Kid-friendly Percy's Perfect Personal Pan Pizzas+Green Greek God Salad+Mt Olympus Honey Yogurt Smoothie Recipe - Sticky Fingers Cooking
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Family Meal Plan: Great Grecian Personal Pan Pizzas + Green Greek Salad + Honey Lemon Yogurt Smoothies

Family Meal Plan: Percy's Perfect Personal Pan Pizzas+Green Greek God Salad+Mt Olympus Honey Yogurt Smoothie

Great Grecian Personal Pan Pizzas + Green Greek Salad + Honey Lemon Yogurt Smoothies

by Erin Fletter
Photo by The Image Party/Shutterstock.com
prep time
40 minutes
cook time
18 minutes
makes
4-6 servings

Fun Food Story

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Great Grecian Personal Pan Pizzas

What better way to introduce kids to Greek food than through pizza?! Even though pizza is not traditionally Greek, the flavors and toppings very much are. Kids love to use their hands and explore by touch, and they will have so much fun making their own homemade dough. It’s totally kid-friendly: soft, forgiving, and easy to bend and stretch without much kneading. Read through the recipe carefully to get an idea of the flow. The results are well worth the effort. Sprinkle in some fun facts about Greek history and how important eating veggies are to Greek people. Just as important is sitting down to meals together and enjoying the company of family and friends.

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Chef Erin, Food-Geek-in-Chief
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Shopping List

  • FRESH
  • 3 green onions + more for optional pizza topping
  • 3 lemons
  • 2 cucumbers
  • 1 C cherry tomatoes
  • 3 ripe bananas **(see allergy subs below)**
  • FROZEN
  • 1 8-oz bag frozen spinach
  • DAIRY
  • 4 C full-fat plain Greek yogurt **(see allergy subs below)**
  • shredded mozzarella cheese, optional pizza topping **(see allergy subs below)**
  • 6 oz crumbled feta cheese, optional **(see allergy subs below)**
  • PANTRY
  • 2 C all-purpose flour **(see allergy subs below)**
  • 1 T baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 8-oz can tomato sauce **(see allergy subs below)**
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 3 T olive oil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano + more for optional pizza topping
  • 1 14-oz can artichokes, optional for pizza topping
  • 1 small jar pitted Kalamata olives
  • 1/4 C honey + more to taste
  • HAVE ON HAND
  • 3 C ice
  • water or cold milk (or dairy-free/nut-free milk) as needed to thin smoothies

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

  • blend :

    to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.

  • chop :

    to cut something into small, rough pieces using a blade.

  • knead :

    to work dough by pushing, pulling, and folding it by hand or with a stand mixer.

  • knife skills :

    Bear Claw (growl), Pinch, Plank, and Bridge (look out for trolls)

  • measure :

    to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).

  • mix :

    to thoroughly combine two or more ingredients until uniform in texture.

  • peel :

    to remove the skin or rind from something using your hands or a metal tool.

  • slice :

    to cut into thin pieces using a sawing motion with your knife.

  • squeeze :

    to firmly press or twist a food with fingers, hands, or a device to remove its liquid, like shredded potatoes, frozen and thawed spinach, or tofu.

  • toss :

    to lightly lift and drop food items together or coat food items with flour, or a sauce or dressing, as in a salad.

  • whisk :

    to beat or stir ingredients vigorously with a fork or whisk to mix, blend, or incorporate air.

Equipment Checklist

  • Small mixing bowl
  • Cutting board + kid-safe knife
  • Citrus juicer (optional)
  • Measuring spoons
  • Blender (or pitcher + immersion blender)
  • Liquid measuring cup
  • Oven
  • Oven mitt
  • Baking pan (1 - 18" x 13" sheet pan or 2 - 9" x 13" pans work well)
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Dry measuring cups
  • Whisk
  • Wooden spoon or rubber spatula
  • Pastry brush (optional)
  • Can opener
  • Spoon for spreading sauce
  • Kid-safe scissors (optional)
  • Small bowls to hold toppings separately (7)
  • Clean damp dish towel or paper towel
  • Wooden spoon
  • Plates, forks, drinking glasses, and napkins
  • Soap for cleaning hands
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Ingredients

