Health Tips for Today - Healthy Recipes for Kids

Give your kids what they want to eat delicious recipes that will have them running to the dinner table! Teaching kids to eat healthy foods a...

Give your kids what they want to eat delicious recipes that will have them running to the dinner table! Teaching kids to eat healthy foods at a young age will help them develop a healthy diet for life, so we've included kid-friendly recipes with a variety of vegetables, using a protein that is naturally low in calories and rich in vitamins and minerals. Delicious kid-friendly recipes will help your kids learn to love seeds (most kids should be eating at least 6 ounces a day!). And don't forget the recipes rich in calcium to build strong bones. A collection of kid-friendly recipes that are healthy, gets high marks from children of all ages and designed to make the meal planning easier. We think your entire family will love them, too. ...

Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers

 

 Instead of the batter-dipped, deep-fried nuggets, Chicken Tenders we coat in seasoned flour and grain almond crust and then oven-fry them to perfection. With half the fat of standard Breaded Chicken tenders, you can enjoy the content (healthy) your heart. Health Tips for today-healthy recipes for kids.

Makes: serves 4
Active Time: 20 min
Total time: 40 minutes

Materials:

• Canola oil cooking spray
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
• Salt 1/4 teaspoon
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 pound chicken tenders (see ingredient Note)

Direction

• Preheat the oven to 475 ° f. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on a baking sheet and coat with cooking spray.
• Place almonds, flour, paprika, garlic powder, dry mustard, salt and pepper in a food processor; Process until the almonds are finely chopped and the paprika is mixed throughout, about 1 minute. With the motor running, drizzle in oil; process until combined. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish.
• Beat the egg whites in a shallow container of the second. Add chicken tenders and turn to coat. Transfer each tender to the almond mixture; turn to coat evenly. (Discard egg white mixture and remaining almonds.) Place a bid on the shelf ready and coat with cooking spray; turn around and spray the other side.
• Grilled chicken fingers until golden brown, crispy and no longer pink in the Center, 20 to 25 minutes.

Tips & Notes

Ingredient Note:

Chicken tender, nearly fat-free meat rib strips, is usually found attached to the bottom of the chicken breast, but they can also be purchased separately. Four tender 1 ounce cooked portion will produce a 3-ounce serving. The perfect Tender for a quick stir-fried potatoes, chicken satay or kid-friendly breaded "chicken fingers."

Food
Per serving: 174 calories; 4 g fat (1 g sat, 2 g mono); 66 mg cholesterol; 4 g carbohydrate; 0 g added sugars; Protein 27 g; 1 g fiber; 254 mg sodium; 76 mg of potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Selenium (31%) of the daily value.
Exchanges: meat-3 very lean, 1/2 fat

BBQ Baked Beans & Sausage 

Here we turn baked beans into an easy main dish by adding chicken sausage and collard greens. Serve with: Coleslaw and corn bread. Health Tips for today-healthy recipes for kids.

Makes: 4 servings, about 1/3 cup each
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

Materials

• 1/2 cup prepared barbecue sauce, (see Shopping Tip)
• Water 1/2 cup
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• Salt 1/8 teaspoon
• Pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cups chopped collard greens, (about 10 ounces), tough stems removed
• 9 ounces cooked chicken sausage links, (about 2 links), halved lengthwise and sliced
• Northern or navy beans 2 cans 15 oz large, drained (see note)

Direction

• Beat the barbecue sauce, water, tomato paste, molasses, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and collard greens and Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the sausage and Cook, stirring, until it begins to Brown, about 3 minutes longer.
• Reduce heat to medium-low; Add nuts and mix the sauce into a saucepan. Gently stir to combine, cover and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Tips & Notes

Shopping Tip:

• Check out your favorite barbecue sauce sodium some can be quite high. This recipe was developed with a sauce containing 240 mg of sodium per 2-tablespoon serving.
• Note:
• While we love the convenience of canned beans, they tend to be high in sodium. Give them a good rinse before adding to the recipe to free them from some of their sodium (up 35 percent) or opt for low-sodium or no-salt added varieties. (This recipe was analyzed by the usual canned beans, rinsed.) Or, if you have time, Cook your own beans from scratch.

