1St Birthday Luau

I am hoping to do this theme for my dad in July. What about fruit kabobs with different kinds of fruit? Other than that I am stuck because of the no meat thing. I plan on doing grilled chicken and pineapple with a rice pilaf and fruit. Good Luck!

Little cheese & fruit kabobs would be fun (you can snip the sharp end off the kabobs for kids, or just have parents watch their kids with the stick (depending on ages...the one-yr-olds would certainly need stick-free food...hahaha).

You could serve goldfish crackers and macadamian nuts inside of little coconut bowls.

Here is a green salad recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tropical-Salad-with-Pineappl...

Here is a tropical coleslaw recipe, that claims kids will like it:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tropical-Coleslaw/Detail.aspx

Carribean sweet potato salad:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Caribbean-Sweet-Potato-Salad...

Maui Pasta Salad
3 cup cooked spiral pasta
2 cup dole snow peas
1 cup sliced dole carrots
1 cup cucumber
1 cup dole pineapple juice
1/2 cup bottled reduced calorie italian dressing
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Chill at least 15 minutes. Serves 6

Hawaiian Rice Pilaf
Roasted macadamia nuts give this delicious rice pilaf recipe an unforgettable flavor. Leave the nuts whole for better texture.

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. butter
1-1/2 cups long-grain white rice
2 to 3 cloves chopped garlic
1/3 cup diced red pepper
1/3 cup diced yellow pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup roasted macadamia nuts
1/4 tsp. ground sage
salt to taste
1 cup diced pineapple
1/4 cup parsley

Preparation:

Melt butter in oven-proof casserole dish (with lid). Add rice and garlic, stirring to coat. Stir in peppers and chicken broth. Cover, and bring to boil. Stir in raisins, macadamia nuts and sage. Add salt if desired.

Cover, and place in preheated 375-degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes. When rice is finished baking, gently stir in pineapple and parsley. Serve immediately.

That sounds like a lot of fun. Good luck!!!

C.

chicken breast cut into strips and put on a shish a bob stick baked and a sauce put on, sweet and sour meat balls,bake the meat balls--again on a stick with pineapple,green pepper,onion and a red cherry (bake) serve both with sweet and sour sauce--these can be kept warm in a roaster and wrapped in towel and news paper. BIG HIT WITH MY FAMILY

Cheese cubes or sticks may not fit in with the theme, but are nourishing and easy. There are Hawaiian chips at some stores (try Central Market) like potato chips, but I think in more "exotic" flavors in interesting colors. Dried fruits might be good too.

M.,
It sounds like you have gotten great advice on food. I thought you might like to know that Big Lots has great Luau serving plates/cups and some decorations. Very economical! I hope your little girl has a great 1st birthday Luau!

HI M.,

I'm a mom of 2 children and a teacher, and one thing that I serve both to my children and my students when there is a special occasion are kabobs. The children really enjoy creating their very own kabobs and enjoy eating them too. I usually give them many choices of food to choose from, then they just pick whatever they like and create their very own kabob. Some of the foods I usually place on the table are, different types of cheese cubes, turkey slices rolled up,
ham cubes, pineapple cubes, apple cubes, grapes, mandarin oranges, kiwi, strawberries, bananas, cherries, blueberries, cubed pears, cubes peaches, olives, bell pepper, celery cubes, cherry tomatoes, or any other foods you would like to serve for the kabobs. I served them last year at my daughters birthday party, and even the adults enjoyed making their own kabob.
Best of Luck to you and I hope your daughter has a wonderful Birthday!

Also bannana bread is great, that is one of my favorite things to eat in Hawaii! Yummmmm...

fruit loop lays(sp).. I don't know how old all the kids there are gonna be but u may be able to use the skinny string licorice to string them.

We did the same theme for my son's 2nd birthday and I got some fish shaped cookie cutters from Sur la table (they have sea horses, etc) and made hummus sandwiches and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and cut them into shapes. It was cute and it didn't have to stay cool as ours was outside at the pool.

Love the pineapple with basil idea and salsa from Hula Hut (yum!)

