Healthy Kids Expo

Archive for October, 2011

Many find it a difficult task to get their kid to eat healthy. Most kids prefer a diet of fruit roll-ups and ice cream, however, it is crucial to get your kid eating healthy at a young age. Whole grain is very important for your kids to consume. Starting off the day with a bowl of Cheerios is a great way to get started on the recommended six ounces of of whole grain your child should consume. If he or she is a big enough eater, they can get all six ounces at breakfast! Also important is the consumption of calcium. Foods that are rich in calcium build strong bones and later on can prevent osteoporosis.

When preparing food or snacks for your kid, it is often important to prepare food that is quick and easy to make. Also important is that the snacks are low in sugar and fat, as well as high in nurtrients and fiber. This can be a challenge if your kid is used to eating candy and hot dogs all the time, so you may need to get creative.

One option is to turn chicken nuggets into a healthy snack. In order to do this you will need skinless, boneless chicken breasts, non-fat buttermilk, flour, corn flakes, salt, and pepper. Fill up one bowl with flour seasoned with salt and pepper, one with buttermilk, and one with crushed corn flakes. Cut the chicken breasts into squares. Dip the chicken breast squares into the flour. Shake off all excess flour and dip the chicken into the buttermilk. Next, coat the chicken with the crushed up corn flakes. Get as much as you can to stick. Finally, put the “chicken nuggets” on a cookie sheet that is covered with foil. Back for 14-16 minutes at 375 degrees. You can make extra if you want, because these will still be good the next day. Also, the kids can be included in the preparation, if you don’t mind the mess.

Instead of giving your kid ice cream for dessert, replace it with a fruit smoothie. You can make a banana smoothie in a matter of minutes. All you need is a frozen banana, 1/2 cup of orange juice, 1/2 cup of yogurt, and 1/4 cup of blueberries. If you have bananas that are going bad, put them in the freezer and save them for this occasion. One you get all of the ingredients, combine them in a blender, and blend them until smooth. That wasn’t so hard, was it?

It can be a difficult transition when getting your kid to give up the sweets. You might be surprised by the healthy snacks your child will enjoy. It is important to keep trying new things until you find a variety of healthy meals your kid enjoys. Sure, every kid deserves to have the occasional treat of pizza or ice cream, but try to make it just that, an occasion.

What would you do if your kids asked for “More veggies, please?” Well, prepare yourself, because they just might when you serve vegetables like this. These snacks are great for after school treats.

Celery and Pretzel Butterfly

2 stalks of celery
12 large pretzels (not the straight kind)
6 tablespoons natural peanut butter
Around 18 raisins
12 slivered almonds

Wash the celery with cold water. Cut the celery stalks crosswise into thirds. Fill each celery stalk with one tablespoon of the peanut butter. Gently push 1 pretzel into the peanut butter, so the pretzel is parallel to the length of the celery stick and looks like a wing. Do the same on the other side of the celery, with another pretzel. Your celery stick now has butterfly wings!

Use the raisins for the eyes, nose and mouth of the butterfly. Create the antennae by pushing the slivered almonds into the filling, on top of the butterfly’s head.

Celery and Carrot Wagons

2 stalks of celery
12 toothpicks
16 carrot slices
1/2 cup of peanut butter; cheese spread or ranch dressing
20 Raisins

Wash the celery with cold water. Cut celery stalks crosswise into pieces that are about 3 inches long. Push two toothpicks through the sides of each celery stick to create the axles for four wheels. Fill each celery wagon with the peanut butter, or another spread. Stick a round carrot slice onto the end of each toothpick to form a wheel. After the wheel is attached, cover each toothpick tip with a raisin.

You can stick a toothpick into the end of the celery for a wagon handle, and cover the tip with another raisin. You can also leave the handle off to create a celery car instead.

Tomato Army Ants

3 small cherry tomatoes for each ant
9 toothpicks or grape stems for each ant.

Rinse the cherry tomatoes in cold water. Attach the three tomatoes with two of the toothpicks or grape stems. Use six more to create the ants legs, and two for the antennae. Make as many as you can to create a whole army of ants.

Zucchini or Cucumber Centipede

Small zucchinis or cucumbers
Shredded carrots

Rinse the zucchinis or cucumbers. Cut off the ends of each, and attach strips of zucchini or cucumber for the legs. You can use shredded carrots for the antennae.

Here are some other tips to make vegetables more child-friendly

Choose Colorful Veggies – Kids loves colors. When you serve vegetables to your children, try to serve an assortment of colors

Make them Little Finger Friendly – Slice vegetables into small pieces so they will be easier to pick up with small fingers.

Do the Dip – If your child is a reluctant vegetable eater, let them experiment with different dips. Most kids like ranch dip for their vegetables. Some kids will eat anything if it has cheese or peanut butter on it.

Vegetable Art – Instead of arranging vegetables for your kids, let them design their own vegetable creations. Give them an assortment of vegetables, spreads, and toothpicks, and let them create their own work of vegetable art.

On some days, our schedule is so hectic that no matter how hard we try there is absolutely no way that we could make dinner. Yes, there are meals you can prepare quickly, but even quick meals still take some time, unless it’s a ready-made meal that goes into the microwave or 2-minute-noodles. But that’s not what you want, right? You want your family to eat healthy.

The solution is very simple: You need to come up with some ideas that are healthy, filling and quick to make. Really quick. Dinner does not always need to be a huge meal. Sometimes, a light simple dish can be just as satisfying. Cooking takes time. So you need something that doesn’t need to cook.

Have you ever thought about transforming a boring sandwich into an exciting dinner? Try this:

1. Baked Egg And Tomato Sandwich

Take a slice of whole grain bread. Put a slice of lean ham on, a few slices of tomato and a baked egg. Sprinkle some paprika or cayenne pepper on top and voil