Pasta Salad HELP!

[Guest guest]

Hello,

 

I continue on my mission to find packable lunches for my vegan 7 year old

daughter. Vegan Lunchbox around the World was a let-down in that many of the

dishes are hot and my daughter is wary of new flavors. (although I've made

about 6 recipes and *I* love them!) I should have gotten Vegan Lunchbox Using

Boring Ingredients.

 

I decided to try pasta salads. My first try, last night, was from VegWeb. It

had 5 stars, but I think it's very unimpressive. I chose it specifically as the

one I thought my kid would like: dressing has ketchup in it---reminiscent of

bottled French dressing! She'll eat the pasta with dressing, but picks out the

cucumbers & red bell peppers. Sigh....

 

I think VegWeb is a little dangerous---some of the recipes look pretty

awful...I'm not comfortable with their rating system...

 

Does anyone have tried & true pasta salad recipes that aren't too exotic? Or

maybe exotic but undeniably kid-friendly?

 

Thank you,

 

Ann

[Guest guest]

Ann,

 

At least once a week my daughter takes a cold pasta salad for lunch.

It's super easy to make!

 

I use whole wheat bow tie noodles. After cooking, mix with some diced

onion (not a lot, because they don't like a lot), diced carrot (one

whole carrot), kidney beans, diced celery (one whole stalk), some

chopped black olives, and some raisins (about 1/2 cup). Then mix it all

together with some organic Italian dressing. This type of cold pasta

salad you can really put in it whatever you want. Sometimes I put diced

cucumber, tomatoes... just whatever I have on hand.

 

Super easy and she loves it!

 

This was in a healthy school lunches blog I did a while back. You can

read it here:

http://www.vegblogger.com/blog/2009/08/index.html

 

Jacqueline

[Guest guest]

What veggies does your daughter like? Just cook up the pasta, add any finely

diced or shredded veggies she will not be inclined to pick out of the salad, and

add vegan mayo or salad dressing, just enough to wet everything. I like to also

add alfalfa sprouts to mine. If you use eggs, you can add in some hard cooked

egg. You can add in cooked beans, or tofu cubes also, for extra protein if you

want to.

 

I rarely use recipes for salads. I just wing it. Marilyn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

annsfarm4444 <catlady4444

 

Tue, Apr 6, 2010 6:51 am

Pasta Salad HELP!

 

 

 

 

Hello,

 

I continue on my mission to find packable lunches for my vegan 7 year old

daughter. Vegan Lunchbox around the World was a let-down in that many of the

dishes are hot and my daughter is wary of new flavors. (although I've made about

6 recipes and *I* love them!) I should have gotten Vegan Lunchbox Using Boring

Ingredients.

 

I decided to try pasta salads. My first try, last night, was from VegWeb. It had

5 stars, but I think it's very unimpressive. I chose it specifically as the one

I thought my kid would like: dressing has ketchup in it---reminiscent of bottled

French dressing! She'll eat the pasta with dressing, but picks out the cucumbers

& red bell peppers. Sigh....

 

I think VegWeb is a little dangerous---some of the recipes look pretty

awful...I'm not comfortable with their rating system...

 

Does anyone have tried & true pasta salad recipes that aren't too exotic? Or

maybe exotic but undeniably kid-friendly?

 

Thank you,

 

Ann

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Ann,

We often use an Italian dressing as the dressing, which our son really

likes. And we use shaped or colored pasta to make it more fun - bow tie

pasta are butterflies and carrot slices with little triangles cut out of

the edges look like flowers; he also likes those curly pastas and

shredded veggies and we call it confetti salad; regular macaroni salad

pasta he calls " O salad " , etc. And we just put whatever veggie he'll

eat right then - as it changes. :-) It used to be avocado and tomato

and corn - now he doesn't like avocado anymore and tomatoes aren't in

season, so now I might do something like olives and cheese chunks and

red peppers - or snow peas with grated carrot and edamame. Oh, we've

also done nuts and raisins in pasta salad - whereas I thought it was a

horrible idea, our son ate it all up, so what do I know. :-) Good

luck!!

Lorraine

 

 

On

Behalf Of annsfarm4444

Tuesday, April 06, 2010 3:52 AM

 

Pasta Salad HELP!

 

 

Hello,

 

I continue on my mission to find packable lunches for my vegan 7 year

old daughter. Vegan Lunchbox around the World was a let-down in that

many of the dishes are hot and my daughter is wary of new flavors.

(although I've made about 6 recipes and *I* love them!) I should have

gotten Vegan Lunchbox Using Boring Ingredients.

 

I decided to try pasta salads. My first try, last night, was from

VegWeb. It had 5 stars, but I think it's very unimpressive. I chose it

specifically as the one I thought my kid would like: dressing has

ketchup in it---reminiscent of bottled French dressing! She'll eat the

pasta with dressing, but picks out the cucumbers & red bell peppers.

Sigh....

 

I think VegWeb is a little dangerous---some of the recipes look pretty

awful...I'm not comfortable with their rating system...

 

Does anyone have tried & true pasta salad recipes that aren't too

exotic? Or maybe exotic but undeniably kid-friendly?

 

Thank you,

 

Ann

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

This was on a box of diced mixed veggies I bought at Costco (green beans,

carrots and corn. You could certainly leave out the feta.

