Quinoa Salad with Tomato, Cucumber, Mozzarella and Fresh Basil
Every time I make this, I like it better. Quinoa is a powerhouse grain, full of protein, fiber, essential amino acids, calcium and iron. It’s even being considered as a possible crop onboard NASA space flights! This salad is a bit like Tabbouleh, but with the addition of fresh, creamy mozzarella cheese and basil.
At CATS, we stuck to the original recipe (from Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman) but I found a couple of additions and shortcuts that work well! Here is the version I recommend now.
Potato Salad with Spinach and Lemon
I’m sharing a recipe from food blogger Faith Durand, whom you may know from her site, The Kitchn.
Your kids devoured this no-mayonnaise version of ‘tater salad. They especially liked chopping up the fresh dill, and zesting the lemon. I believe we added fresh chives, too.
Orange Sports Drinksicle Smoothie
We used sports drink ingredients to make our own, more natural smoothie that offers carbs, protein, electrolytes and potassium. What’s missing is the heavy dose of salt. Try this when the kids are out in the sun and need fluids and nutrients replenished! This drink is based on a recipe from EatingWell.
Protein Power Breakfast Salad
This cool idea came from WebMD, by the No Meat Athlete. I loved the thought of having salad for breakfast, especially one packed with blueberries, cantaloupe, celery, almonds… and chickpeas! In this salad, they blend in completely with the rest of the ingredients, mainly because of the amazing blenderized strawberry dressing. The kids loved this easy dish and I am putting it into the rotation at my house. This recipe serves 4.
Watermelon “Grill” with Fruit Kebabs
This recipe got raves, and honestly the “BBQ” is so darn cute. We will probably have to make it again. You can’t see the celery “legs” to the BBQ here, but they add a lot of charm. This great idea has spread to a lot of cooking sites, but I think it originated at SheKnows.com.
Easy Apple Puffed Pastry
Having grown up in Seattle, I am an apple girl. Here’s an easy way to make a fancy apple pastry that is pretty low in fat and sugar. It takes just a few minutes to assemble TWO rectangular pastries. For this, we used delectable, colorful Pink Lady apples.
I saw a video of Ree Drummond, thepioneerwoman.com, making this fast dessert and was inspired to try it at CATS.
Some supervision with apple-slicing is important. We’re going for thin slices, and the skin is left on, which can be hard to cut through with a dull knife (we use tame knives.) I tell the kids to cut apple halves with the flat side solidly planted on the cutting board for safety, as shown here. Slices don’t have to be perfect or even uniform. They should just be on the thinner side.
Nancy’s Delicious Indian Veggie Stew
My friend Nancy was working on a vegetarian stew recipe, and wanted to use up some squash. She had some secret ingredients on hand (Indian Fare packets from Trader Joe’s) and put a few other good things into her slow cooker. What came out was amazing! I adapted it for our class, and… still amazing. The kids loved it and a few had seconds, and thirds.
Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Sometimes, we try a recipe that I KNOW the kids will love, and it gets a lukewarm response. This one got a huge, positive response, with a big crowd around the big table to make it, and an even bigger crowd to taste it when the toasted oatmeal scent spread through CATS! The kids finished every crumb. You can bake it in a pie plate, or even in just a healthy, free-form blob on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. It’s a great quick breakfast or snack.
Veggie Sloppy Joes with Lentils
Nobody seemed to miss the meat in these Sloppy Joes. And most kids wanted seconds. I had NO idea this would be such a hit. We served them on potato hamburger buns, which were really good though whole grain buns or English Muffins would be even healthier. It’s great that the recipe makes a large amount, because it will all disappear.
This is based on an idea from the popular blog “Chocolate Covered Katie” where you can find some wonderful kid-friendly recipes.