Yummy Time for Kids
by: jacob coble
simple snack mix
Prep time: 5 minutes
What you need:
- 1 cup whole grain cereal (squares or Os work best)
- ¼ cup dried fruit of your choice
- ¼ cup nuts, such as walnut pieces, slivered almonds, or pistachios
- ¼ cup small, whole-grain snack crackers or pretzels
Equipment and supplies:
- Large bowl
- Measuring cups
- Large spoon
What to do:
- Measure out ingredients.
- Combine in large bowl.
How much does this recipe make?
Three to four ½-cup servings
Pretzels
Prep time: about 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp. yeast
- ½ c. warm water
- 1 tsp. honey
- 1-1/3 c. flour
- 1 tsp. salt
Utensils:
- oven (you'll need help from your adult assistant)
- small bowl
- mixing spoon
- medium-size bowl
- cutting board, sprinkled with flour
- baking sheet, sprayed with nonstick spray
- measuring cups and spoons
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325° Fahrenheit (165° Celsius).
- Put the yeast in a small bowl with the water and honey. Stir a little, then let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.
- Mix the flour and salt together in a medium bowl.
- After the 5 minutes is up, check on the yeast mixture. It should be bigger than before and a little bubbly. Add this mixture to the flour and salt mixture.
- Stir everything together. Use a spoon to start. Finish with your hands. The dough is ready when it's still a little crumbly and flaky.
- Put the dough on the cutting board and knead it like you are playing with clay. Knead it into one big ball.
- Break off a piece of dough that's about the size of a big gumball or superball. Use your hands to roll it into a skinny snake.
- Twist the snake into a medium-size pretzel shape, and put it on the cookie sheet. Do this with all the dough, making 12 pretzels.
- Bake your pretzels for 10 minutes. Let them cool and take a bite!
Serves: 12
Serving size: 1 pretzel
Nutritional analysis (per serving):
56 calories
1 g protein
0 g fat
12 g carbohydrate
0 g fiber
0 mg cholesterol
192 mg sodium
2 mg calcium
0.7 mg iron
blueberry oatmeals squares
Note: You can use raisins instead of blueberries to make cinnamon-raisin oatmeal squares.
Prep and cook time: 25 minutes
What you need:
- 1½ cups quick oats
- ½ cup whole-wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1 egg
- 1 cup skim milk
- 3 tablespoons apple sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
Equipment and supplies:
- Large mixing bowl
- 8x8-inch baking pan
- Measuring cups and spoons
What to do:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Coat baking pan with cooking spray.
- Place all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix until just combined.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes and cut into squares.
How much does this recipe make?
9 squares
Pizzadillas with red sauce
Note: These are great warm from the skillet or cold, packed for lunch with a container of sauce for dipping.
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
What you need:
- 4 whole-wheat tortillas (8 inches)
- 2/3 cup fresh or frozen spinach, finely chopped
- 2/3 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 cup marinara sauce (store-bought or homemade)
- Cooking spray
Equipment and supplies:
- A 10- to 12-inch skillet
- Thin spatula (metal preferred)
What to do:
- Lay 2 tortillas on a flat surface. Divide spinach and cheese between the tortillas.
- Top with remaining 2 tortillas.
- Place skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat pan with cooking spray.
- Gently slide 1 pizzadilla into the pan and cook until light golden brown on one side (about 1-2 minutes).
- Using a thin spatula, gently flip over the pizzadilla and cook for 30-60 seconds more or until cheese is fully melted.
- Remove pizzadilla and cut into triangles. Repeat with remaining pizzadilla.
- Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.
- You can wrap and refrigerate leftovers to take to school for lunch.
How much does this make?
- 4 servings
Roast beef rap
Note: This recipe works well with leftover steak or brisket, too. Ask for an adult's help with slicing the meat and using the food processor.
Prep time: 5 minutes
What you need:
- ¼ cup light mayonnaise
- ¼ cup fat-free Greek-style plain yogurt
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon horseradish sauce
- 2 large romaine leaves, cut in half
- 8 slices of leftover lean roast beef, thinly sliced
- 1 small tomato, thinly sliced
- 4 (8-inch) whole-wheat wraps
Equipment and supplies:
- Food processor
What to do:
- Place mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, salt, pepper, and horseradish into a food processor.
- Pulse until well combined, about 10 seconds.
- Lay wraps onto a flat surface.
- Top each wrap with a piece of lettuce, some tomato, and 2 slices of roast beef.
- Drizzle some dressing over the veggies and beef.
- Roll each wrap up. Serve immediately or wrap in foil for later.
How much does this recipe make?