 

1 cup uncooked spiral or bow pasta

1 12oz bag Bybee Foods Organic Garden Trio

4 diced Roma tomatoes (I used halved grape tomatoes, because that's what I had)

1/2 cup finely chopped scallions (I use used a sweet onion)

1/2 cups feta cheese, crumbled

 

Dressing:

2 Tbl chopped red onion (again, I used a sweet onion)

2 cloved finely chopped garlic

4 Tbl olive oil

1 Tlb white vinegar

2 Tbl water

1 Tbl finely chopped thyme

1 Tbl finely chopped basil

(instead of the two above, I used 2 Tbl herbs d'Provence)

fresh ground pepper to taste

 

Cook pasta, drain and rinse with cold water. Cook Garden Trio vegetables as

directed (I used a covered glass dish in the microwave) and cool.

 

Combine ingredients for dressing, whisking in olive oil last. Combine

ingrediets, toss with dressing, sprinkle with scallions and feta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I always make almond butter noodles... you could make as peanut butter noodles

instead. just make the noodles, and mix your nut butter with some soy sauce (or

tamari is a little healthier and can replace soy) and a little water to get the

consistency you want. add whatever veggies she may like.

also, I've never tried this recipe but always thought it was a cool idea for

kids: http://www.egglesscooking.com/2008/12/17/beet-recipe-pink-sauce-pasta/

 

could go either way, could be kid friendly because it is so pink and fun looking

but could seem weird - maybe worth a try! you'd need to replace ricotta with a

vegan alternative. i think i remember learning this can be done with carrots

too to make it orange.

 

, robin koloms <rkoloms wrote:

>

> This was on a box of diced mixed veggies I bought at Costco (green beans,

carrots and corn. You could certainly leave out the feta.

>

> 1 cup uncooked spiral or bow pasta

> 1 12oz bag Bybee Foods Organic Garden Trio

> 4 diced Roma tomatoes (I used halved grape tomatoes, because that's what I

had)

> 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions (I use used a sweet onion)

> 1/2 cups feta cheese, crumbled

>

> Dressing:

> 2 Tbl chopped red onion (again, I used a sweet onion)

> 2 cloved finely chopped garlic

> 4 Tbl olive oil

> 1 Tlb white vinegar

> 2 Tbl water

> 1 Tbl finely chopped thyme

> 1 Tbl finely chopped basil

> (instead of the two above, I used 2 Tbl herbs d'Provence)

> fresh ground pepper to taste

>

> Cook pasta, drain and rinse with cold water. Cook Garden Trio vegetables as

directed (I used a covered glass dish in the microwave) and cool.

>

> Combine ingredients for dressing, whisking in olive oil last. Combine

ingrediets, toss with dressing, sprinkle with scallions and feta.

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

This is the recipe that I use for peanut noodles (really, really good with

cashew butter). I serve this it over broccoli (and I make double the sauce).

Pasta with Finger-Licking Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup low or no sodium vegetable broth

1/4 cup chunky peanut butter(I use smooth)

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger

2 teaspoons chili paste with garlic (add to taste, it is pretty spicy)

4 garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces uncooked whole wheat angel hair

1 pound firm tofu, drained and cubed (optional)

1 cup (2-inch) sliced green onions

1 cup shredded carrot

Combine first 8 ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes

or until smooth, stirring frequently (this can also be done in the microwave;

use a tempered glass bowl, like Pyrex, cook for 20 seconds, stir, repeat until

smooth). Remove from heat. Cook pasta in boiling water 8 minutes, omitting salt

and fat. Add tofu, onions, and carrot; drain. Place pasta mixture in a large

bowl. Add peanut butter mixture; toss gently.

 

 

 

 

________________________________

juliamannes <juliamannes

 

Wed, April 7, 2010 12:51:16 PM

Re: Pasta Salad HELP!

 

 

I always make almond butter noodles... you could make as peanut butter noodles

instead. just make the noodles, and mix your nut butter with some soy sauce (or

tamari is a little healthier and can replace soy) and a little water to get the

consistency you want. add whatever veggies she may like.

also, I've never tried this recipe but always thought it was a cool idea for

kids: http://www.egglesscooking.com/2008/12/17/beet-recipe-pink-sauce-pasta/

 

could go either way, could be kid friendly because it is so pink and fun looking

but could seem weird - maybe worth a try! you'd need to replace ricotta with a

vegan alternative. i think i remember learning this can be done with carrots too

to make it orange.

 

@gro ups.com, robin koloms <rkoloms > wrote:

>

> This was on a box of diced mixed veggies I bought at Costco (green beans,

carrots and corn. You could certainly leave out the feta.

>

> 1 cup uncooked spiral or bow pasta

> 1 12oz bag Bybee Foods Organic Garden Trio

> 4 diced Roma tomatoes (I used halved grape tomatoes, because that's what I

had)

> 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions (I use used a sweet onion)

> 1/2 cups feta cheese, crumbled

>

> Dressing:

> 2 Tbl chopped red onion (again, I used a sweet onion)

> 2 cloved finely chopped garlic

> 4 Tbl olive oil

> 1 Tlb white vinegar

> 2 Tbl water

> 1 Tbl finely chopped thyme

> 1 Tbl finely chopped basil

> (instead of the two above, I used 2 Tbl herbs d'Provence)

> fresh ground pepper to taste

>

> Cook pasta, drain and rinse with cold water. Cook Garden Trio vegetables as

directed (I used a covered glass dish in the microwave) and cool.

>

> Combine ingredients for dressing, whisking in olive oil last. Combine

ingrediets, toss with dressing, sprinkle with scallions and feta.

>

>

>

>

>

>