Healthy Kids Recipes Your Child and Teen Will Love
Stacked Summer Salad Mark’s Hummus Asian Chicken Drumsticks Zuppa Toscana Berry Coconut Shake
Is it actually possible to cook healthy kids recipes that get a thumbs up from your child or teen? Absolutely.
Gone are the days when the concept of a healthy meal conjured up images
of a side dish of limp, colour-washed-out boiled spinach, and a time
consuming, labour intensive recipe for soya grit cabbage rolls. The
scary thing is that in my house, those cabbage rolls were not simply a
conjured up image but instead the real life meal that provoked a near
healthy foods embargo by my family. The positive result, however, was me
vowing to find some healthy kids recipes that I and my husband, Mark,
would be happy to cook and serve, and that our five children would
actually look forward to eating.
In Overweight Kids in a Toothpick World, my book that helps
families reach and maintain optimum weight and wellness, I have over 50
pages of healthy kids recipes-complete with GB cooking equivalents-that are simple to prepare, taste great
and have both the kids and the adults in the house feeling excited about
mealtimes. The keys to covering all those bases are:
For a full selection of healthy kids recipes, along with complete details on the Kids in Balance (KIB)
program that helps parents bring their kids (and often themselves!)
from an excess or obese state to a healthy weight and balanced health,
please purchase a copy of Overweight Kids in a Toothpick World.
But in the meantime, feel free to taste test a few of the following
recipes in your own home, or use the four healthy kids recipes
guidelines above to adapt your own family favourites. And if you come up
with a winner, feel free to send it along to me. I'll be posting
healthy kids recipes in future copies of my free KIB newsletter and am
always looking for new "thumbs up" recipes for children and teens.
1 yellow pepper, in strips
3 medium tomatoes, diced or 1½ cups [150g] grape tomatoes
2 cups [200g] broccoli flowerettes, lightly steamed
1 cup [100g] baby carrots, lightly steamed
1½ cups [240g] red onion, diced
1 cup [200g] chickpeas or navy beans, cooked
1 cup [200g] Greek olives
1 cup [150g] Feta cheese
¾ cup [200ml] extra virgin olive oil
½ cup [125ml] apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons parsley, minced
2 teaspoons cilantro, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon each sea salt and pepper
In large glass salad bowl, layer pepper strips, broccoli, carrots,
onion, beans, olives, Feta and tomatoes. Blend together olive oil,
vinegar, Dijon mustard, parley, cilantro, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour
dressing over salad and refrigerate for 24 hours. Serves 6.
¼ cup [60ml] extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 teaspoons)
2 cups [400g] chickpeas, cooked
¼ cup [60ml] reserved chickpea liquid
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon cumin
¼ cup [15g] parsley
Place tahini, olive oil, and garlic in food processor. Process for 1-2
minutes. Add chickpeas, reserved chickpea cooking liquid and lemon
juice; process until chickpeas are smooth. Add cumin and parsley,
process for an additional minute. Serve with vegetable dippers and with
good quality pita bread or crackers (i.e. whole grains, no refined
sugar). Makes 2¾ cups.
½ cup [125ml] tamari or Kikkoman, naturally-aged soy sauce
½ cup [125ml] apple juice
2 tablespoons honey or unrefined cane sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced (3 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon cayenne
Preheat oven to 350°F [180°C]. Combine sauce ingredients and pour over chicken.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until chicken is cooked through and no pink
remains. Serves 4.
1 leek, finely chopped
1 medium-sized bunch of kale, chopped into small pieces
2 cups [200g] broccoli stalks, peeled and chopped
4 cups [1 litre] chicken stock, homemade or good quality brand such as Imagine
2 cups [500ml] half and half cream, preferably organic
10 Yukon Gold potatoes, diced in ½ inch [1 cm] cubes
1 teaspoon of dried pepper flakes
Squeeze sausage meat out of skins into a large saucepan. Brown on high
heat. Add a bit of the chicken stock if the meat sticks to the bottom.
When the meat is cooked add the rest of the stock, leek, broccoli stalks
and pepper flakes (and potato is using). Turn the heat down to simmer.
When the broccoli is cooked, add the kale and the half and half. Turn
the heat down to low so the cream won’t curdle and heat thoroughly,
about 15-20 minutes. Serves 4.
Note: Start where your child is flavour-wise and adjust with each
subsequent making of the recipe. That means you may need to start with a less spicy sausage and use a smaller amount of kale and broccoli in your initial version.
2 cups [500ml] full fat coconut milk (or almond milk)
1 cup [150g] fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries
Process ice cubes in blender until coarsely chopped. Slowly add coconut milk and fruit and blend until mixed. Serves 2.
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