Easy Snack Recipes for National Nutrition Month

Try a Frozen Yogurt Fruit Cup for an easy snack recipe during March this year, and join us in celebrating National Nutrition Month 2013!

Frozen Yogurt Fruit Cup

Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 banana
8 ounces plain low-fat yogurt
4 ounces frozen berries, thawed with juice
4 ounces crushed pineapple canned in natural juice, with juice

Directions:

1. Line 6 muffin-tin cups with paper baking cups.
2. Dice or mash banana and place in a mixing bowl.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients.
4. Spoon into muffin cups and freeze at least 3 hours or until firm.
5. Before serving, remove paper cups and let stand 10 minutes.

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
68 calories 0.6 g fat 0.3 g saturated fat
2.5 mg cholesterol 32.2 mg sodium 2.5 g carbohydrate
14 g dietary fiber 2.8 g protein

Recipe provided courtesy of Eat Right Press, from Healthy Eating, Healthy Weight for Kids and Teens by Jodie Shield, MEd, RD and Mary Catherine Mullen, MS, RD. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics ©2012.

You can find more recipes for National Nutrition Month in the Recipe Handouts section of the web site.

Need more easy snack recipes? Check out these resources!

25 Healthy Snacks for Kids – Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics downloadable handout!

Relish – Healthy Snacks for Kids

Bake for Family Fun – Homebaking Association

Taste and Learn Recipes – Healthy Kids Challenge

Family Snack Attack Contest

Want an easy way to get your middle schoolers interested in healthy eating? Try a family snack attack contest! This simple family activity involves kids in the kitchen and provides a great chance to talk about making healthy choices.

For starters, give your contest a creative name. I like to call this one “Proof is in the Pudding.”

Ingredients and Measures:
For an individual serving, combine:

• ⅓ cup pudding
• ½ cup fruit

Rules:

1. Everyone follows the “recipe” for ingredients and measures (to create individual servings).
2. Each person can use creativity to mix and match different flavors of pudding and fruits for their own unique recipe.

Shop:
Go to the market as a family to choose your fruit choices.
Talk about different ways fruit is sold – canned, frozen, and fresh.
Talk about differences in cost, taste, and whether extra sugar is added (and why it might be a good idea to choose some with less sugar)

Directions:
Create individual servings, one per family member. Mix the ingredients or layer them.

Sample Recipe:
¼ cup strawberries + ¼ cup kiwi slices + ⅓ cup vanilla pudding. Mix the strawberries and kiwi together, and then alternate layers of the fruit mixture and the pudding.

Vote:
For Best Color, Best Taste, Best “Crunch”, Best Recipe with ___ (name the fruit)…make up more categories if needed so everyone wins!

*More ways to create interest in healthy eating are available in the Grades 6-8, Balance My Day™ Nutrition Curriculum.

Apple-Almond Salad Recipe and Learning Activity

An easy middle school nutrition/cooking lesson, as well as a good Valentine’s Day salad idea!

Apple-Almond Salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 8, or 32 (1/4 cup serving) tasting samples

Ingredients:
1 cup non-fat, bottled raspberry vinaigrette
8 small apples, diced
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped almonds
8 cups bagged, pre-cut mixed greens

Directions:

1. In advance, rinse and drain the apples and mixed greens.
2. In a large salad bowl, add the ingredients and toss gently.
3. Serve ¼ cup tasting samples on each small dessert plates with a fork.
4. Have kids clean up work area and utensils with warm soapy water. Rinse with clean water.

Per full-size serving (1 ¾ cups): 221 calories, 5 g pro., 6 g fat, 24% calories from fat

Recipe source: (Modified) Education.com-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed 6/11.

Taste and Learn Activity for Middle School Students

Materials: MyPlate Poster

1. Fill half of a standard size meal plate with salad and explain it represents the fruits and vegetables on the MyPlate poster.
2. Discuss how eating that amount at meals helps kids get their suggested daily servings of fiber.
3. Ask kids to think of the fruits/veggies they ate yesterday.
4. Did the amount they ate fill half a plate? Have them draw a representation of their plate.
5. Ask kids to create a menu using the recipe and the other MyPlate food groups (Grains, Protein, and Dairy).
6. Have them create a grocery list for their menu.

