Contributed by: Alysse Hennessey
As my two kids sat down to snack plates, I overheard this conversation, and thought I should pass it on.
Quillan aged 8, “Hey Finn, wouldn’t you be happy if you had THIS in your lunch box at school?”
Finn, aged 10, “Yea! In a container with sections for each dip, and another container for all the dippers.”
Note to smiling self: find partitioned containers for their lunch boxes.
Try out the dips and dippers lunch for your kids, tailored to their favorites of course. A little of these three dips: cottage cheese (mine like theirs with a little sprinkle of onion and garlic powder and parsley, which makes it taste like ranch), veggie or tofu pate (buy premade or follow included recipes), and hummus with roasted red pepper.
Things to dip: cucumber spears, carrots cut into planks (rather than match sticks), inner romaine leaves make great boats, red and yellow pepper slices, and your favorite small crackers (rice crackers, nut thins, etc). We stock up on all our favorite veggies and fruits from the market each week.
Encourage the kids to decorate their food creations with small pieces of dried fruit, and sunflower seeds or chopped cashews. Kids love fresh, healthy foods, they get to put together and decorate. Happy school year!
Veggie Pate recipe
- 1 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 potato, peeled and chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/2 teaspoon dried savory
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground dry mustard
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8×8 inch baking dish.
2. In a food processor, blend sunflower seeds, whole wheat flour, nutritional yeast, salt, vegetable oil, lemon juice, potato, carrot, onion, celery, garlic, water, thyme, basil, sage, savory, pepper and dry mustard. Process the mixture until almost smooth.
3. Transfer mixture to the baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 1 hour, or until bubbly and lightly browned.
Tofu Pate Recipe
- 1 (16 ounce) package soft tofu
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon prepared mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1 orange bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 fresh red chile pepper, finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill weed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Directions
1. Wrap soft tofu in cheese cloth. Place over a medium bowl, and press to drain as much liquid as possible.
2. Place tofu in a medium bowl. Mix in mayonnaise, garlic powder, white pepper, mustard, seasoning salt, nutritional yeast, paprika, orange bell pepper, red chile pepper, celery, parsley, cilantro, dill weed and garlic. Blend until smooth. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until serving.
Hummus with Red Pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
- 1/3 cup tahini
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup roasted red peppers
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
Directions
1. In an electric food processor, combine garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, and lemon juice. Process until the mixture is smooth. Add roasted peppers and basil; process until the peppers are finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer hummus to small bowl, cover and chill until you are ready to serve
