Today we made Spring Rolls with avocados, raw salad greens, cilantro and cucumbers (fridge leftover veggies). Sliced them all up, took out the rice paper and called the kids over.
Here’s why we loved them and easy step-by-step instructions for kids to make their own rolls!
It was their first time working with rice paper. They were intrigued by the texture, asked about the lines on the paper and wanted to eat it crispy, right out of the package. They very quickly learned it’s not very good that way.
Dipping the paper in the water was fun for my toddler. Today I learned they can play with a sheet of rice paper for quite some time while everyone else is busy cooking. The kids enjoyed making the rolls. It was a fun and simple dish to prepare. Once the kids learn the steps to filling and rolling, this is one dish they can make on their own.
My kids are not big eaters of raw greens (it takes some enticing and motivation to eat all their salad greens) but tonight they ate their raw greens! They must taste better all rolled up and dipped in peanut sauce!
Next time I will add more colorful veggies inside, such as carrots and different colored peppers. I’ll let them go through our veggie drawers and decide what to put inside.
They cleared the plate of spring rolls QUICKLY! It’s a great way to add extra veggies to their diet.
The spring rolls are also easy to take when you’re on the go, on weekends, for a quick, healthy and cool snack too. I think these will go into our cooler this weekend!
You can find rice paper at any supermarket that has an Asian section. Asian Markets are a great place to purchase these. The ones in our pictures are from Whole Foods.
I prefer to use the smaller rice paper sheets (not the really big ones), they are easier to work with, especially if you have kids helping in the kitchen. They come out the perfect size and easy to eat.
Any of your favorite veggies can be added to a spring roll. We used (what we had in our veggie drawer):
1 medium sized cucumber
2 has avocados
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch baked noodles
1 Package Rice Paper
The easiest way for the kids to roll is to first fold in the two longer sides. Then roll tight with their fingers. Wet hands will help if the paper is too sticky.
Setting up a work area will help your little one be more independent in the kitchen.
Left hand side – shallow dish with water
Middle – dry round dish to make the spring roll and right above, their serving dish for the finished rolls.
Right hand side – cut veggies for the spring rolls.
Hope you too can experiment with rice paper and your family has fun making these rolls!
We also made a peanut dipping sauce. I did not measure ingredients but here is everything we used:
Grated fresh ginger
Raw honey
Soy sauce (can use coconut amino or soy substitute)
Peanut Butter (can also use almond butter)
Sesame seeds
Whisk all together and you have peanut sauce!
If you get inspired to make these, please send pictures, and let us know how your kids liked them!
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