Great Grecian Personal Pan Pizzas

  • Pizza dough:
  • 2 C all-purpose flour **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY sub gluten-free/nut-free all-purpose flour)**
  • 1 T baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 C full-fat plain Greek yogurt **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub dairy-free/nut-free plain Greek yogurt)**
  • 1 T olive oil (to coat pan)
  • Pizza sauce:
  • 1 8-oz can tomato sauce **(for NIGHTSHADE ALLERGY sub 1 C pumpkin purée)**
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano, optional
  • Pizza toppings (choose at least 3, including spinach!):
  • frozen spinach
  • canned, drained artichokes
  • shredded mozzarella cheese **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub dairy-free/nut-free cheese shreds, like Daiya brand)**
  • 1/2 C pitted Kalamata olives
  • green onions
  • dried oregano
  • crumbled feta cheese **(Omit for DAIRY ALLERGY)**

Green Greek Salad

  • 1 lemon
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 T honey
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp of dried oregano
  • 2 chopped cucumbers
  • 3 green onions
  • 1 C cherry tomatoes
  • 1 handful pitted Kalamata olives
  • 1/4 C crumbled feta cheese **(Omit for DAIRY ALLERGY)**

Honey Lemon Yogurt Smoothies

  • 3 ripe bananas **(for BANANA ALLERGY sub frozen mango, pineapple, or berries)**
  • 2 C full-fat plain Greek yogurt **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub dairy-free/nut-free plain Greek yogurt)**
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 1 C frozen spinach
  • 3 T honey + more to taste
  • 3 C ice + cold water or milk (or dairy-free/nut-free milk) as needed to thin smoothies

Food Allergen Substitutions

Great Grecian Personal Pan Pizzas

  • Gluten/Wheat: Substitute gluten-free/nut-free all-purpose flour for Pizza dough.
  • Dairy: Substitute dairy-free/nut-free plain Greek yogurt in Pizza dough. Omit feta cheese as optional Pizza topping.
  • Nightshade: For 1 8-oz can tomato sauce, substitute 1 C pumpkin purée.

Green Greek Salad

  • Dairy: Omit feta cheese.

Honey Lemon Yogurt Smoothies

  • Dairy: Substitute dairy-free/nut-free plain Greek yogurt.
  • Banana: Substitute frozen mango, pineapple, or berries.

Instructions

Great Grecian Personal Pan Pizzas

1.
preheat + measure + whisk

First, let's make the pizza dough! Preheat the oven to 400 F. Measure and whisk together 2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk while counting to 5 in Greek! Chef instructor says each number first, then kids repeat: 1 ένα (EH-nah), 2 δύο (THEE-oh), 3 τρία (TREE-ah), 4 τέσσερα (TES-seh-rah), 5 πέντε (PEN-day).

2.
measure + add + stir

Measure and add 2 cups of Greek yogurt to the flour bowl. Use a spatula and stir!

3.
knead + rest

Using clean hands, mix and knead the dough, incorporating the yogurt and flour together. Hands are the best way! The dough will come together quickly and easily in the mixing bowl, and kids shouldn’t need much more flour. However, in really humid climates, more flour may be needed. The dough will be soft, supple, and pliable, not sticky. If it is sticky, add more flour by the tablespoon. It should feel like soft play dough! Form the dough into one big ball, cover the mixing bowl with a towel, and set it aside to take a nap!

4.
pour + measure + mix

After washing hands again, it's time to make the pizza sauce! Pour 1 can of tomato sauce into a clean mixing bowl. (Adults help: Younger kids will need help opening their can of tomato sauce.) Measure and add 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and optional 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano to the bowl. Mix! Set tomato sauce aside.

5.
chop + slice + separate

Next, prepare the pizza toppings of your choice, chopping the veggies into bite-sized pieces! Chop spinach and 1 can drained artichoke hearts. Slice or snip green onions. Slice pitted Kalamata olives in half or leave them whole. Put each of these toppings into separate bowls. Then add shredded mozzarella cheese, crumbled feta cheese, and 1 teaspoon dried oregano to separate bowls.

6.
drizzle + pinch + press

Now, we'll assemble our Greek pizzas! Drizzle your sheet pan with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and spread it to coat the pan with your hands or use a pastry brush. Wipe hands on a damp dish towel or paper towel. Pinch off small balls of dough (between the size of a golf ball and tennis ball) and press them between your palms to flatten them. Kids will love how the dough feels! Arrange flattened pizza discs on the oiled sheet pan.

7.
spread + top + bake

Spread a small amount of pizza sauce on each pizza crust. Kids can spread it any way they want. One easy way is to use the back of a metal spoon and to make an even layer, stopping just before the edges of the crust. Top each pizza with frozen spinach, chopped veggies, olives, dried oregano, and some shredded mozzarella and feta cheese in one layer. Bake at 400 F for 15 to 18 minutes until cheese is melted and crusts are golden brown!

