Breakfast is an important meal that gives you energy to get your day started. But often a major food group is missing from your breakfast plate or bowl... veggies! Join us for our #veggiebudsbreakfastclub challenge for the month of February: include at least one veggie in your first meal of the day. To give you some inspiration we've compiled some of our favorite veggie-packed breakfasts! We've broken them down into 3 categories: Savory, Baked Goods, and Smoothies. Each recipe below includes veggies, is delicious, and is simple to make!

Sweet Potato Quiche: This tasty quiche is packed with veggies and bacon (optional) and swaps the standard crust with shredded sweet potato instead for an extra veggie boost.
Savory Corn Pancakes: These savory pancakes from Happy Kids Kitchen are great with avocado or spread with a little cream cheese and made into sandwiches. Yum!
Sweet Potato Toasts​: These sweet potato toasts from Eat Pretty Darling are so versatile because they are delicious both sweet and savory. That’s what makes them the perfect toast substitute!
Rainbow Fried Rice: This rainbow fried rice from Happy Kids Kitchen is colorful, easy, healthy, and delicious for breakfast!
Vegetable Frittata: Healthy Little Foodies has a great kid-approved and veggie-packed frittata recipe, make it ahead and reheat in the morning.
Cauliflower & Cheese Muffins: Be sure to let your kiddos know that their yummy egg muffins have some "hidden" cauliflower inside, recipe from My Kids Lick The Bowl.
5-Ingredient Bacon & Broccoli Egg Cups: These are a great grab-and-go breakfast option from The Natural Nurturer.
Carrot Banana Protein Oatmeal: This oatmeal from The Natural Nurturer is full of nothing but the good stuff and is super easy to make!
Veggie Oatmeal: Happy Healthy Casa has some great options for veggie-packed oatmeal including how to incorporate zucchini, carrots, cauliflower, squash, sweet potato, and spinach!

Carrot Cake Muffin Tops: The top of the muffin is the best part, right? These wholesome treats are a combination of a tender muffin and an oatmeal breakfast cookie. Recipe by Happy Kids Kitchen.
One-Bowl Sweet Potato Pancakes: These pancakes from Happy Kids Kitchen are a great way to add some extra nutrients into your morning!
No-Bake Pumpkin Energy Balls: These no-bake pumpkin energy balls from Stephanie Middleberg are tasty, and they freeze well so they're a perfect on-the-go breakfast or snack for your kiddos.
Green French Toast Sticks: Enjoy this delicious kid-friendly way to "sneak" in some spinach from Happy Kids Kitchen! Little chefs will know that greens are in this fun breakfast, but they sure won't be able to taste them.
Outrageous Orange Granola: This granola from Eat Pretty Darling is packed with pumpkin, sweet potato, and carrots- so much orange veggie goodness!
Sweet Spinach Muffins: These kid-favorite muffins from Super Healthy Kids are 100% whole wheat, refined-sugar-free, and packed with fresh spinach!
Banana Spinach Pancake Pizza: This pancake pizza from The Natural Nurturer is a perfectly delicious way to serve up veggies for breakfast! Sweetened entirely with fruit and loaded with spinach.

Tropical Carrot Smoothie: ​Happy Kids Kitchen has developed a tropical vacation in a glass! Kids will love measuring and adding ingredients to the blender, helping to chop the carrot, and pressing the buttons on the blender.
Spinach Superhero Smoothie: This recipe from Motherhood and Meals is called "superhero smoothie" because just as superheroes in stories fight crime, the spinach in this smoothie helps fight off illness!
​Ants on a Log Smoothie: Adding celery to a smoothie with the addition of peanut butter in a tasty protein-and-veggie packed breakfast! Recipe from Motherhood and Meals.
Vitamin C Immune Boosting Smoothie: This smoothie from The Natural Nurturer is made with strawberry, banana, red bell pepper and is the perfect way to start your day!
Cauliflower Strawberry Banana Smoothie: Just 4 ingredients! Enjoy this simple and delicious smoothie from Live Eat Learn.

October is Pumpkin Month at Veggie Buds Club and we are excited to bring you this unique and healthy recipe from Katie at Eat Pretty Darling! You can find more recipes and tons of fun pumpkin activities in our Pumpkin eBook, check it out here.

Orange you glad it’s pumpkin season? We knew we needed to make our #eatprettycoloroftheweek orange for this month’s veggie, pumpkin! We gathered our favorite orange veggies to pair with it, sweet potato and carrots. Did you know you can add veggies to granola!? Yes, this granola is packed with a veggie punch and it tastes delicious! Our orange foods makes this the perfect topping for yogurt, great to eat with milk, or just by the spoonful.

