Hi, everyone!
We are hosting my daughter's 3rd birthday party at our home in a few weeks. It will be held during lunchtime, and I'm trying to think of easy but yummy ideas for food. We would like to stay away from meat (we are vegetarians) but have food that non-vegetarians would like. We also need to stay away from peanut butter because of allergies. In the past, we have done pizza, mac and cheese, and a taco bar, so I'd like to not repeat myself if possible. We will have the standard sides, like chips and dip, fruit, etc., but I need ideas for the main entree(s).
Thanks!
Pasta bar, choice of red sauce, cream or alfredo, with garlic bread. Cheap, easy, kid friendly and yummy!
In addition to a lot of great ideas below...
Baked and/or mashed potato bar! You can use cheese, veggie chili, sour cream, broccoli, crumbled veggie bacon, etc. The kids and I are vegetarian, my husband is not, so we eat a lot of things where the meat part is optional. Baked potatoes work well because no one misses the meat. Lasagna, baked ziti, or baked shells are great, too!
My BIL grilled huge Portabella mushrooms to give the vegetarians at one of my little guy's birthday parties options, so everyone could have a burger from our burger bar. He's also done veggie kabobs with baby Portabellas when we had shrimp kabobs because I'm allergic to seafood.
We've had this same issue for years as we are vegetarian and don't like to serve meat in the house!! How about:
veggie burgers, possibly cut into smaller circles so they are 'sliders'
Morningstar veggie corn dogs
tortillas spread with cream cheese (I use the vegetable cream cheese), sprinkled with cheese and chopped black olives, roll them up and slice them into little circles- these are always the hands down winner at our house, for kids and adults
hummus with pitas, carrots, celery
cook cheese ravioli only half as long as directed, drain, bread in bread crumbs, and bake. serve with pasta sauce as a dip
grilled cheese sandwiches, cut into small pieces
black bean and cheese quesadillas, cut small
for something non-finger food, I cook cheese tortellini, drain and mix with garbanzo beans, broccoli, and pesto sauce- another big favorite (and could really be served hot or cold
Have fun!
Spring Rolls
Curry (without meat)
Stir fry
Eggplant Parmigiana
Thai Food
Korean Food
Japanese Food
Asian foods are full of vegetable based dishes
I've made some black bean quesadillas many times.... they are really yummy, and a great finger food!
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/black_bean_quesadillas....
You should be able to make them up ahead of time and re-heat...I usually make 20 at a time... I usually use a 1 lb bag of black beans and cook them instead of using canned beans.
what is your 3 year olds favorite food? If it is mac and cheese or pizza then I say repeat it!
There are some great vegetarian casserole recipes online, just google it and you will get tons of great ideas.
Bean burgers are great for the kiddos because they usually won't notice the difference, especially after you add some cheese and condiments. You can get pre-made patties in the freezer section at the grocery store.
A salad bar is my go-to, with lots of creative toppings like dried fruits and nuts but this may not work for your 3-yo guests.
Best of luck!
~ALIEN
How late in the day is the party? Can you get away with brunch foods? Egg casseroles, muffins, etc.
You have a great menu from last year!! Why not repeat it? Lot of good ideas below here! I rather veggie food than meat any day.
