Star Wars Day Recipes Kids Can Make

There's Cinco de Mayo. And then there's the other May holiday for fun food which happens to be the day before.

Star Wars Day is May 4, dubbed so because "May the fourth (force) be with you" for those of you who aren't blessed to have Star Wars addicts in your home. 

Regardless, it's a perfect excuse to get the kids in the kitchen.

For our ongoing series on fun, healthy foods that kids can make, we take inspiration from the iconic movie series, and share ideas of fun Star Wars-inspired recipes kids can make. Enjoy!

BB-8 Shaped Pancakes

Making pancakes shaped pancakes gave me a child-like thrill, reminding me of how my grandmother was known for drawing "turtle pancakes" on the skillet with her pancake batter when we would visit her each summer. BB-8 pancakes are no different, other than you'll be pouring pancake batter into two roundish shapes to mimic the droid's body.

For these pancakes, you'll use your favorite pancake batter, whether homemade, buckwheat, multigrain, boxed mix or a recipe off the internet. For me, I typically turn to the pancake recipe in a 1960s Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.

Pour the the pancake batter on the skillet, with one circle being larger than the other. (If the two separate while flipping, just rearrange on the plate when cooked).

Arrange "BB-8" on the platter, and add a light layer of whipped cream and pipe frosting for the decorations. (Not 100% healthy, I know, however, it's a fun alternative to butter and syrup.) Even if your child isn't a skilled cake decorator, he or she will love the chance to play!

If you want to kick up the decorations and the healthiness up a notch, use blueberries and sliced oranges to embellish your plate like they did on the Disney Family website.

Darth Vader Shaped Pretzels

This snack was fun to try but honestly harder to pull off with younger hands. This is definitely an older kid creation.

We had seen a very detailed Darth Vader helmet-shaped pretzel online and opted to try it with our pretzel recipe from our healthy Easter recipe cooking session. Instead of shaping the dough in the traditional pretzel shape, we shaped it to emulate Darth Vader's mask. Bake as in the original directions.

Porg Chops

I'll be honest in that I've yet to see The Last Jedi, but I hear that porgs make quite an impression. I had to chuckle on this take on breaded pork chops from the Star Wars website.

You'll need:

• Boneless pork chops
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper
• Black olives
• Seaweed
• Black sesame seeds

My children deviated from the original recipe and directions by adding 1/2 teaspoon of garlic and herb seasoning to the breadcrumbs. In retrospect, we would have added stronger seasoning, but our kids are more adventurous.

Yoda Quesadilla

Green tortillas don't need to go to the side once St. Patrick's Day is over. This is a Star Wars-inspired take on those spinach tortillas and shamrock quesadillas from St. Patrick's Day.

Instead of shaping your quesadilla like a shamrock, cut it instead to look like Yoda. (And it doesn't have to be perfect. As a parent, I love the fact that the kids were actively cooking in the kitchen, even if it doesn't look Pinterest-perfect).