Ingredients

• 3 cups rolled oats
  
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
  
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  
• 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
  
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
  
• 1/4 cup pumpkin purée
  
• 2 tablespoons finely shredded carrot
  
• 1/4 cup cooked sweet potato

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small saucepan, whisk the coconut oil, maple syrup and pumpkin purée together on low heat.
   
2. Mix together the oats, seeds, spices, and salt in a large bowl. Quickly pour the saucepan mixture on top of the oats once it is warmed. Mix with a wooden spoon.
   
3. Spread out the mixture on two large baking sheets. Bake for 25-35 minutes, stirring halfway. Once the mix is golden brown it is ready to be removed from the oven.
   
4. Once it has cooled completely, transfer to an airtight container. It will keep for around 2 weeks.

October is Pumpkin Month at Veggie Buds Club and we are excited to bring you this yummy recipe from Heather at Happy Kids Kitchen! You can find more recipes and hours of fun pumpkin activities that are guaranteed to make pumpkins tasty for your kiddos in our Pumpkin eBook, check it out here.

Need a quick, easy, and delicious snack that celebrates the veggie of the month? Try this sweet, refreshing smoothie that tastes just like pumpkin pie. Kids will love to help by measuring the ingredients, adding them to the blender, and working those blender buttons. This recipe also includes some optional frozen cauliflower for an extra veggie-boost. If you want to make the smoothie even more festive for Halloween, instructions on how to create easy Jack-O-Lantern cups are below. 

Makes 3 8-ounce smoothies
INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree, homemade or canned
  
• 1 banana, frozen
  
• 1/2 cup frozen riced cauliflower (optional)
  
• 1/3 cup plain Greek, regular, or dairy-free yogurt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or additional cinnamon
  
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or 1 pitted date
  
• 1/2 cup milk (any kind)
  
• 1 cup ice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Add additional milk to make a thinner smoothie or blend in more ice to thicken the smoothie.
2. Pour into cups and serve with a fun, reusable straw.

​
You can make Jack-O-Lantern cups two ways: 1) If using a plastic cup, draw a jack-o-lantern face directly onto the cup with a black marker. Sharpie permanent markers seems to work best. 2) If using a glass jar or cup, cut triangle “eyes” and a mouth shape out of black construction paper. Use tape or a glue stick to attach the paper to the glass (the paper easily peels off and glue washes off).

​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.

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.

Heather is a mom of two boys, ages 4 and 2, 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 baked goods, pancakes, waffles, pies, and muffins are all delicious ways to use the Veggie Buds Club veggie of the month, but for something a little different I am taking the warm, fall flavors of pumpkin over to the savory side with this easy pasta dish. The result is a nutrition-packed, flavorful, creamy dish the whole family will enjoy. Plus, it's made in one pot and ready in less than 20 minutes!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme and/or sage, optional
• 8 ounces small shaped pasta such as medium shells, fusilli, or penne (high protein pasta made from chickpeas or lentils work great too)
• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons yogurt (I prefer whole milk Greek yogurt, but any kind will be good)
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup, optional
• 1 teaspoon balsamic or apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil and garlic.
2. Sauté garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add in herbs, if using, and stir to combine.
3. Add in pasta, water, salt, pumpkin purée, and spices. Stir to combine.
4. Raise heat to high and bring to a simmer. Adjust heat, if necessary, to keep at a simmer until most of the water is absorbed and pasta is cooked to your liking. Stir frequently to keep pasta from sticking to the bottom.
5. Turn off the heat. Stir in yogurt, Parmesan, honey, and vinegar.
6. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if needed.
7. Serve immediately with an extra sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

We are a big fan of making food from scratch! Now that pumpkin season has begun a main staple when it comes to fall recipes is pumpkin purée. The great thing about pumpkin purée is that you can bake a few pumpkins at a time, purée them, and then freeze the purée in 1 cup servings for use at a later time. Pumpkin purée is great to have on hand for sweet dishes such as pumpkin pie as well as savory dishes such as filling for ravioli or pumpkin mac and cheese (check out our One-Pot Pumpkin Pasta post!). You can find plenty of recipe inspiration featuring pumpkin on our Pinterest page! Here we are going to demonstrate how to make a basic pumpkin purée with no additives.

Ingredients

• 1 or more medium pie pumpkins

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Cut pumpkin/s in half and scoop out seeds (set these aside to create roasted pumpkin seeds!)
3. Place pumpkin halves face up or down on a baking sheet
4. Bake until the pumpkin flesh is soft, about 45 minutes-1 hour (depends on the size and quantity of pumpkin/s)
5. Remove pumpkin/s from oven and allow to cool 
6. Scoop out the flesh, place in a food processor, and process until smooth OR place flesh in a large bowl and process with an immersion blender until smooth