Green Greek Salad

1.
squeeze + measure + whisk

Slice 1 lemon and squeeze its juice into a small mixing bowl. Measure and add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon honey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano to the bowl. Whisk to combine!

2.
chop + toss + serve

Chop 2 cucumbers and slice or snip 3 green onions. Slice 1 cup cherry tomatoes and 1 handful Kalamata olives in half. Add veggies to the bowl. Let kids choose what they want to add! Toss to coat veggies in dressing. Serve salad topped with 1/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese!

Honey Lemon Yogurt Smoothies

1.
slice + squeeze + add

Slice 2 lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a measuring cup. Scoop out the seeds! Add juice to a blender.

2.
peel + measure + combine

Peel 3 ripe bananas and add them to the blender. Measure and combine 2 cups Greek yogurt, 1 cup frozen spinach, 3 tablespoons honey, and 3 cups ice to the blender.

3.
blend + taste + pour

Help kids blend until smoothie is thick and smooth. Add cold water or milk if the smoothie is too thick. Taste! If it needs more honey, add some! Pour into drinking classes and shout "Cheers!" in Greek: "Yia mas!" (Yee-AH moss).

Surprise Ingredient: Olives!

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Photo by ancoay/Shutterstock.com

Hi! I'm Olive!

"Did you know olives are fruit? We're called drupes (sounds like droops) or stone fruit, because we have a pit inside, just like apricots, cherries, peaches, and plums. You can't eat us right off the olive tree, though. We have to be cured first so we're soft and not bitter. Try us by ourselves or in a salad, a taco, or on pizza!"  

  • Olives are one of the most essential foods to the people of Greece, and they always have been. In ancient Grecian times, wheat, olive oil, and wine were the three most widely consumed foods, forming the basis of Greek people's diets. 
  • Greeks believed that the goddess Athena gave the first olive tree to Athens before it eventually spread to the rest of Greece. Olives were used in many recipes. Olives were also crushed, and their oil was used for lamps. Olive oil was also used as a beauty product. Women rubbed olive oil into their skin to make it soft and shiny, and it was added to charcoal and other natural colors to make eyeshadow and eyeliner.
  • Olives grow on trees! An olive tree can live anywhere from 300 to 600 years.
  • The oldest olive tree is located in Crete. It is 2,000 to 4,000 years old and is still producing olives!
  • The olive tree branch has become a symbol of peace, and two olive branches are pictured on the United Nations flag. 
  • Olives are not edible straight from the tree. They're too bitter. They must be cured first, which is how we buy them from stores. Cured means treated with a substance to preserve and change the taste and texture. Curing can cause green olives to become black from oxidation. 
  • What color are olives? They can be many colors: black, green, purple, brown, and even pink!
  • There are many different varieties and sizes of olives. The largest olive is called the Donkey Olive. The smallest olive is called the Bullet Olive. 
  • About 90 percent of olives are pressed to make olive oil, and 10 percent become table olives. 
  • Olives have lots of healthy fat in them, and these fats are fantastic for your heart and brain! They also contain 25 percent of our daily value of vitamin E.

Awesome Greek Food Ingredients!

Photo by Bvlena/Shutterstock.com

Olives are the most important food to people of Greece, and they always have been. In ancient (Grecian) times, the three most widely consumed foods were wheat, olive oil, and wine, and these formed the basis of Greek’s diets. 

Most Greeks were farmers and they ate the food that they grew. Since Greece had a mild climate, they were able to grow many different fruits and vegetables as long as there was plenty of rain.

Finding a great meal in ancient Greece would have been very easy. They ate a variety of delicious dishes, some of which are still around today.

Olive oil gives Greek food its special, distinct taste. There are many different kinds of olives; however, only a few are considered Greek olives. Green Conservolia olives are often used to make olive oil. Deep purple Kalamata olives are the most well-known Greek olives. Kalamatas are often found in Greek salads and on Greek pizzas. Halkidiki green olives are grown on the Halkidiki peninsula. Amfissa olives from central Greece can be black or green. Tsakistes are cracked green olives from the Attica region of Greece. 

Vegetables were (and still are!) a huge part of the Greek diet. In the past, most Greeks ate a diet that was almost vegetarian. Among the most common vegetables and plants eaten by Greeks were asparagus, fennel, cucumbers, chickpeas, and celery. They also gathered and boiled dandelions to eat. The bulbs of certain plants, such as iris, were also edible.

