Today I’m sharing my Vegetable train here on The Inspiration Edit. This Veggie train is a fantastic party food idea and was a real hit at my daughter’s birthday party back in 2015. In fact I’ve recently recreated the train for a second time and am sharing the new images and video here for you to enjoy!
Finding kids veggie recipes and getting children to eat vegetables can sometimes be tricky especially at a children’s birthday party.
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Vegetable Train Video
We made a veggie train video just for you to see. Enjoy!
I always find by making fruit and veg into fun creations I can encourage children to eat vegetables. I hope this super cute Vegetable Train is a big hit at your next party. I sure hope you love this creative food idea!
Creative Food Idea – Bell Pepper Train
You can call this a veggie train or a bell pepper train. Others like to call this a train party food idea or simply a pepper train. Either way it’s a fun party food idea and one you will love!
Originally posted in 2015 on my previous blog Days In Bed – Updated 01 August 2020
How To Get Your Toddler To Eat Vegetable Snacks
Getting your toddler or your older kids to eat vegetable snacks can be tricky. As a previous Early Years Teacher I recall sitting all the toddlers in high chairs and giving them tasty vegetable sticks as healthy finger food. The little ones loved it when we added peanut butter and raisins onto celery and we called this bugs in mud.
Four ways to get your toddler to eat vegetable snacks are:
- Start them young. By introducing vegetables into your child’s diet early they are more likely to enjoy nutritious vegetables in the future.
- Add tasty snacks with vegetables. For example, peanut butter and celery or carrots with a low fat dip.
- Blend vegetables and hide them in other ingredients. You may like to try our hidden veggie cream cheese recipe.
- Give your toddler colourful veggies. Maybe use broccoli to create trees and create a picture on your child’s plate.
What You Will Need To Make Your Veggie Train
- 4-5 Peppers
- 1 Cucumber
- Baby Carrots
- Celery
- Plum tomatoes
- Toothpicks
- Dip – Optional
How To Make A Bell Pepper Train
To make this vegetable train you need between 4-5 capsicums or peppers.
They have different names depending on which country your from so for the purpose of this post I’ll call them peppers.
You simply slice off the top of the peppers and scoop out the insides.
Make sure you leave the pepper stalks on the outside as they can come in handy for connecting the trains together.
Use the tops of the peppers which you have cut off to make slices for the carriages.
Also chop some Celery, carrot sticks and 20 slices of cucumber for wheels.
Now you are ready to begin building your veggie train.
Building Your Veggie Train
You will need tooth picks to connect the cucumber wheels to the pepper carriages.
The cucumbers need quite a bit of reinforcement so expect to use a few toothpicks per wheel.
Once the Veggie Train carriages have wheels, you simply need to stand them in a row to create your Vegetable Train.
Finally add the pepper sticks, celery, tomatoes, carrots and cucumber into the carriages for the finishing touch. If you’d like dip add your favourite dip to this creative train!
Vegetable Train A Fun Party Food Idea
This is a fun vegetable train full of colour and perfect for encouraging kids to eat veggies at a birthday party.
Ingredients
- 4-5 Peppers
- 1 Cucumber
- 1 Carrot
- Celery
- Toothpicks
Instructions
To make this vegetable train you need between 4-5 capsicums or peppers. They have different names depending on which country your from so for the purpose of this post I'll call them peppers.
You simply slice off the top of the peppers and scoop out the insides. Make sure you leave the pepper stalks on the outside as they can come in handy for connecting the trains together.
Once the carriages have wheels, you simply need to stand them in a row to create a train of carriages. Then add the pepper sticks, celery, carrots and cucumber into the carriages for the finishing touch.
Do You Like This Vegetable Train Party Food Idea?
This was such a fun party food idea to make. My daughter had a lot of fun helping me to make this and it was a fun activity to do together. You can get the kids to help make their own veggie train or you may want to create it on your own. The choice is yours. Either way this is a fantastic way to get children to eat vegetables at a birthday party and will be a huge hit. I promise!
Angela x
You may find the following Creative food ideas super fun!
