August is Cucumber Month at Veggie Buds Club and we are excited to bring you this yummy kid-approved recipe from Katie at Eat Pretty Darling! These cucumber butterflies work like a charm to help picky eaters food chain from pretzels and
hummus to cucumbers and hummus!

​Katie Blauser is the mama of two boys, wife of a picky eater, and food lover at Eat Pretty Darling. She believes in making food fun, healthy, & pretty! Katie’s not only outnumbered by boys in her little family, but also by picky eaters. She loves trying to find new ways to get both kids and adults to eat healthy while making food pretty yummy, pretty healthy, and pretty fun! Find Katie on Instagram (@eatprettydarling), where she shares colorful and cute food ideas for both picky and adventurous eaters.

Cucumber and melon make such a great flavor combination in this refreshing summer drink. For this month’s recipe, I wanted to make sure kids got a chance to practice those knife skills and chop up some cucumbers. Since the cucumber is getting blended in the end, you don’t have to worry about what size or shape kids cut the cucumber and melon pieces into. Throw the peeled, chopped cucumber into the blender with some melon, a little lemon juice, and a touch of sweetener (if you’d like) and blend it all up. Kids can experience the taste of cucumber without having to chew it, so this drink is great for little ones that might be apprehensive about the texture of cucumber. I used a Honeydew melon to keep the blended juice green, but you can use any ripe, sweet melon for this recipe.

​This recipe was developed by Heather Staller, a mom of two boys, ages 7 and 5, 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.

This salsa is made in a food processor, so you don’t have to worry about chopping tomatoes all day. Add a few other ingredients and you’ve got a delicious snack to eat with chips or anything you’d like. It’s great on tacos or to serve with quesadillas too. Kids can help cut the tomatoes into rough chunks, add the ingredients to the food processor, and pulse until everything is roughly chopped. Homemade chips are really fun for kids to make at home too, but you can serve this salsa with store-bought chips as well. (Please be aware that tortilla chips can be a choking hazard or are hard to chew for toddlers and kids under 4).

This month we're celebrating tomatoes at Veggie Buds Club! If you'd like access to tons of kid-friendly tomato recipes, tomato crafts, tomato games, tomato growing projects, and more you can purchase our "Totally Tasty Tomatoes!" eBook or Box here.

INGREDIENTS
Salsa

• 4 large tomatoes
• 2 scallions or 1/4 of a small onion, trimmed and sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro or parsley
• Juice from 1/2 a lime
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)

Tortillas

• 6 small corn or flour tortillas
• Oil
• Salt

These chewy granola bars are perfect for breakfast or for an on-the-go snack! They are similar in texture and flavor to commercially available Lara Bars but are even tastier as they're home-made and more eco-friendly as they don't require any packaging: a win-win!
You can find more kid-friendly carrot recipes and activities that are guaranteed to make carrots tasty for your kiddos in our Facebook Group, request to join here.

Celebrate carrot month by making this sweet, creamy dip filled with carrots! Kids can help peel and chop the carrots then measure and add all the ingredients to the food processor or blender. You can choose a few different dippers to see which combo you like best. Fruit, pretzels, or even veggies like celery and carrots sticks are delicious in the dip.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 to 3 large carrots
  
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt or non-dairy alternative
  
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice, optional
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• Dippers such as sliced apples, carrot sticks, celery, pretzels, and graham crackers

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Peel carrots then cut into a small dice. Measure 1 1/2 cups diced carrot and add to a small pot. Cover carrots with water and simmer on the stove top until very soft, about 8 minutes.
   
2. Drain carrots really well and place on a paper or kitchen towel to dry. Set aside to cool or place in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
   
3. Once carrots are cool, add carrots and remaining ingredients to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides once or twice to make sure everything is well incorporated. Scoop dip into a bowl and sprinkle a little extra cinnamon on top, if desired. Serve chilled.

​Katie Blauser is the mama of two boys, wife of a picky eater, and food lover at Eat Pretty Darling. She believes in making food fun, healthy, & pretty! Katie’s not only outnumbered by boys in her little family, but also by picky eaters. She loves trying to find new ways to get both kids and adults to eat healthy while making food pretty yummy, pretty healthy, and pretty fun! Find Katie on Instagram (@eatprettydarling), where she shares colorful and cute food ideas for both picky and adventurous eaters.

Carrot month calls for a monochromatic snack! This orange hummus made with carrots instead of garbanzo beans is slightly sweet and a pretty shade of orange. It’s perfect for dipping or spreading on a wrap.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• Olive oil
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  
• 3 tablespoons Tahini
  
• 1 lime, juiced
  
• 5 tablespoons water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400F. 1. On a baking sheet, toss carrots in olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Roast until the carrots are tender, stirring halfway through, about 25 minutes. Let cool.
   
2. Add roasted carrots, garlic powder, tahini, lime juice and water to a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Slowly add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil with the food processor running slowly.
   
3. Serve with carrots, bell peppers, pretzels, or pita chips.

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).

September is Bean 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 corn activities that are guaranteed to get your kids excited about eating beans in our "Bonkers for Beans!" eBook, check it out here.

My kids love sweet corn but sometimes they have a hard time eating it. They want to have the whole cob but their small hands make it tricky to eat. Try slicing the cobs into smaller rounds and transforming them into sunflowers! The cobs are smaller and they become a special treat.

Ingredients

• 1 corn cob, cooked
• Green toothpicks
• Black olives

Instructions

1. Slice the corn cob into one inch rounds. Stick a toothpick in one end and top with a black olive in the center.
2. They can pick it up by the toothpick or just hold it in their hands to nibble around the edges and eat the “petals” of the sunflower.​

We hope you enjoy this simple and all-natural caramel popcorn! Popped in coconut oil and sweetened with maple syrup and a little bit of vanilla, it's the perfect afternoon snack or popcorn treat for your next movie night. If you're making this with kids, you can enjoy it as a sweet snack while reading the classic children's book, "The Popcorn Book" by Tomie dePaola. 
For more delicious corn recipes and children's corn crafts, growing projects, activity sheets and more, be sure to check out Veggie Buds Club's "Crazy for Corn!" digital eBook.