Healthy, Kid-Friendly Family Meals
The task of providing healthy meals that kids will eat is a widespread problem. Instead of struggling with family members who refuse to eat the healthy meals you prepare, create meals that pop with taste, ingenuity and presentation. Just because meals are healthy does not mean that they can't taste good and look invitingly delicious.
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Involve the Whole Family
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Instead of presenting mysterious meals that make family members wary of the ingredients, hype up the process of eating healthy by involving the whole family in menu planning, ingredient selection and meal preparation. Sit down with a few cookbooks that have pictures of healthy recipes, and plan a week's worth of meals together. Then hit the grocery store, and have fun selecting the colorful produce and interesting ingredients for the meals you've all chosen. Encourage help in the kitchen when it comes time to prepare the meals. When family members feel involved and connected with the preparation, they will feel a sense of ownership. This will make them more likely to accept and eat the healthy meals you want to serve.
Main Dish Suggestions
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Keep it fun and exciting with foods kids already know and love. The trick is to prepare these foods so that they are higher in protein and lower in fat and calories. Pack the meals with lots of different and colorful fruits and vegetables also. Make sure that the grains you use are whole grains, and that kids get enough calcium every day.
Some kid-friendly main dish suggestions include chicken fingers that are breaded with an almond/whole wheat breading and then baked instead of fried. Combine equal parts crushed almonds and whole wheat flour, and add season to taste with garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Dip boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders into beaten egg white and then the breading mixture. Bake at 425° for approximately 20 minutes.
Most kids love cheeseburgers, and when they are prepared with lean ground beef and served on whole wheat buns they will be a healthy meal choice. Season the ground beef with salt and pepper. Shape very thin patties and then put two tablespoons of shredded cheese between two patties to make a cheeseburger sandwich with melted cheese in the middle. Grill the cheeseburgers and serve with tomatoes, lettuce and condiments on whole wheat buns.
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Desserts
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Keep fruit at the center of dessert, and you will usually be successful in serving healthy treats. Top frozen yogurt with fresh fruit. Make a fruit crumble by combining a 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, 4 teaspoons honey, and a pinch of cinnamon. Separately mix 2 cups of sliced fresh fruit, enough honey to sweeten to taste, and 2 tablespoons flour. Divide the fruit mixtures between four oven-safe cups, and top with the oatmeal mixture. Bake for 20 minutes at 375°.
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