Recipe

The Tasteful Tribe’s Kids Lunch and Fall Meal Prep Recipes

Kids Food Art

It’s easier than you think to be creative with your kids’ lunches and make them fun! Here are two easy-to-follow guides from regular Kimberton Whole Foods shopper, Sarah Troester of The Tasteful Tribe, to turn regular sandwiches into something spectacular with Dinosaur and Mermaid themed bento-box style meals.

Dinosaur

What you’ll need:

  • 2 slices preferred bread
  • 1 slice cheddar cheese
  • 1 slice black forest ham, optional
  • avocado cut into triangles
  • ¼ cup green grapes, halved
  • ¼ cup blueberries
  • 3-4 strawberries, cut into hearts (optional)
  • Letter Cookies, optional for the letter “D”
  • Dinosaur cut-outs, optional
  • 2 Candy Eyes, optional (you can also use blueberries or black sesame seeds)

 

Instructions:

Place the halved green grapes into the main compartment of the lunchbox.

Make the sandwich; place cheese and ham slices (if using) in between 2 slices of bread. Using a knife or dinosaur head food cutter, cut-out the dinosaur head and place on top of the grapes.

Cut-out triangles from the crust of the bread and place around the backside of the dinosaur’s head.

Place the avocado triangles inside the mouth to form the dinosaur’s teeth. Place the top of a blueberry to form the nose. Place the candy eyes or blueberries to the upper right to form the dinosaur’s eyes.

Using the leftover sandwich, cut-out dinosaur bones or foot with the Dinosaur cut-outs and place into the side compartment along with some blueberries.

Into the other side compartment, place the strawberry heart cut-outs and top with the letter “D”

 

 

Mermaid

What you’ll need

  • 2 slices preferred bread
  • 2 slices cheddar cheese
  • 1 slice turkey, optional
  • avocado cut into triangles
  • 3-4 strawberries cut-into flowers, optional
  • 1 clementine cut into rounds
  • ¼ cup goldfish crackers
  • Letter Cookies, optional to spell out “SWIM”
  • Edible Markers, optional for the mermaid’s eyes and mouth (you can also use blueberries or black sesame seeds and a piece of strawberry for the smile).

Instructions

Place the blueberries into the main compartment of the lunchbox.

Make the sandwich; place cheese and turkey slices (if using) in between 2 slices of bread. Using a knife or shape food cutters, cut-out a circle, square and two rectangles. Place them on top of the blueberries to form the mermaid’s body and create a triangular path to form the mermaid’s tail, placing the avocado triangles inside it.

Cut-out an oval shape from the cheddar cheese slice to form the mermaid’s hair. Using either a knife, create waves in the hair. On the top of the mermaid’s head, place a strawberry flower cut-out and a cheddar cheese star cut-out. Place two cheddar cheese stars on the square for the mermaid’s bathing suit.

To create the mermaid’s face use Edible Markers or black sesame seeds for the eyes and a piece of strawberry for the smile.

Place the goldfish crackers into a side compartment of the lunchbox.

Into the other compartment, place the clementine rounds, strawberry flower cut-outs and the letter cookies S-W-I-M, if using.

Falafel Waffles with Chickpea Salad

This fun take on classic comfort food has it all — it combines flavorful ingredients and LOTS of veggies with simple preparation, resulting in a great addition to your meal-prep repertoire.

 

What you’ll need

Waffles:

• 1 15 ounce can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 3-5 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground gloves
• salt and pepper to taste
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of two lemons (about 3-4 tablespoons)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch
• 1 egg

*This will make 7-8 mini waffles

Creamy Cucumber and Chickpea Salad:

• 1/2 cup honey Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 large cucumber, diced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

To make the waffles; add the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth yet still a little chunky.

Preheat and season a mini waffle maker with nonstick spray. Add the mixture, about 2 tablespoons at a time to the waffle maker. Cook for 6-7 minutes and set aside.

For the salad; in a medium-sized bowl combine all ingredients making sure to coat with the Greek yogurt and olive oil.

Assemble into 4 meal prep containers; Add 1-2 waffles in the main compartment and the salad mix into the other. Serve with Tahini, optional.

Pencil Waffles

Celebrate back-to-school with this quick, easy, and FUN breakfast that’s sure to start everyone’s day off right!

What you’ll need

• Gluten-free Pancake & Waffle Mix from Birch Benders
• Organic creamy peanut butter
• 1 strawberry
• 1 apple, cut into slices
• Chocolate chips, optional for melting and writing “abc , 123”
• Heart food cutter, optional to make apple heart shapes
 

Instructions

Prepare waffle mix according to package directions.
Preheat waffle maker until hot; a mini waffle maker works great for these. Lightly spray with avocado or olive oil and place about ¼ cup of the batter into the waffle maker using a spoon to make sure the entire surface is covered.
Close the lid and let cook 3-4 minutes until golden brown.
Use a fork to carefully lift the waffle onto a plate and set aside.
Prepare cut-outs: cut the stem and tip off a strawberry and then cut in half to form two U shapes. Cut an apple slice in half lengthwise and then stack on top of one another. Cut-out the middle into a triangular shape which will be the tips of the pencils. If using heart cut-outs, use the remaining apple slices to make them.
Prepare the waffles; first cut in half down the center. Next, cut-off the rounded side of each waffle half. Finally, trim off the top and bottom of each waffle; you should have two equal rectangles.
To form into pencils, place a small amount of peanut butter on the bottom edge of each waffle and stick on the apple triangles. Place a small amount of peanut butter on top of a chocolate chip and stick on the end of the apple to form the tip of the pencil. Finally, add the strawberry rounds to the top of each waffle to form the pencil’s eraser.
Place the heart cut-outs around the waffle pencils and enjoy with or without syrup, whipped cream or extra peanut butter.
*Optional* To make the “abc..123” writing, simply heat-up 2 tablespoons of the chocolate chips and use a fine paintbrush or toothpick to write.

Chipotle Turkey Meatballs with Cilantro Lime Rice

This simple and approachable recipe is easy to make, full of flavor, and the perfect addition to your meal-prep rotation. 

What you’ll need

Meatballs:

•  1 pound ground turkey
•  1/4 cup cup coconut flour
•  1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
•  1 lime, zest and juice
•  2 tablespoons pico de gallo or fresh salsa
•  1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili pepper
•  1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
•  salt and pepper to taste
•  1 egg
•  chipotle aioli, optional for dipping

 Coconut Lime Rice:

•  1 cup white rice
•  3/4 cup coconut milk
•  1 1/4 cup water
•  1 lime, zest and juice
•  1 tablespoon cilantro, finely diced 

*This will make about 4 meal prep containers

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray.
In a bowl combine ground turkey, coconut flour, cilantro, pico de gallo, spices and egg.
Form into about 16 medium sized meatballs and place onto baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned and cooked through.
While meatballs are baking, prepare the rice; combine with coconut milk, water and a pinch of salt in saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then cook undisturbed, semi covered until liquid is absorbed, about 12 mins. Remove from heat, fluff the rice and stir in lime zest, juice and cilantro.
Place about 3-4 meatballs into the main compartment and sauce, if using. Spoon the rice into the side compartments.