Easy Meals That Kids Love
Cooking dinner for kids can become challenging when one kid likes this and the other likes that. Trying to please everyone and create healthy meals becomes frustrating, and can lead to cooking items for individual kids' desires. Having kids help with the cooking encourages involvement and decision making with meals and may help children try new foods and experiment with their eating habits. These meal ideas are simple to cook, use basic materials and can be cooked with the kids.
Make sure everyone involved washes his hands before working with food.
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Waldorf Salad
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Start by setting up the kitchen for success when working with kids by creating a workspace that is at the child's level. Gather all ingredients needed for making a Waldorf salad: 1 granny smith apple, 1 stalk celery, 3 tbsp. plain yogurt, cinnamon, raisins, grapes, walnuts and 1 lemon. Along with the ingredients you will need a cutting board, butter knives, mixing bowl, mixing spoon and measuring cups and spoons. Kids can do most of the work with this salad with adult supervision.
Cut the apple into sections, removing the core. Allow kids to use butter knives to cut the apple into smaller chunks and then place in the mixing bowl. The same can be done with the celery stick. Measure 1 cup of grapes and use butter knives to cut in half and place in the mixing bowl. Have a child measure 1/4 cup of raisins and add to the mixing bowl. With measuring spoons, measure 3 tbsp.plain yogurt and add to the mixing bowl along with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. If no one has a nut allergy, add 1/4 cup walnuts. Use the mixing spoon to mix the ingredients together. If desired add a couple drops of fresh lemon juice by squeezing a section of lemon over the salad. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy the Waldorf salad with the kids.
Pizza Party
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A healthy and easy main dish option is making a pizza with kids. Store-bought whole-wheat pizza dough creates a healthy base for a pizza. Instead of making a traditional cheese and pepperoni pizza, gather several ingredients before having kids help create the pizza. Set up a pizza buffet with tomato sauce, steamed broccoli, sliced tomatoes, fresh basil and spinach leaves, pre-cooked and thinly sliced chicken breast, sliced mushrooms, olives and grated cheese. Each child can create an individual pizza by pressing out dough onto a pizza pan, then adding the ingredients she desires on her pizza. Cook pizzas according to crust directions. Allow pizzas to cool, cut, and serve.
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No-Bake Cookies
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A dessert can be healthy and kid-created without even using the oven. Gather the ingredients needed, which include 8 whole-wheat graham crackers, raisins, smooth or crunchy peanut butter, honey and coconut. You will also need a food processor or blender, measuring cups and spoons, a mixing bowl, mixing spoon and cookie tray. First blend the graham crackers in either a food processor or blender until they are finely ground. Place them in the mixing bowl. Have a child measure 1/4-cup raisins and 1/4-cup peanut butter and add to the mixing bowl. Measure 2 tbsp.honey and add to the mixing bowl along with 4 tsp. coconut. Mix the ingredients well and then form the mixture into balls and press gently onto the cookie tray. Sprinkle the no-bake cookies with additional coconut and chill for an hour before enjoying.
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