Hawaiian Punch to drink(we like to mix with sparkling water and add sherbert/ice ring to a punch bowl for a pretty, tasty, quick punch)

You could make quesadillas ahead of time to go with the salsa, and cut into wedges.
2 tortillas
grated cheese
Assemble like grilled cheese sandwiches and toast on a nonstick pan.
Before you do wedges...The above doesn't fit the theme but, maybe you could use a round cookie cutter to cut a hole in the middle (serve these too) to make "hula hoops." Make sure there is enough cheese to get the tortillas to stick together.

I've never been to Hawaii but I've heard about "poi" since I was little, maybe having a pudding with the challenge to eat with 1, 2, or 3 fingers. Provide aprons and a clean up station.

I thought I saw some sort of pistacio "crunch" type nut product at Costco. I wonder if they have something with Macadamia Nuts?

Hawaiian bread or rolls, with honey butter to spread? Or make mini pb&js using a different type of nut butter on the Hawaiian rolls.

Sounds like a fun theme! Enjoy.

Anything served in a 1/2 or 3/4 pineapple will make for a cheap and gorgeous presentation. Shrimp is beautiful and always a hit served in a pineapple that has either been frozen or is hollowed out and ice inside it.
We had a luau for our daughter's first also. I know that you said no meat, but meat can be cooked a head of time and iced to serve cold. SPAM sandwiches are a classic Hawaiian fav. We had hotdog octopus served on top of mac and cheese for the kids. They didn't mind that it was cold. You could even get an aquarium net to let them catch their own in ice water. Deli sandwiches served on croissant buns add a bit to the presentation too.
Adding sliced star fruit to any dish gives it a tropical, whimsical garnish as well.

I love parties! First, because your little girl is going to be the focus of the day, keep everything else as simple as possible and enlist help. In trying to find ideas for you, I went to Google and looked for "Hawaii finger foods". There is a plethora of information. Pulling it all together, here is what I would do. Find or decorate boxes for box lunches. You may want some for toddlers and others for adults. For the boxes think bright colors.they will look pretty on the picnic table and you won't have to worry about flies! Pimento cheese or peanut butter sandwiches,chips, fruit. Serve the chips and salsa as an appetizer on the table while you are handing out the box lunches. Grapes and bananas will be good in the boxes. You can buy "jello shot" plastic cups at the Party Place for pineapple pieces. The cups come with lids. Coconut on cupcakes would be so pretty but the little ones couldn't handle that. Healthy muffins could sub for the sandwiches. Add a little cream chess to your homemade pimento cheese to make it smoother. I know others will give you good ideas and I am sure you will pick and choose the best for the party you envision. Happy Birthday to the birthday girl.

Jicama is very versatile as a snack. Sliced into fairly thin bitesized pieces, it should be done at least a day in advance and can be flavored with whatever comes to the imagination. I usually just slice it into a zippy bag and add the juice of 1 lemon but you can add a sprinkle of cayenne or other powdered chili for an extra zip or you can take it the other way with a touch of sweet & maybe some cinnamon & a dash of ground cloves.
Rollups are very handy also. Just spread your favorite flavored cheese (the edible "glue") on either bread, a tortilla, a lettuce leaf or spinach, roll it up and slice in desired sizes. You can also add a touch of finely minced olives, onions, cukes, tomatoes, fruit or ........
A really simple one is banana chips. A healthy munchy that's readily attainable and pleasing (even to the point of being addictive) to most everyone.
Another really simple one is a bit of your favorite chutney or jam poured over a brick of cream cheese. Since the cream cheese has to be at "room temp" to spread easily, it's a perfect sit on the table snack that takes no preparation. Just plop the brick on a plate, pour the chutney/jam (a little goes a long way), set a knife (plastic) there for spreading and the crackers.
Stuffed fresh mushrooms caps are also good. I use the white button mushrooms and a container of garlic herb cheese spread from the deli at the grocery store. To make stuffing the caps a breeze, put the stuffing into a zippy bag, squish it into one corner, snip and fill. Zippy bags make excellent disposable pastry bags. (This method also lets you make everything up for deviled eggs a day in advance and fill them at the last minute.)

allrecipes.com

This is the ONLY way to go when I need ideas or recipes. It's EASY to use and FULL of YUMMY recipes. Be sure to check how many "reviews" that a recipe that you are considering has. You can also see what others have done to make it better, ect. By clicking on "Ingredients" you can list what you have on hand or don't want to use when in a pinch for dinner ect. It's GREAT!

In HIS Grip,
C. S.