A Rainbow Picnic with Organix
Everyone who has followed by story here at Me Becoming Mum or has known me for a while, will know how much I love rainbows. They have such strong symbolism, of the promise that things will be better after the storm. As both of my girls are rainbow babies they have a special meaning to me, so when I approached by Organix to share some recipes for their rainbow picnic it was a no brained really!
The best thing about Organix food, including these recipes you can make at home, is that there is no "junk" included. They are simple, easy, and of course healthy options for you and your family! The best thing about these rainbow recipies is that all the rainbows are made from the natural colours of the vegetables and fruit used.
If you like these recipes and want to be able to check out more easy and healthy recipes for you and your family to enjoy, check out the Recipe Page on the Organix website https://www.organix.com/recipes.
Rainbow Muffins
Mum Hack: Get your children involved in the prep, baking in any form is fun, and they are more likely to eat something that they have had a hand in making.
Ingredients
225g self-raising flour
1 small carrot
2 spring onions
1/2 red pepper
2 tbps sweetcorn
100g mature cheddar
175ml milk (or dairy free alternative)
1 large egg
50ml olive oil
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (Gas mark 6/400°F). Lightly brush 10 moulds of a 12 hole muffin tin with oil.
2. Measure and sift the flour into a large mixing bowl.
3. Prepare the vegetables: Grate the carrot, finely chop the spring onion, de-seed and finely chop the red pepper. Add all of the vegetables to the flour. Grate the cheddar cheese, add it to the bowl and mix well to combine.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, egg and olive oil. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. Divide the mixture between the 10 oiled muffin tin moulds.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes until cooked through and golden brown.
6. Cool on a wire rack then pack in an air-tight box for your picnic.
Rainbow Wrap
Mum Hack: For this recipe, Organix provided details of how to make the wrap. For a mum like me though, I don't have time for that. Buying pre-made wraps from your local supermarket is a cheap and quick alternative!
Ingredients (For the Wrap)
100g buckwheat flour
1 organic egg
300ml organic milk (or milk alternative - rice/oat/nut milk)
3 tbsp water
A little olive or coconut oil for frying
Ingredients (For the Rainbow Filling)
A couple of spoonfuls of cream cheese or hummus
½ cooked beetroot
¼ red pepper
1 small carrot
¼ yellow pepper
5 cm chunk cucumber
Method
1. To make the wrap, simply whisk all ingredients (except the oil) together until very smooth. Ideally use an electric whisk if you have one.
2. Allow batter to stand for about half an hour.
3. Heat a little olive oil or coconut oil in a 6 inch, non-stick frying pan. Ladle a scoop of batter into the pan – just enough to cover the pan surface, so the wrap is just less than 5mm thick. Tip the pan so the batter covers the surface, and allow to cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes.
4. Use a fish slice to carefully see if it is cooked on the bottom. Once it’s cooked on one side, slide the fish slice under the wrap and flip it over. Cook the other side for a couple more minutes until golden. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
5. Allow the wraps to cool on a wire rack, or if you prefer them warm they can be kept warm in a low oven.
6. Prepare the vegetables by cutting them into thin matchsticks. The carrot and beetroot could also be grated if preferred.
7. Spread a layer of cream cheese or hummus over the whole wrap
8. Place the vegetables on top of the wrap in strips arranged by colour. Fold up the top and bottom of the wrap, then tightly roll, spreading a little extra cheese on the last bit of wrap to help ‘glue’ it in place if needed.
9. Slice in half at an angle so that you can see the range of rainbow colours then pack in an airtight box for your picnic.
Mum Hack: Leftover homemade wraps can used the next day or even frozen! Simply layer greaseproof paper between each wrap before freezing.
Rainbow Dips
Ingredients (Carrot Hummus)
250g carrots
1 garlic clove
½ tbsp olive oil
½ 400g tin chickpeas
½ tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tbsp orange juice
Ingredients (Beetroot Hummus)
200g cooked beetroot
½ 400g tin chickpeas
1 small garlic clove (optional)
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tbsp lemon juice
Ingredients (Pea and Mint Dip)
300g frozen peas
2 sprigs fresh mint
100g thick Greek yogurt (or dairy free alternative)
1 Tbs lemon juice
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (Gas mark 4/400°F). Scrub the carrots under running water. Top and tail them then cut into short sticks, leaving the skins on.
2. Place the carrots in a roasting tray with the garlic clove (still in its papery skin) and the olive oil. Shake the tin to completely coat the carrots and garlic.
3. Pop in the oven to roast for 20-25 minutes until the carrots are golden and cooked through. Once the carrots are ready, take out of the oven and leave to cool.
4. Drain the tin of chickpeas and tip half of them into a blender (reserve the other half for the beetroot hummus). Squeeze the clove of garlic out of its skin and into the blender with the chickpeas. Add the roasted carrots, ground cumin and orange juice. Blend all of the ingredients together until you have a hummus consistency.
5. Tip into a bowl, cover and store in the fridge then clean the blender ready to make the next dip.
6. Roughly chop the beetroot and tip into the blender with the remaining chickpeas, peeled garlic clove, cumin, olive oil and lemon juice.
7. Blend all of the ingredients together until you have a hummus consistency. Tip into a bowl, cover and store in the fridge then clean the blender ready to make the last dip.
8. Pour the frozen peas into a saucepan with the mint sprigs. Cover with boiling water and cook for 1-2 minutes until tender.
9. Tip into a colander to drain, then cool down under a tap of cold running water. Drain well, then remove the mint sprigs.
10. Strip the mint leaves from the stems and add to the blender with the peas, yogurt and lemon juice. Blend all of the ingredients together until smooth. Tip into a bowl, cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Rainbow Vegetable Platter
Mum Hack: For parents with weaning babes, or toothless tots like my Little L, boiling or steaming the vegetables slightly will soften them enough to make them easier for them to eat.
Ingredients
handful baby corn
handful sugar snap peas
2 carrots
½ red pepper
½ yellow pepper
½ cucumber
Method
1. Lightly steam the baby corn and sugar snap peas. Remove from the heat and cool quickly in ice water or a colander held under a cold running tap. Slice each piece of baby corn in half lengthways.
2. Prepare the remaining vegetables; peel the carrot and cut into sticks, de-seed and slice the pepper, cut the cucumber into sticks.
3. Arrange the vegetables on a plate or platter. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve. Serve with rainbow dips on the side.
Mum Hack: When cutting your vegetables, make sure the pieces are not going to be a choking hazard.
Rainbow Fruit Kebabs
Ingredients
5 or 6 strawberries
1 clementine
Handful pineapple pieces
1 kiwi fruit
handful blueberries
Method
1. Prepare the fruit; wash, hull and halve the strawberries, peel the clementine and break into segments, cut the pineapple into bite-sized pieces, peel the kiwi fruit and cut into bite sized pieces, wash and halve the blueberries.
2. Thread the fruit onto plastic or bamboo skewers. You can make them all the same in rainbow order or let your little one design their own.
3. Arrange the fruit kebabs on a plate, platter or air-tight container. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Disclaimer: This post was written in collaboration with Organix. Photos of the picnic makes were provided by Organix. Photos of my toddler were taken by me and are the property of Me Becoming Mum.