MOMables Monday - Lunch of the Living Dead: "Zombie" Veggie Nuggets

I had a bounty of broccoli and cauliflower from several weeks of our weekly farm share, so decided to use some up and try the MOMables Veggie Nuggets recipe. But I couldn't find my cookie scoop, and spoon plops weren't working out so well. So I decided to try baking them in mini muffin pans! The only one handy was a mini gingerbread man pan I'd gotten on clearance after Christmas that hadn't been put away yet. *ahem*

The little greenish men made me think of zombies, so I *had* to make zombie lunches! And I just happened to have a mini brain mold and some dye-free gelatin mix...

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Big Braaaaaains

Big Sister got some Veggie Nugget zombies with little ketchup hearts painted on (I'm trying to include a heart in every lunch her Kindergarten year!) blood (organic ketchup,) scrambled brains (dairy-free gluten-free macaroni and "cheeze,") and a dye-free gelatin brain!

I make a dairy-free macaroni and cheese with a variation of this recipe from Superglue Mom that I'll post eventually, once I perfect it... The sweet potato she uses is too starchy with gluten-free noodles, so I use squash instead. Which makes it a tad sweet, but when I can, I use cauliflower too, to dilute the sweetness.

Little Braaaaaains

 

My toddler's spooky lunch included Veggie Nugget zombies, crunchy dried spleens (GF toasty-Os,) severed fingers (organic carrots,) random body parts (organic sugar snap peas and tomatoes,) and diced eyeballs (organic grapes.) 

The Verdict

I cooked the Veggie Nuggets a bit longer than the recipe suggested, since I wanted to be sure they'd keep their shape. And I think I only used 1 or 2 eggs. I'm trying to reduce the amount of animal proteins we eat, and figured I could add more if needed.
I liked them okay, but think they'd taste better with spinach instead of broccoli. I prefer cooked spinach to any other cooked green veggie. Z wasn't a fan, so I'll keep tinkering with it. Maybe include some potato and carrot too, and make the puree a little chunkier. The shape held up great though! I froze some in the mold then popped them into a freezer bag, and later they cooked up without a hitch!
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For these lunches, I had to cook and pack them the night before, and they also held up and didn't get too soggy or soft overnight. They definitely needed ketchup when eaten cold though!

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