Back To School Lunch Box Brunch

Summer is over and it’s back to school! Want a way to help your kids beat their back to school blues? Make their lunch time fun with a lunch box brunch! Try packing some not-so-usual lunches such as the lunch time brunch menu below. Create little foodies by opening their eyes to unique combinations of foods, even if they are abbreviated versions that fit in a lunch box ; )

Fun Fruit Salad Cup

• 1 pint strawberries – cleaned, hulled and sliced
• 1 pound seedless grapes, halved
• 3 kiwis, peeled and sliced
• 3 bananas, sliced
• 1 1/2 cup vegan vanilla yogurt

In a large bowl, combine the strawberries, grapes, kiwis, and bananas. Gently mix in yogurt. Chill for 1 hour before serving.

Quinoa Cakes

• 3 cups of cooked quinoa
• 1/4 cup vegan sour cream
• 3/4 cups oats
• 1 egg replacer
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 3 tablespoon safflower (or other high-heat safe) oil, divided
• Cooking spray

In a food processor (or a coffee grinder would work, too) grind up your oats until they are a powder.

In a medium bowl, mix quinoa, oat flour until well blended. Add in the egg replacer and stir until well blended. Add in the sour cream. The mix should be moist and hold together well. If it does not, add another tablespoon or so of sour cream and try again. Add in onion powder and salt.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray, and then drizzle 1 tablespoon oil onto the pan. Pick up the pan and tip it from side to side to spread the oil around, if needed.

While your pan heats, make your quinoa batter into patties. Depending on how big you make them, this should make 10-14 patties. They are sticky, so you may want to lay them on foil or waxed paper while you work.

Put 3 onto the skillet at a time. Turn when brown, 2-3 minutes per side. Before you put on the next set, add another tablespoon of oil and spread around the pan. These do not stick, and are very easy to flip and reposition if needed.

Coconut Curry Tofu on a Stick

• 1 lb of extra firm tofu, pressed, drained
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
• 1/4 cup of fresh chopped cilantro
• 2 cloves of minced garlic

Bake Tofu in toaster oven or regular oven at 350 or until golden brown on all sides turning once and let cool.

Mix the coconut milk, curry powder, garlic and cilantro in a glass baking dish.  Cut tofu into strips or cubes, add to skewers and immerse in marinade.  For best results, let marinade over night.

Preheat broiler, transfer tofu  to foiled covered broiler pan, reserve excess marinade.  Broil for 10-15 minutes.

All Kale Ceasar

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon capers
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 4 to 6 cups Tuscan kale, midrib removed and chopped
• 1/2 cup croutons
• Nutritional yeast, for sprinkling
• Cherry tomatoes, optional
• Avocado, diced, optional

Prepare vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, dijon, garlic, salt, pepper, and capers. Place kale in serving bowl. Add vinaigrette and toss well. Add in nutritional yeast, to taste. Let sit for at least 5 minutes.

Add croutons and toss. Top with remaining nutritional yeast, tomatoes and/or avocado.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Cake

Topping:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons vegan butter, melted

Cake Ingredients:

• 1 egg replacer
• 3 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons vegan butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
• 3/4 vegan vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup diced rhubarb, in 1/2-inch pieces (from about 6 to 8 ounces of stalks)
• 1 cup sliced strawberries

Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 9 inch round pan (or similar size oblong pan) with baking spray.

Make the topping in a small dish, stir together flours, sugars, spices and salt. Stir in butter until crumbly. Set aside.

To make the cake, whisk egg replacer and sugars together then whisk in butter and yogurt. In a separate bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder and baking soda and stir them into the yogurt mixture, mixing until just combined. Fold in rhubarb, strawberries and 1/3 of the topping mixture.

Transfer batter to prepared baking pan and sprinkle the rest of the topping all over the top of the batter. Gently press the crumbs in so they stick. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool on a rack for 10 minutes before cutting and/or serving.