- 4 wraps
Fruit bowl
Prep time: 15 minutes
What you need:
- 3 apricots, pitted and diced
- 3 bananas, peeled and sliced
- 6 large strawberries, trimmed and cut into quarters
- 6 tablespoons vanilla or plain Greek-style yogurt
- 4½ tablespoons shredded unsweetened coconut
Equipment and supplies:
- Knife for cutting fruit
- Bowls for serving
What to do:
- In a medium bowl, stir together the apricots, bananas, and strawberries.
- Scoop the fruit salad into small bowls and top each with 1 tablespoon yogurt.
- Sprinkle the shredded coconut on top.
How much does this recipe make?
- 6 servings
Olive Crusted Salmon
Prep and cook time: 20 minutes
What you need:
- Cooking spray
- 1 cup pimento-stuffed Spanish olives
- 1 piece of whole-wheat bread
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 4 (4 oz. each) salmon fillets
Equipment and supplies:
- Baking sheet or roasting pan
- Food processor
What to do:
- Put oven on broiler setting.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Place oven rack 6 inches from broiler flame. (Get a grownup's help with this.)
- Place olives, bread, and lemon zest into a food processor and process until it reaches a paste texture. (Again, get an adult's help.)
- Pat salmon dry and spread a heaping tablespoon of olive mixture over each piece.
- Broil fish about 15 minutes, checking halfway through to ensure it's not burning.
How much does this recipe make?
4 filets
Reviewe
Mediterranean Pasta Soup
Prep and cook time: 25 minutes
What you need:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1½ cups water
- 16 ounces chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- ½ cup uncooked ditalini pasta (short tube-shaped macaroni)
- 2 teaspoons chopped parsley
Equipment and supplies:
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Knife for chopping
- Large stock pot
What to do:
- Heat olive oil in pot over medium heat. (Be sure to get an adult's help when using the stove.)
- Add onion and sauté until lightly browned.
- Add water and next 6 ingredients.
- Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add pasta and cook additional 10 minutes, or until pasta is tender but not overcooked.
- Stir in parsley.
How much does this recipe make?
8 1-cup servings
Crunchy Hawaiian chicken wrap
Note: This recipe calls for broccoli slaw. What's that? Cole slaw is mostly shredded cabbage so broccoli slaw is shredded broccoli, sometimes mixed with shredded carrot and cabbage. You can find it in the produce section.
Prep time: 25 minutes
What you need:
- 6 whole-wheat tortillas
- 1½ cups broccoli slaw
- 1 cup spinach leaves, chopped
- ¼ cup crushed and drained canned pineapple
- 1 pound cooked chicken, diced
- ¼ cup low-fat mayonnaise
- ¼ cup vinegar
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 1½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1½ teaspoon chili powder
Equipment and supplies:
- Measuring cups/spoons
- Knife
- Bowl for mixing dressing
- Whisk
What to do:
- Prepare dressing by whisking mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, poppy seeds, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder together. Set aside in refrigerator.
- Mix broccoli slaw, drained pineapple, and spinach.
- Put ½ cup of the broccoli/pineapple/spinach mixture on a wheat wrap.
- Top with chicken.
- Add 1 tablespoon dressing to each tortilla.
- Wrap tortillas, burrito style. Cut on diagonal. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
How much does this recipe make?
Six servings
Southern-style Cornbread
Prep time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs, beaten with a fork
- 1 c. cornmeal
- 1 c. flour
- 1 c. milk
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ c. vegetable oil
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- ½ c. corn (fresh, canned, or frozen if it's taken out of the freezer ahead of time and soft)
Utensils:
- oven (you'll need help from your adult assistant)
- fork
- large bowl
- mixing spoon
- square baking pan (8" x 8") coated with nonstick cooking spray
- knife (you'll need help from your adult assistant)
- measuring cups and spoons
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400° F (200° C).
- Put all the ingredients, except for the corn, into a large bowl.
- Beat the ingredients together with a big wooden spoon. The mixture should be smooth.
- Stir in the corn and mix.
- Pour the mixture into baking pan coated with nonstick spray.
- Bake in the oven for 25 or 30 minutes or until the cornbread is light brown on top.
- Remove bread from the oven, cut it into 9 pieces with a knife, and serve it warm for a lip-smacking treat.
Serves: 9
Serving size: 1 piece
Nutritional analysis (per serving):
226 calories
5 g protein
7 g fat
30 g carbohydrate
1 g fiber
48 mg cholesterol
376 mg sodium
77 mg calcium
1.5 mg iron
Note: Nutritional analysis may vary depending on ingredient brands used.