Hello Kitty Hidden Veggie Bagels
Chilly Philly Fire Flies – Veggie Crackers
Kids Veggie Recipes And Fun Food Ideas
Please Pin This Fantastic Vegetable Train Idea! Pinning supports my blog and helps me to share more fantastic ideas here on The Inspiration Edit!
About Angela Milnes
Angela Milnes is a Qualified Teacher who has specialised in Preschool and Kindergarten teaching. She has studied nutrition for children and has also taught cooking skills to adults. Angela loves to share family meals and easy instant pot recipes here on The Inspiration Edit. Follow her on Pinterest!
This is a brilliant idea! What a great way to get kids to eat more fruit and veggies, I need to do this! I also think the kids would enjoy helping to prepare it. I love the cucumber wheels. xx
I know. It would be a fun activity for the kids! Totally agree.
Super creative & fun. I think also the fact it’s so colourful makes it more appetizing for kids to want to eat too, got me wanting to snack on some veg now x
I totally agree. This was a big hit and i was surprised how much the kids did like it!
This is a great way to get the kids to take the needed vegetables and fruits. Bookmarking this post.
Thanks. I’m glad you like it 🙂
That is a really genius idea, I love how simple yet creative the idea is and the presentation is gorgeous
Thanks 🙂 It was really popular at the party.
This is the cutest idea! My daughter can be very fussy about food but salad vegetables are something she loves thankfully (for now at least) and I know she’d love this veggie train.
Thanks. Sylvia is fussy with some foods and some work.
This is amazing! It’s my daughters party in a couple of months, I am bookmarking this X
Oh great. It’s good to know this is a winner with so many parents 🙂 Thanks for commenting.
This is really cute! Such a lovely idea x
Thanks donna. It’s fab when bloggers I love like my posts.
What a really fun idea. I love how colourful and attractive it is and it would really appeal to children and yet it’s really healthy. I need to remember this one 🙂
Thanks Laura. I enjoyed making it. It was really fun!
Love this!! It’s such a simple idea but really effective
Thanks Rachel. i love it!
That looks so fun, very healthy too. I think my own children would love something like this too, what a clever idea xx
Thanks Lindsay 🙂
I adore this idea Angela! It is so cute & fun & more importantly it’s so healthy! The fun design will encourage kids to eat these gorgeous veggies. Well done x
Thanks Becky. I’m glad you like it. 🙂
Wow – that is amazing! I’m not sure it would look like that if I tried it, but I love it! So cute!
Thanks. I think we all have different things we are good at- like your amazing poetry and funny posts. 🙂
I have a little boy who is obsessed with peppers and trains. He would really love this. Great and fun idea. x
Ooh great idea then!
Wow this is such a fab idea, I love it! Would be so cool for my nephew’s birthday party – he’s a train fanatic! I’ll be pinning this one x #brillblogposts
Yes I think it would be a bog hit for any little boy who loves trains 🙂
This is sooo awesome, I would love to make this but know for sure my kids wouldn’t eat it no matter how appertising or cute it looked.
Thanks. Glad you like it Rachel.
Oh my gosh!!!!! This is amazing, you clever bean! A perfect healthy snack for parties and… Tbh…. Just day to day… My little ones would be amazed… 🙂
thanks Emily. I am glad you like this 🙂
This is super cute– the kids I look after would love it!
thanks Courtney. My daughter liked this!
What a creative idea. It would be great as part of a buffet as well
I totally agree. I think it would go down well at any kind of food gathering.
Oh my gosh! This is adorable! Love this! #brillbogposts
Thanks. It was a real hit!
Can you make this up ahead of time?
How far ahead can the peppers be cut, say the day before the party?
I did mine on the day of the party. I have cut peppers in the past and refridgerated and they have been fine after one day so i assume one day is fine.
This is brilliant! Not only is it a healthy snack but it also is part of the decorations. I am definitely going to make one of these for my sons next birthday.
– Jackie (Organised Mum Life)
Angela, this sounds amazing and looks fantastic. Love all the colors!
Very nice idea.will try it with my kid .Its a fun activity.Thank you for sharing.