Running out of lunch box ideas for your kids? Try these yummy and healthy recipes from Harris Farm Markets at West End and Clayfield.
Sushi Rice Balls
Simple and easy to prepare, these rice balls make a great alternative to a sandwich. To make this a healthier option for your kids, you can add grated carrots into the mixture.
Preparation and cooking time for this recipe takes about 10 minutes and yields about 6 to 8 balls.
What you need: 1 cup cooked sushi rice (cooled), 1/2 cup edamame beans and 1 tbsp nori flakes.
First, you need to blanch the edamame beans in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain them. In a mixing bowl, put the pre-cooked sushi rice, edamame beans and half of the nori flakes before gently mixing the ingredients using wet hands.
Wet your hands again and roll out small balls. Sprinkle the rolled out balls with the remaining nori flakes. You can prepare this recipe the night before and store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
Mason Jar Salads
Zucchini zoodles with Kale pesto and roasted cherry tomatoes
This healthy recipe serves 2-3 people. Preparation and cooking time is between 30 and 35 minutes.
What you need: 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, 1 tsp olive oil, 2 -3 zucchinis, boiling water and sea salt.
For the Kale Pesto, you need: 2 cups kale washed & roughly chopped (stems removed), 1 cup basil leaves, 1/2 cup raw cashews (pine nuts or almonds can also be used), 1 garlic clove, 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil, and sea salt to taste.
Preheat the oven to 180°. Next, bake the cherry tomatoes on a small baking tray for 20- 25 minutes at 180° until the skins start to split.
In the meantime, you can start preparing the pesto. Using a food processor, blitz all of the ingredients until you come up with a smooth creamy paste. This recipe makes extra pesto that can be stored in the fridge for 4-5 days or frozen for a later meal.
Note: If you find the paste too thick, you can start adding extra olive oil.
Now for the zoodles. Using a zoodle maker, spiralize the zucchinis, then blanch them in boiling water for a couple of minutes until they just start to soften. Drain the zucchini zoodles into a colander and rinse under cold water. You can skip this step if you prefer them raw.
In a mixing bowl, combine the drained zucchini zoodles and 2-3 tbsp of the pesto then gently toss the mixture to coat before adding the baked tomatoes.
Crunchy spiced chickpea, pumpkin, and kale salad
This recipe serves 4 -5 people. Preparation and cooking time takes about 40 minutes.
What you need: 1/2 butternut pumpkin, ½ bunch kale rinsed, ½ bunch parsley leaves only, 1 tbsp olive oil and a good pinch of sea salt.
For the Spiced chickpeas, you need a 400g can of rinsed Chickpeas,1 tsp sweet paprika powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1-2 garlic clove minced, a good pinch of sea salt, 1 ½ tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp maple syrup.
For the dressing, you need ¼ cup coconut or dairy yogurt, juice of ½ lemon, a pinch of cumin powder and a pinch of paprika powder.
Preheat the oven to 180° and line a medium baking tray with baking paper. Then, slice the pumpkin into 1.5 cm wide slices and arrange them on the baking tray. Drizzle the pumpkin slices over with olive oil before baking them for 30 -35 mins or until they are cooked through.
Meanwhile, you can toss together the rinsed chickpeas along with all the rest of the spiced chickpea ingredients in a small bowl. Spread the chickpeas out onto a small baking tray lined with baking paper and place them in the oven. This should take about 20-25 minutes or until they are crunchy; toss the tray a couple of times throughout the baking process.
In a large salad bowl rip up the kale with your hands before drizzling it over with a tbsp of olive oil and a good pinch of sea salt. Massage the kale until it softens.
Next, dice the cooked pumpkin up into small cubes then add them to the kale salad along with the crunchy spiced chickpeas and the parsley leaves.
To make the dressing, you need to combine the¼ cup coconut or dairy yogurt, juice of ½ lemon, a pinch of cumin powder and a pinch of paprika powder into a jar or small bowl. Stir the ingredients well. Fill a mason jar or lunch box with the salad and a separate small jar for the dressing to be drizzled over at lunchtime.
Colourful raw vegetable salad
This recipe combines fresh and colourful vegetables and herbs which makes it not only healthy but very appealing for kids to eat. This recipe serves 4 people with preparation and cooking time taking 35 -40 minutes.