Honey was another important Greek food. It was used much like we use sugar, as a sweetener in many different foods. It could also be used as a medicine. Greeks were fond of honey because they believed that Zeus was fed milk and honey as a baby. For them, honey was almost magical. Many families kept beehives and took good care of their bees!

Let's Learn About Greece!

Photo by NadyaEugene/Shutterstock.com

Ancient Greece

  • Ancient Greece was a civilization in the northeastern Mediterranean region that existed from about 1100 BCE to 600 CE. Democracy began there in Athens in the 5th century BCE.
  • The first Olympics were dedicated to the Olympian gods and were staged on the plains of Olympia. Ancient Olympic sports included running, chariot racing, mule-cart racing, boxing, discus throw, long jump, wrestling, and pankration, a wild cross between wrestling and boxing with no rules except biting and eye-gouging!
  • A few of the well-known figures from this period were: Alexander the Great, who ruled over the whole empire from 336 to 323 BCE; Hippocrates, a physician referred to as the Father of Medicine; Herodotus, called the Father of History, who wrote his "Histories" about the Greco-Persian wars; Socrates, considered the founder of Western Philosophy; Plato, an author and philosopher who founded the first academy of higher learning in the West; Aristotle, a student of Plato's who also founded a school of philosophy; and Thales, a mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and one of the Seven Sages of Greece.  

Modern Greece

  • Greece, in Southeast Europe, is officially called the Hellenic Republic. Its government is a unitary parliamentary republic with a president, prime minister, and parliament. The capital and largest city is Athens, and the official language is Greek.
  • Greece declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821 and was recognized as an independent country in 1830. 
  • The size of Greece is about the same as the US state of Alabama but has twice as many people, over 10.5 million. 
  • The country of Greece consists of 6,000 islands, but only 227 are inhabited. Nearly 80 percent of the country is hills and mountains. 
  • About four-fifths of the people live in urban areas in Greece, and almost everyone is literate.
  • Greece has three times the number of annual tourists (about 31 million) as residents. It is one of the most-visited countries.
  • Greece is the third-largest producer of peaches and the fifth-largest producer of olives in the world. 
  • In the past, most Greeks were farmers, and they ate the food that they grew. Since Greece had a mild climate, they could grow many different fruits and vegetables as long as they got enough rain. Vegetables were a considerable part of the Greek diet and still are. Most Greeks eat a Mediterranean diet that includes plenty of olive oil, legumes, fruits, veggies, grains, and fish. They generally consume less dairy and meat.
  • Greek cuisine includes "fasolada" (soup of white beans, olive oil, and veggies), "moussaka" (eggplant or potato dish with ground or minced meat), "souvlaki" (grilled meat on a skewer), and "gyros" (pita bread filled with meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, veggies, and tzatziki sauce). 

What's It Like to Be a Kid in Greece?

  • Greek kids have three stages of education: primary school for six years, gymnasium (junior high) for three years, and lyceum (senior high) for three years (this stage is not mandatory).
  • Kids may participate in sports such as soccer, basketball, baseball, swimming, and handball. 
  • There are many museums and ancient sites to explore in Greece. Families love being outdoors and enjoy hiking and going to the many beaches. 
  • There are several different sweets that Greek children enjoy. These include "pasteli" (sesame seed candy), "bougatsa" and "galaktoboureko" (phyllo pastries filled with semolina custard), and "baklava" (nut-filled phyllo pastry soaked in a honey syrup).

THYME for a Laugh

Why isn't suntanning an Olympic sport?

Because the best you can get is bronze!

That's Berry Funny

Why do bees have sticky hair?

Because they use a honeycomb!

Lettuce Joke Around

What is the only food that you are allowed to play with? 

Yo-Yo Gurt!

The Yolk's On You

What was the most popular film in Ancient Greece?

Troy Story!

That's Berry Funny

Why does milk turn into yogurt when you take it to a museum?

Because it becomes cultured!

Lettuce Joke Around

Did you know there's another name for Kalamata olives?

Greece’s Pieces!

The Yolk's On You

A lot of people don't know about Rudolph the Reindeer's wife.

However, she's mentioned in the song about him: "Olive the other reindeer."

That's Berry Funny

Which Greek leader was the best of the bunch? 

Alexander the Grape!

The Yolk's On You

Two olives are sitting on a table.

Olive 1 rolls to the end of the table and falls off.

Olive 2 yells from the top of the table, "Are you okay?"

Olive 1 replies, "I’m a little bit sore, but olive (I'll live)."

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