Fun Food Friday - Little Sprout's Happy Birthday Hafla

Last year, when she turned four, Little Sprout didn't really want a birthday party and instead preferred to celebrate with a few close friends. I put together a spa party at the house (think pedicures, facial masks and cucumber slices on the eyes), and afterwards, we all went for tea. It was a wonderful day, and she loved every minute.

A year later, for her fifth birthday, she requested the same type of party but "at the spa, not at the house. And with massages." Cute, right? But of course the answer was "no" (although I've made a mental note of it as a possibility for one of my future birthdays)! As a second choice, we decided on a bellydance birthday - and it turned out great.

Apparently past her introverted stage, she invited all her friends to join her at the house for a class with her bellydance teacher, Miss Brooklynn. Twenty little girls shimmied around the house while the boys went on a spy mission to the playground, then everyone enjoyed snacks and cake.

I really enjoyed creating a vegan menu of kid-friendly food with a Middle Eastern feel, and of course, Little Sprout loved her magic carpet cake. Since I don't have any artistic talent whatsoever, I baked four giant rectangular cakes and whipped up some buttercream, then my mom transformed them into an awesome magic carpet. Our other challenge is that we don't use food dye, so I colored the frosting with turmeric to get the nice yellow hue and juiced blackberries, beets and spinach to giver her purple, red and green "paints" to decorate with.

Here's a peek at our menu.

Fresh Fruit Salad

Olive & Veggie Plate

Pita Triangles with Hummus

Moroccan Millet Salad

Cheesy Chickpea Salad

Cashew Cheese Logs with Crackers

PB&J Sandwich Triangles

Moroccan Mint Tea

Sparkling Fruit Punch

Magic Carpet Cake

Yikes! Did I really make that much food??? Surprisingly, we had almost no leftovers, except for the cake (I converted a cupcake recipe and made the equivalent of 9 dozen cupcakes!!!) I've promised the Moroccan Millet Salad recipe to a few people, so I'll be sharing that soon.

We all had an amazing time celebrating her birthday and although it entailed a lot of cooking, I'm happy that we pulled off kid-approved party food that fit both our theme and our dietary requirements.