What you need: 1 bunch broccolini finely chopped, 1/8th red cabbage finely sliced, 1 carrot, 1 avocado diced into cubes, ½ bunch mint leaves roughly chopped, ½ bunch coriander leaves, 1 tbsp pepita seeds, 1 tbsp sunflower seeds, 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water and a pinch of sea salt.
For the avocado dressing, you need these: ½ ripe medium avocado, ½ bunch of coriander stems, a small handful of mint leaves, 1 ½ tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt.
First, you need to mix the quinoa, water and a good pinch of sea salt into a medium saucepan. Cover it with a lid but keep it slightly open. Bring it to a boil before turning down the heat to a low simmer.
Let it cook for 15-20 minutes, allowing the quinoa to absorb all the water. Once cooked, remove from the heat and allow to steam with the lid on for a few minutes. Let it cool completely before adding to the salad.
Then, slice up the carrot using a mandolin into thin matchsticks. Combine all the salad ingredients onto a large salad bowl along with the cooled quinoa and gently toss.
For the avocado dressing, simply combine all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until a smooth consistency. If the mixture is too thick, try adding a little more lime juice to it.
Dinosaur Sandwiches, Rice Paper Rolls and Apple Stars
This recipe serves 1 medium round pizza with a cook. Preparation time will take about 35 minutes which you can have more fun doing by gathering the kids around and letting them take part in preparing this colourful and tasty recipe.
Note: You can make it even healthier by using a cauliflower pizza base.
What you need: ¼ red onion diced, ½ punnet of red snacking tomatoes, ¼ orange capsicum, Corn kernels of ½ cob, ¼ cup broccoli cut into little trees, ¼ green capsicum,1 gluten-free pizza base and ½ cheddar cheese grated.
Start by preheating the oven to 200°. Then, place the pizza base on a round baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle the pizza base with grated cheese.
To create the outer board, sprinkle the finely diced red onion, starting around the outside. After that, add in a row of snacking tomatoes cut in half, a row of orange capsicum, a row of yellow corn kernels, a row of broccoli and finish it with diced green capsicum in the centre.
Bake it in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until you see that the cheese has melted and the vegetables have started turning brown. Then, let it cool down before storing it in an airtight Tupperware in your fridge.
For the colourful rice rolls: You can use whatever veggies you have in the fridge. Cut them into thin slices before wrapping them up in rice paper.
Note: This version didn’t use rice or rice noodles.
For the Pin Wheel sandwiches: Fill your wrap base with whatever filling your child enjoys most (This recipe used turkey, lettuce, thinly sliced cucumber and cheese). Then roll it and cut it into bite-sized chunks.
For the Vegetable bugs: Fill the celery sticks with hummus for a savoy option; alternatively, you can use peanut butter.
For the Apple star sandwiches: Cut the apple into even rounds. Make it more attractive by using a star cookie cutter to remove the centre pip area and to create star-shaped patterns. Then, fill with peanut butter (if the school allows), otherwise, you can use sunflower seed butter and another slice of apple to secure as a sandwich.
Want to create your own Sunflower Seed butter? Then check this link for the recipe.
For the Dinosaur and Frog sandwiches: Cut out bread shapes using cookie cutters to make a fun turkey and cheese sandwich. Use scattered toms as a dinosaur egg base.
About Harris Farm Markets
Harris Farm Markets is a family-owned and operated business that has more than 500 lines of fruit and vegetable along with a gourmet grocery section of boutique local products, an extensive deli and more than 400 cheeses
Here, you can also find a butcher and fish market and bakery, pour your own milk from Queensland’s multi-award-winning Maleny Dairy or Barambah Organics milk, BioSota Honey on tap and make-your-own Nut Butters among a myriad of flavour-filled treats.
Locations
- Harris Farm Markets – WEST END | West Village, 97 Boundary St
Hours of operation: 7 am to 10 pm every day
- Harris Farm Markets – CLAYFIELD | 823 Sandgate Rd, Clayfield
Hours of operation: 7 am to 10 pm every day
- Harris Farm Markets – ISLE OF CAPRI | Capri on Via Roma, Surfers Paradise
Hours of operation: 6 am to 10 am every day
