Some weeks we like to have a little fun and instead of picking a color, we pick all of the colors! Rainbow is a color in our book. We grabbed one item in each color to go with our green kale in this month’s Veggie Buds Club box. My son picked some of his favorites for each color. Blueberries for blue, carrots for orange, yellow bell pepper for yellow, tomatoes for red, and purple cabbage for purple.
Salads may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of kid food, but making it full of color and having them help pick the ingredients makes it a little more exciting. The fun thing about this recipe is you could use almost any fruits or veggies that fit the colors, as long as you try to make a rainbow! Have your kids be a part of it from start to finish.

Ingredients

• 3 cups kale, stem removed and finely chopped
• 1 medium yellow pepper
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
• 1 cup blueberries

Dressing

• 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Place kale in a large bowl. Mix all dressing ingredients in a small jar. Shake it well to combine.
2. Drizzle dressing on top and gently massage dressing into kale (this is a fun part for the kids!). Add in remaining ingredients and toss to coat the vegetables in the dressing.
3. Cover and place in the fridge to let the kale become a little more tender.

It’s time to find all things RED this week to go along with our yummy veggie (technically a fruit!) of the month, tomatoes. You could literally just stick to the tomato section this week and just get different varieties of tomatoes because there are so many! Are your kids like mine and they love everything made from tomatoes, just not an actual tomato? This is a great time to make some of their favorites like ketchup and red sauce to show them that some of the things they love are made with this pretty red fruit. And calling it a fruit is such a selling point for my picky eater!
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This week we ventured out of the produce department and snagged some red lentils. While there are tons of great fresh food options for the color red, there are so many others throughout the store! Just make sure to stick with items that are just the ingredient. This week, we’re making a crowd pleasing PIZZA!!! It’s allergy friendly because there are no grains, no nuts, and no eggs! Can you guess what makes our pizza crust red?

Ingredients
Pizza Sauce

• 2 pounds whole fresh tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ½ tsp Italian seasoning
• 1¾ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1-2 teaspoons honey (optional)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

Red Lentil Crust

• ¾ cups red lentils, soaked up to 24 hours
• ½ cup water
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

1. First, prepare the pizza sauce. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Make a small X in the bottom of each tomato and dunk into the boiling water until the skins are slightly loosened, about 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water for 1 minute. Peel off the skin.
2. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook while stirring, until beginning to brown, about 4-6 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes (and any juice), Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and honey. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until tomatoes have broken down, about 2 hours. Taste and season with additional salt, pepper and/or honey.
3. Transfer the sauce to a blender (or use an immersion blender), add tomato paste and blend until smooth. Use caution when pureeing hot liquids! If not using the sauce right away, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 6 months. It will make more than you need for your pizza so you can also use it for spaghetti another day! Now it’s time to prepare the crust.
4. Rinse and drain lentils and preheat oven to 425 F. Place all pizza crust ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until smooth.
5. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour the batter onto the sheet and spread into an even layer about ¼ inch thick. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Remove pizza from oven, spread on pizza sauce and top with desired toppings and cheese. Bake pizza for additional 5 minutes or until cheese it melted, brown and bubbly. Slice and serve!

Get the kids involved!
Have them peel the tomatoes after they are tossed in the ice bath. Ask them help sprinkle on the pizza toppings and cheese! 

Ingredients

• 6 plum (Roma) tomatoes* (about 1 ½ pounds)
  
• 3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  
• 2 garlic cloves
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• Salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees then line a sheet pan with parchment or aluminum foil.
   
2. Trim stem end off tomatoes then slice into ¼ inch thick rounds. Tomatoes are difficult for little ones to cut, so have your child get involved by placing tomato slices side-by-side on the sheet pan.
   
3. Your child can help pick the tiny leaves off of the thyme stems and scatter them over the tomatoes. Make sure you both smell the fresh thyme and talk about what it makes you think of.
   
4. Gently smash the garlic cloves to make them easier to peel. Cut each garlic clove into thin slices then have your child scatter them over the tomatoes. Together, drizzle the oil over the tomatoes then sprinkle on a big pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Show your child how to hold his hand up high to “shower” the salt all over the tomatoes like rain.
   
5. Place pan in the oven and bake until the garlic is brown in spots and the tomatoes have shrunk in size, 20 to 25 minutes.

*You can also use small tomatoes such as grape or cherry tomatoes in this recipe. No need to cut smaller tomatoes, and they may take less time to roast, about 15 to 20 minutes.

If you asked me to list off 5 foods that ideally everyone would eat every day tomatoes would be on that list!
They are packed with incredible nutrition such as vitamin C which supports our immune system and increases iron absorption as well as lycopene, an antioxidant that helps reduce the risk of cancer.
You can imagine my excitement when I learned that August is TOMATO month at Veggie Buds Club! I hope this month your little ones enjoy trying tomatoes in all sorts of ways including the fun and easy bruschetta recipes below! All three recipes only have 3 ingredients so getting your children involved will be super easy! 

Mix together 1 diced peach, 8-10 diced cherry tomatoes, and 1-2 Tbsp of hemp hearts. Add to your favorite whole grain crusty bread and serve!

Mix together 1 cup of Tomberries, 10 pieces of thinly cut baby spinach, and 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese. Add to your favorite whole grain crusty bread and serve!

Grate one large tomato and spread onto your favorite whole grain crusty bread. Add a slice of cucumber and a sprinkle of shredded or grated Parmesan cheese and serve!

We're happy to welcome Heather as a guest blogger this month!

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.

Have you ever roasted corn? Cooking the fresh kernels at a high temperature, intensifies the corn's sweetness and takes corn flavor to a whole new level. The sweet kernels get golden brown and crunchy around the edges, making them reminiscent of popcorn. Roasted corn is great as a side dish, on its own, or combined with other fresh, seasonal produce like in the salsa recipe I've included below. Get your kids in the kitchen to help prepare the corn for the oven. They can help transfer the cut corn to a bowl, drizzle the corn with oil, sprinkle the salt, and spread the corn on the baking sheet. Simple, delicious, and easy... what could be better?

Ingredients

• 3 ears of corn
• 2 teaspoons avocado or olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Carefully, cut the kernels off the corn cobs. Transfer corn kernels to a bowl.
3. Add oil and salt to the bowl and stir to coat the corn.
4. Dump corn onto the prepared sheet pan and spread into an even layer.
5. Roast corn until golden brown around the edges of the pan, about 15 minutes. If you want the corn extra crunchy, stir the corn and return to the oven for 5 more minutes. Watch closely so corn does not burn.

​Scoop up this fresh salsa with your favorite chips, serve on top of simply cooked chicken or fish, or pile on top of a green salad. Feel free to add whatever produce you have on hand: fresh herbs like cilantro or basil would be delicious. Bell or spicy peppers would also be a great addition.

Ingredients

• 2 cups watermelon, diced small
• 1 small cucumber, peeled, if necessary, and diced small
• 2 to 3 cups tomatoes (any kind), diced small
• 2 scallions, minced
• Roasted corn, recipe above
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.