FRUIT AND VEGETABLE BUG SNACKS

 

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE BUG SNACKS

Fruit and Bug Snacks

Author: Brittany Mueller  Prep Time: 45  Chill Time: 15  Total Time: 60  Yield: 20 bugs 

Bring out your child’s inner artist with healthy fruit and vegetable bug snacks! These cute little bugs are a fun and easy recipe for kids. This recipe is gluten-free, vegan, and low-sodium.

INGREDIENTS

VEGETABLE BUGS

2-3 Celery stalks, cut into various lengths for different bugs

1-2 mini cucumbers, halved lengthwise with seeds scooped out, cut into various lengths

½ cup Vegan cream cheese

10 cucumber slices

1 cup cherry and/or grape tomatoes (various colours)

1 bunch chives, cut into 1” lengths

5-7 black olives

10 whole cashews

FRUIT BUGS

2-3 celery stalks, cut into various lengths for different bugs

½ cup peanut butter (or other nut/seed butter for peanut allergies)

1 cup red and/or green grapes

3-4 strawberries, sliced

½ cup blueberries

1 apple, sliced

¼ cups mini dairy-free chocolate chips

½ cup ball-shaped cereal (We used Envirokidz cereals: Leapin’ Lemurs, Gorilla Munch, Panda Puffs, or Jungle Munch)

OTHER SUPPLIES

Piping bags

Large piping tips (optional - for cream cheese/peanut butter filling)

Small piping tips (optional - for piping cream cheese googly eyes)

INSTRUCTIONS

VEGETABLE BUGS

Prepare the googly eyes: Use a straw to cut out black olive pupils. Pipe small dots of cream cheese onto a plate. Top with black olive pupils. Freeze the dots of cream cheese for easier assembly.

Prepare fruit and vegetables, refer to preparation photos for a visual guide of the many ways you can prepare the ingredients.

Scoop seeds from mini cucumbers. Cut a flat edge on the bottoms of celery sticks and mini cucumbers to help them stand up once they’ve been decorated as bugs.

Fill celery stalks and/or mini cucumbers with cream cheese, using a piping bag or spoon.

Unleash your kids’ imagination! Create your very own bugs or use our reference photos to make snails, caterpillars, dragonflies, and butterflies.

Snails: Start with a fruit or vegetable round for the shell. Stick chilled googly eyes onto cherry tomato heads, cashew heads, or grapes. Insert chives or thin-sliced apples (with skins) into the cherry tomato heads for antennae.

FRUIT BUGS

Prepare the googly eyes:

Version 1 - Pipe small dots of cream cheese onto a plate. Top with mini dairy-free chocolate chips. Freeze to chill.

Version 2 - Stick mini dairy-free chocolate chips onto cereal using a dot of peanut butter or cream cheese. Freeze to chill.

Prepare fruit and vegetables, refer to preparation photos for a visual guide of the many ways you can prepare the ingredients.

Fill celery stalks with peanut butter, using a piping bag or spoon. These will be the base to all of the fruit and vegetable bugs you make.

Create your very own bugs or use our reference photos to make snails, caterpillars, dragonflies, and butterflies.

Caterpillars: Stick chilled googly eyes onto cherry tomato or grape heads. Add chive or apple antennae. Make the body with a line of cherry tomatoes, grapes, blueberries, or cereal.

Dragonflies and butterflies: Stick chilled googly eyes onto grape or cherry tomato heads (for fruit bugs using cereal you can put the eyes directly onto the celery filled with peanut butter.) Add chive or apple antennae. Use sliced strawberries or halved cucumber slices for wings. Use cereal, blueberries, grapes, or cherry tomatoes for the body.

NOTES

TIP: If you don’t have piping bags, sandwich bags with the tip of the corner cut off will work well for piping eyes.

Chicken Tinga Tostadas with Avocado Crema

 Makes 8 tostadas.

Note: Frying or baking your own tostada shells is quick and easy to do, but premade shells can be found in the global section of most grocery stores. From Meredith Deeds.

• 1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1 tbsp. chili powder

• 1 tsp. ground cumin

• 1 (15-oz.) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes

• 1 chipotle chile in adobo (from a 7-oz. can)

• 3 tbsp. lime juice, divided

• 1 medium avocado, pitted, peeled and mashed

• 1/4 c. sour cream

• 2 c. thinly sliced cabbage

• 1/4 c. chopped cilantro

• 8 tostada shells, warmed (see Note)

• 1 (15-oz.) can refried beans, warmed

• 1/2 c. crumbled Cotija cheese

• Lime wedges

Directions

Season the chicken thighs with 3/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.

In a large skillet (with a cover), heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes per side, until browned. Transfer to a plate. Reduce heat to medium and add onion to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup of water and cook, scraping the bits from the bottom of the skillet, until liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and transfer onion mixture to a blender. Add tomatoes and chipotle chile to the blender and pulse until puréed.

Pour sauce back into the skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add chicken and turn to coat. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from the sauce and transfer to a cutting board. Let cool slightly and use two forks to shred the chicken.

While the chicken is cooling, bring the sauce in the skillet to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Return shredded chicken to the sauce, add 1 tablespoon lime juice and cook, stirring, until heated. Keep warm.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the avocado, sour cream and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Season with a pinch of salt.

In another bowl, combine cabbage, cilantro and remaining 1 tablespoon of lime juice.

To assemble the tostadas, top each tostada shell with refried beans, chicken, cabbage mixture, avocado crema and Cotija. Serve with lime wedges on the side.

Meredith Deeds is a cookbook author and food writer from Edina. Reach her at meredithdeeds@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram ­at @meredithdeeds.