Salad can be tricky for most kids to enjoy. For one, we don’t often serve kids salad and two, lots of greens can have a slightly bitter taste. Here are some things I’ve found that help my kids eat and enjoy salad greens:

1. Chop everything very small so it’s less intimidating for kids to eat.
   
2. Add fruit. Seeing pieces of their favorite fruit makes the salad feel more exciting.
   
3. A yummy dressing. Figure out what kind of dressing your child enjoys by trying a few different kinds.
   
4. Try a different presentation. Separate parts of the salad into bowls then let your child add them to a plate or bowl. You can also try serving the dressing on the side to dip pieces of lettuce into.

Keep experimenting with new ways to eat lettuce and exposing those kiddos to let them make friends with the crunchy greens!

This mashed chickpea salad is a vegetarian version of the classic tuna salad! The perfect no-cook meal that you can easily make in minutes. When served on lettuce “boats,” this quick meal instantly becomes extra fun for littles to eat as well as getting some extra veggies in!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups cooked and drained chickpeas
  
• 1 stalk celery, diced
  
• 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, or to taste
  
• 1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  
• 1/4 cup mayo or Greek yogurt, or to taste
  
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon onion powder, or to taste
  
• Salt & pepper, to taste
  
• Lettuce leaves, washed and patted dry

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pour the cooked and drained chickpeas into a medium bowl. Using a potato masher or fork, mash the chickpeas until there are no more whole beans and to your desired consistency.
   
2. Add diced celery, lemon juice/apple cider vinegar, mustard, mayo/Greek yogurt, onion powder, salt and pepper to the bowl. Mix well.
   
3. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Add more mayo/yogurt for a creamier salad.
   
4. Arrange the prepped lettuce leaves (these will become your “boats”) on a serving platter or individual plates. Fill each one with a scoop or two of the mashed chickpea salad.
   
5. Enjoy as is or top with sliced tomatoes, shredded carrots or diced avocado.

We love making whole meals in one color! It helps get my picky eaters more interested in the foods that they are still exploring. Have your children pick 4-5 green colored foods to serve for a meal. They can even help prepare them with you! Serve them up on a color themed plate or even in a muffin tin to make it more like a sampling platter. Do the different foods taste, look, and smell different even though they are the same color? There are SO many great green foods out there. Have fun picking which ones to add to your monochromatic plate!

Enjoy this crunchy and sweet Waldorf Salad that's on the lighter side because of the creamy yogurt dressing! This recipe is a great introduction to celery and salad to children if they're apprehensive about both. Be sure to have them assist you with chopping the celery and apples using a kid-safe knife or butter knife and have them mix up the sweet dressing!

You’ve probably heard of cauliflower pizza crust, but did you know you can make your own veggie pizza crust with just a few ingredients? Little chefs will love to help make this kid-favorite featuring broccoli as the star ingredient. Make sure to save the little “sprinkles” of broccoli that fall onto the cutting board as you cut the broccoli into florets. They are perfect for adding a little broccoli goodness to the top of the pizzas or any other dish. I made the crusts mini rounds in this recipe, but feel free to form the broccoli mixture into any flat shape that you’d like (baking time may vary).

Makes 14 to 16 3-inch pizzas
INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups broccoli florets
  
• 2 large eggs*
  
• 1 1/4 cups grated mozzarella cheese (or dairy-free alternative) divided
  
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2 cup marinara or pizza sauce
  
• Toppings, such as olives, chopped bell peppers, or tomatoes

*To make the pizza crusts egg-free, substitute 2 tablespoons of flax meal mixed with 5 tablespoons of water.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
   
2. Add broccoli to a pot with a cup of water. Bring up to a simmer then lower heat and cover with a lid. Steam broccoli until fork tender but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Drain broccoli then spread out on a clean kitchen towel and allow to cool.
   
3. Once broccoli is cooled, pat with the towel to make sure it is completely dry. Place broccoli in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add eggs, ½ cup mozzarella cheese, garlic powder, and salt.
   
4. Pulse ingredients in the food processor until everything is well combined and broccoli is finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the food processor then pulse 2 to 3 more times.
   
5. Remove food processor blade and set aside. Scoop one tablespoon of the broccoli mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and form into an even, flat round. Do this free-from or use a round cookie cutter as a guide. Repeat using all of the broccoli mixture.
   
6. Bake crusts until golden brown around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Top crusts with sauce, cheese, and any other desired toppings. Return to oven until cheese is melted, about 3 to 5 minutes. Enjoy warm.

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.

Septemer is Bean Month at Veggie Buds Club and we are excited to bring you this super green recipe from Katie at Eat Pretty Darling! You can find more recipes and tons of fun bean activities in our "Bonkers for Beans!" eBook, check it out here.

