rest of the bake time.
7. Meanwhile, make your filling. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl and add the cooked wild rice, cooked bacon, fresh spinach, goat cheese, and a pinch of salt.
8. Remove the crust from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
9. Add the filling to the crust and place back in the oven. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the egg is cooked through.

This is the perfect recipe to make with both beet skeptics and beet lovers because what child (or adult) doesn’t get excited by donuts, right? Chocolate and beets together might sound a little strange at first, but the naturally earthy flavor of beets matches really well with rich, sweet chocolate. Make sure to get all the ingredients out and ready to go (even measure some ahead for younger children) so you can have more fun and less mess baking up some donuts together. Don’t have a donut pan? You can cook the batter in a regular or mini muffin pan to make donut muffins.

Makes 12 large donuts
INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup beet purée*
• 2 large eggs**
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
• 1/3 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
• 1/4 cup milk (any kind)
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat, all-purpose or gluten-free flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Optional glaze:

• 1/3 cup chocolate chips
  
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut or vegetable oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 12-hole donut pan or muffin tin.
   
2. In a large bowl, whisk together beet purée, eggs, maple syrup, melted butter, milk, and vanilla.
   
3. In another bowl, whisk cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a spatula until just combined.
   
4. Scoop batter into a large resealable plastic bag or reusable piping bag. Snip off the corner of the bag and pipe batter into prepared pan, filling the holes 2/3 of the way full.
   
5. Bake until donuts are puffed up and dry to the touch, about 15 minutes. Cool completely before removing donuts from the pan.
   
6. To make glaze, melt chocolate chips then stir in the oil. Drizzle donuts with melted chocolate. Set aside or chill until chocolate hardens. Keep donuts in an air-tight container on the counter for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.

*Make beet purée by blending 8 to 9 ounces of cooked, peeled beets, about 3 to 4 medium-sized beets.
**Substitute 2 tablespoons ground flax seed mixed with 5 tablespoons water for an egg-free version.