Food
Per serving: 444 calories; 8 g fat (1 g sat, 2 g mono); 45 mg cholesterol; 66 g carbohydrates; Protein 28 g; 14 g of fiber; 653 mg sodium; 987 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: the daily value for Folate (61%), vitamin A (50% dv), Vitamin C (35% dv), Magnesium (33% dv), iron (23% dv).
CARB Servings: 3 1/2
Exchanges: 3 starch, 2 vegetable, 1 lean meat, 2 vegetable protein

Cheese-Spinach-&-Stuffed portobellos

Here we take the elements of the vegetarian lasagna filling ricotta, spinach and Parmesan cheese and toasted them to nestle Cap mushrooms portobello. This recipe works best with very large portobello caps; If you can only find smaller, buy one or two additional and divide filling between the all caps. Serve with a tossed salad and dinner rolls or wheat spaghetti tossed with marinara sauce. Health Tips for today-healthy recipes for kids.

Makes: 4 servings
Active Time: 20 min
Total time: 40 minutes

Materials

• 4 large portobello mushroom caps
• Salt 1/4 teaspoon
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped kalamata olives
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoning Italy
• 3/4 cup prepared marinara sauce

Direction

• Preheat the oven to 450 ° f. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray-framed.
• Place the mushroom caps, gill side up, on the prepared pan. Sprinkle with salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Roast until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mash ricotta, spinach, 1/4 cup Parmesan, olives, spices Italy and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Place marinara sauce in a small bowl, cover and microwave on the Internet until hot, 30 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes.
• When the mushrooms are tender, carefully pour out any liquid accumulated in the hat. Return the caps into the Pan side-Gill top. Spread 1 tablespoon marinara into each CAP; cover the remaining sauce to keep warm. Mound generous 1/3 cup ricotta filling into each CAP and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Bake until hot, about 10 minutes. Serve with the remaining marinara sauce.

Food
Per serving: 201 calories; 10 g fat (5 g sat, 4 g mono); 28 mg cholesterol; 13 g carbohydrate; Protein 14 g; 2 g fiber; 680 mg sodium; 677 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: calcium (31%), the daily value of vitamin A (25% dv), potassium (19% dv).
Carbohydrate Servings: 1
Exchanges: 2 vegetable, 1 medium-fat meat, 1 fat

Fish Sticks

You can make this homemade fish sticks around the same amount of time it takes to bake a frozen type box. Make it a meal: serve with lemon wedges, coleslaw, baked potato and a dollop of tartar sauce. Health Tips for today-healthy recipes for kids.

Makes: 4 servings
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

Materials

• Canola oil cooking spray
• 1 cup dried bread crumbs, corn (see Shopping Tip) or 1/2 cup plain dried bread crumbs
• 1 cup whole grain Cereal flakes
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Salt 1/4 teaspoon
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large egg whites, beaten
• 1 lb tilapia fish fillets, cut into 1/2-by-3-inch

Direction

• Preheat the oven to 450 ° f. Arrange wire rack on a baking sheet; coat with cooking spray.
• Place bread crumbs, cereal flakes, lemon pepper, garlic powder, paprika and salt in a food processor or blender and process until finely ground. Transfer to shallow dish.
• Place the flour in a second shallow dish and egg whites in a third shallow dish. Dredge fish strips in each flour, dip in egg and then coat all sides with breadcrumb mixture. Place on a rack set. Coat both sides of the breaded fish with cooking spray.
• Bake until the fish is cooked and golden brown breading and crisp, about 10 minutes.

Tips & Notes

Shpping Tip:
We want to brand whole wheat bread crumbs from Ian's dry, labeled "Panko bread crumbs," rough and crunchy texture to them. Find them in the natural-foods section of the supermarket or substitute dried plain bread crumbs (they're more subtle so you need to be a bit).

Food
Per serving: 274 calories; 3 g fat (1 g sat, 1 g mono); 57 mg cholesterol; 33 g carbohydrate; 0 g added sugars; Protein 29 g; 3 g fiber; 479 mg sodium; 464 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Selenium (86%), the daily value for Folate (24% dv), iron (15% dv).
Carbohydrate Servings: 2
Exchanges: 2 starch, 3 1/2 very lean meat