Fresh corn is so versatile! It is delicious in cornbread, corn muffins, corn soups, and corn salads, so why not make a kid favorite, pancakes, and try them out in both sweet and savory ways. Take pancakes beyond breakfast and serve them as a snack or a side dish at lunch or dinner. You can mix up the base pancake batter and really add in anything you'd like. For the sweet pancakes, add in fruit, like blueberries or diced strawberries. For a savory pancake, keep the batter as written or add soft herbs like chives or chopped cilantro. You could even add in extra veggies like shredded zucchini or diced bell peppers. Serve sweet pancakes as is or with a drizzle of maple syrup or honey. The savory pancakes are great with avocado or spread with a little cream cheese and made into sandwiches. Try both recipes and come tell us whether you are on team sweet or on team savory!

June is Pepper Month at Veggie Buds Club and we are excited to bring you this fun and colorful pepper recipe from Heather at Happy Kids Kitchen! 

This recipe was developed by Heather Staller, a mom of two boys, ages 6 and 4, 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.happykidskitchen), where she shares inventive kid-friendly recipes and ideas for cooking with kids at home.

One of the best ways to get kids excited about vegetables is to pair them with kid-friendly flavors that they love. Pizza is one of those things that kids usually can’t get enough of, right? Not only are these stuffed peppers “pizza-fied,” they are mini 
which makes them even more fun! However, if you can’t find mini peppers, you can use two regular peppers (cut in half lengthwise) and follow the recipe below. Feel free to customize the pepper stuffing as you please: you can leave out the spinach or add extra chopped or shredded veggies like carrots or zucchini. Topping the “pizzas” is a great way to let your little chefs get involved and add what they’d like on top of each pepper. Also, if you want to make this dish dairy-free, feel free to use a cheese alternative or leave out the cheese entirely. It will still taste great! 

​Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked quinoa or rice
• ½ cup marinara sauce
• ½ cup baby spinach, finely chopped
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
• 10 to 12 mini sweet peppers, halved lengthwise and seeds and ribs removed
• Additional toppings: sliced olives, pepperoni, or anything else you’d like

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet in parchment paper or aluminum foil.
   
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix quinoa, marinara sauce, chopped spinach, and a ¼ cup of the cheese.
   
3. Stuff each pepper half with about a teaspoon or so of the quinoa mixture then place on the prepared baking pan. Once peppers are all filled, sprinkle each one with a pinch of the remaining cheese and top with any additional toppings.
   
4. Bake peppers until cheese is melted and lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.

March's featured veggie is PEAS at Veggie Buds Club! We hope you enjoy this delicious pea recipe from this month's Veggie Buds Club subscription box.
​
This recipe was developed by Heather Staller, a mom of two boys, ages 6 and 4, 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.happykidskitchen), where she shares inventive kid-friendly recipes and ideas for cooking with kids at home.

These falafel patties are packed with peas! Your little chefs will love adding all the ingredients to the food processor, pushing the button, and helping to make the patties with their hands. Not only are they fun to make, but you can enjoy them in so many different ways. Eat them like “nuggets” with Greek yogurt for dipping, in pita bread, or on top of lettuce leaves
with any toppings you’d like. You could even make the patties a little bigger and eat them on a bun as a burger or cook the falafel mixture in a waffle iron to make falafel waffles. Any way you cook them, falafel is the perfect way to enjoy peas!

Ingredients

• 1 cup peas, cooked if from fresh or defrosted if frozen
  
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  
• ¼ cup Italian parsley leaves
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 garlic clove, minced
  
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  
• ¼ teaspoon cumin, optional
  
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
  
• 2 to 3 tablespoons oat or whole wheat flour
  
• 1 teaspoon olive oil, plus more for cooking
  
• Yogurt, pita bread, tomatoes, cucumber, or desired toppings, for serving

Instructions

1. Add peas, chickpeas, and parsley to a bowl of a food processor. Pulse until roughly chopped. 
   
2. Add lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin, baking powder, and 2 tablespoons of flour. Pulse all ingredients until well combined and finely chopped, stopping to scrape the sides down a couple of times as needed. Form a little of the mixture into a small patty. If the mixture is too sticky, add another tablespoon of flour and pulse again to mix in.
   
3. Form the pea mixture into 16 small patties and place on a plate.
   
4. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook falafel patties in batches, browning on each side then placing back on a plate to cool.
   
5. Serve falafel warm with a dip or in a pita pocket topped as desired.

 
To make falafel mixture into waffles, mix in 2 additional tablespoons of flour. Heat waffle iron and grease well. Do not open waffle iron before 5 minutes of cooking. Use a butter knife to gently lift falafel from the waffle iron and transfer to a plate.