Snack Week: Easy Pizza

Kids everywhere love pizza. Front Yarders have recently enjoyed two different takes on the perennial favorite.

English Muffin Pizzas
- Sara (Ethan, FY)

Sara notes these were surprisingly easy, and the kids loved them!

Whole wheat English muffins (Sara bought 32 muffins and almost ran out)
One large bag of shredded mozzarella (optional: shredded Tofurella for those with dairy allergies)
One jar of Trader Joe's pizza sauce

Cut the muffins in half and then again (so they're half-moons). Spread with pizza sauce, and top with shredded cheese. Bake in the convection oven until cheese is bubbling.

Pizza Faces
- Annie (Alex, FY)

A slightly more ambitious effort, Annie offers this recipe from Molly Katzen's Pretend Soup cookbook. The recipe calls for making the pizza dough, and I've included a link to help you in that effort, but no one will judge you if you opt to buy fresh dough at the Cheeseboard or Trader Joe's.

1. Make the pizza dough.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°. Lightly oil a baking tray.

3. Flour a wooden board. For each individual pizza, take a quarter of the dough and roll it out until it is about a 1/4 inch thick. (Note: This is very flexible! It doesn't really matter how thick—or even in what shape—the pizza ends up. Children love it regardless). Place on the baking tray.

4. Spread 1 tablespoon tomato sauce over the dough. Add slices of zucchini and mushrooms to create faces. Sprinkle with Parmesan and a small handful of mozzarella.

5. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until brown on the bottom and bubbly on top.

6. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then eat!

Snack Week: Sushi and Spring Rolls

Yelena (Sasha, BY) shares two fun recipes that got kids eating seaweed and vegetables. Way to go Yelena!

Vegan Sushi

Spread hummus on a sheet of nori (Yelena bought hers at Berkeley Bowl) and top it with a thin layer (approx. 3 to 4 tablespoons) of brown rice or sushi rice. Roll up and serve with soy sauce.

Veggie Spring Rolls

Soak rice paper (also from Berkeley Bowl) in warm water to soften. Assemble a variety of fillings and let children choose:
Seasonal veggies
Julienned carrots
Lettuce
Green onions (although these weren't popular with the children)
Sprouts
Flower petals (a "hot item")
Cucumbers, etc.

Place fillings in paper and make into rolls. Serve with a dipping sauce. Yelena mixed soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil and maple syrup. Delicious!

Snack Week: Sticks and Dips

It's easy to turn snack time into a fun activity for kids. Todd (Piper, BY) served up this successful combo a little while back.

Fruit Kabobs

1. Cut up assorted fruits (melon, pineapple, bananas, oranges, pears, berries, kiwis, etc).
2. Put the fruit on wooden skewers (or tooth picks, wood or plastic drink stirs) to make kabobs. This is something the kids can do themselves if you put the fruit out in bowls for them to choose from.
3. Serve kabobs with small bowls of yogurt (plain or vanilla) for dipping.

Bread Sticks and Dips

Simple: Just buy some bread sticks and serve with dips. Todd used whipped cream cheese. You could also try hummus or bean dip. Kids love dipping, and there's no need for utensils. Hooray for easy clean-up!

Snack Week: Keeping it simple

Elise (Hazel Rose, BY) shares some of her snack-time favorites. These are delicious, kid-pleasing and healthy as well as light on prep and clean-up. What's more, they both seem to fill the room with irresistible aromas that bring kids running to the table.

My favorite snack (which I now make every time):

Popcorn with brewer's yeast
Toasted sunflower seeds
Dried cranberries (renamed "blood raisins" on a vampireish day)
Apple pieces

For some reason this snack seems to have the right magic of "something for everyone," is all whole foods, doesn't have the allergy foods of the Back Yarders, and is easy on the wallet (as long as the cranberries are limited ). Please don't bring this snack to the Back Yard on the same week that I have snack! Because I will be bringing it, too :).

Another successful one:

Toast and Tea

Toast with jam and/or butter (I used that sprouted wheat bread)
Apple pieces
Toasted sunflower seeds or pecans
Tea (chamomile, mint, whatever ...)

I just toasted the bread as people came and quartered it, so if a lot came at once each got a quarter at first, or all the pieces if only one person was there. They seemed to like the idea of tea more than actually drinking it, but it did draw more people in. I asked each one what they wanted on toast as they came.

-- Elise (Hazel Rose, BY)

Snack Week: Beans and Rice

Here's a crowd pleasing recipe from Mazi and Finn's mom Kristen. Beans and rice ... so nice!

Beans and Rice, Jamaican Style
Serves 6-8

1 cup red kidney beans
warm filtered water
1 can coconut milk (or 7oz creamed coconut)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
(3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped) I don’t use this but I bet it’s good
3 cloves garlic, mashed
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper

Serve with rice

Cover beans with warm water, and leave overnight in a warm place. In the morning, drain and rinse the beans, bring to a boil and skim. Add remaining ingredients except rice. Cover and simmer for about 6-8 hours or until beans are tender. (I just throw beans and ingredients in crockpot and cook on high for 4-5 hours) Serve over warm brown rice. Yum.

-- Kristen (Finn, FY & Mazi BY)

Snack Week: Oatmeal

Hummus, carrots, crackers, cheese, apples -- for most of last year, this simple combination was my "go-to" whenever my turn came up as snack parent. The kids liked it, it was healthy enough, and did I mention it was simple? But at some point in our second year, my snack combo just wasn't doing it for me. I was in a rut; I needed inspiration, so I turned to my fellow grown-ups, many of whom were decidedly more ambitious and creative than I in the culinary department, and some of whom shared my love for easiness, but brought some fresh ideas to the table (so to speak).

So this week, I'll be posting a few of these ideas and recipes -- let's call this little foray Snack Week. So grab a rice cake, and come along! First stop ...

Oatmeal Bar!

This one is so easy, and the kids really like it. Just whip up a big pot of oatmeal, and bring a bunch of fixin's for kids to spoon and sprinkle on themselves. It's like a salad bar, but for hot cereal. Some toppings might include:

Apple Sauce
Cinnamon
Berries
Bananas
Raisins
Dried Cranberries
Nuts
Yogurt
Milk
Soy or Rice Milk

Having lots of things on the table to spoon from gives kids the chance to practice, "Please pass the ..." and everyone likes to customize. This snack also generates lots of conversation around likes and dislikes, unexpected combinations of flavors, textures, etc.