Making vegetables a fun snack
I used to go through the drive thru at a particular fast food restaurant and purchase the toy that usually accompanied the kids' meals. I would then fill the bag with carrots and broccoli and call it McBroccoli and McCarrot Sticks (I guess you know which restaurant I went to, don't you). The kids were actually disappointed when others took them to that restaurant and found you couldn't order the veggies at the counter.
I made Zen Rice that was like fried rice loaded with veggies of all sorts.
We would have theme nights at dinner where we would travel the world with our plates, eating unusual sorts of fruits and veggies and learning a bit about the country from which they came.
And, I made Poppin' Cauliflower for movie night. I have to admit that popcorn was infinitely more popular, but it did get them to try the cauliflower once in a while.
Poppin' Cauliflower
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs1 medium head of cauliflower, washed
olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Get rid of the big stalks and stems of the cauliflower, so that you end up with a bowl of tiny white trees.
- Toss the cauliflower with some olive oil (a tablespoon or two) and the salt, until the cauliflower is well coated. Line the trees up in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Using whatever olive oil is left int he bowl, add the
bread crumbs, the garlic and the jalapeno. Add more oil if you think it's too dry. Mix it all up well.
- After the cauliflower has been baking for about 15-20 minutes the bottoms should be a nice golden brown. Pull the pan out of the oven, flip over the florettes and sprinkle the entire pan with the breadcrumb mixture. Put the pan back in the oven and bake it for another 10 minutes or so.
Vegan.