*This Taste and Learn Activity is from the Explore MyPlate with School Nutrition book, for grades 6-8, page 123.

Relish the Holidays and our December Action Idea

You receive Relish in your Sunday paper already, but did you know there’s a FREE Relish the Holidays tablet edition for the iPad? We have partnered with Relish magazine to help bring you healthy kids recipes and so much more!

Also be sure to check out the following for your healthy kids’ holidays:

1. Relish for Moms - Helping parents and kids cook together, eat together, and plan better meals together seven days a week, three meals a day, one bite at a time.
2. December Active Play Action Idea – The holiday season is a time for foods and celebration! However, the days are shorter and colder, so we tend to move less. Share the December Active Play Idea with teachers/staff to use and promote healthy, active learning!
3. Drink Think - “Choose Power Beverages” – free pdf download. To keep on track with healthy beverages try these tips to keep it interesting.

And here’s just a “taste” of one of many healthy kids recipes Relish has to offer:

Chicken Milano
“Store-bought rotisserie chicken can be tossed into countless recipes from burritos to casseroles to pastas. Because the bird is already cooked, all you need to do is toss the chicken into your desired meal. [This] is a simple Ramen recipe where rotisserie chicken can be substituted in place of raw chicken breasts.”

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup chopped jarred sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup lower-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 packages Ramen Noodles with 1 seasoning packet

Prep Time – 15 minutes Cook Time – 30 minutes

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a skillet; add chicken and garlic and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until chicken is done. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, basil and pepper. Simmer over low heat 5 minutes.
2. Cook noodles in water according to package directions; drain. Add 1 seasoning packet. Serve chicken mixture over warm noodles.

(Recipe from relish.com reprinted with permission from 101 Things to Do with Ramen Noodles by Toni Patrick (© 2005, Gibb Smith, Publisher).

Fruity Chicken and Rice Salad Recipe

Emma Williams of Harding Academy, Searcy, AR., won a “Chef for a Day” with her whole grain recipe, Fruity Chicken and Rice Salad. Emma cooks a lot with her family. From that experience, she has learned to incorporate MyPlate guidelines in her every day eating. She showed us that by adding whole grain, brown rice and kid-friendly ingredients to this recipe entry.

“I came up with this recipe so I could make a fast and healthy school lunch instead of ‘just’ a plain sandwich.” – Emma

Fruity Chicken and Rice Salad

Servings: 8-10

Ingredients
1 (13 oz.) can chicken breast meat, packed in water
1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple, in own juices
½ c. dried cranberries
1 c. cooked brown rice
1 medium red apple, diced
¼ c. low fat mayonnaise
1 pkg. whole wheat sandwich thins

Steps:

1. Drain and flake the chicken into a mixing bowl.
2. Drain the canned pineapple and add to the mixing bowl along with the cranberries, rice and apples. Mix well.
3. Fold the mayonnaise into the bowl ingredients and coat well.
4. Serve as a sandwich with lettuce leaves, or on a lettuce bed as a salad, garnished with dried cranberries or sliced apples.
5. Serve either recipe variation with a glass of skim milk to include all 5 MyPlate food groups in this lunch meal.
6. Store leftover salad mixture in a refrigerated airtight container for up to 4 days.

For more award-winning recipes from the 2012 Stirring Up Health Recipe Contest, click here.

Introducing the 2012 Stirring Up Health Recipe Contest Winners!

I am thrilled to share the winners of the Stirring Up Health™ National Middle School Recipe Contest this week! Congratulations to Justin, Emma, and to the Switzerland County Middle School FACS class! Winner’s classrooms will experience an entertaining and educational visit from a Johnson & Wales University Chef!

The 2012 award winning recipes are:

PB&T (Peanut Butter and Tuna) – Justin Brownell of Van Wyck Junior High School, Wappingers Falls, NY.

Fruity Chicken and Rice Salad – Emma Williams of Harding Academy, Searcy, AR.

Brunch Egg Casserole – Kelli Hart, Abby Christman and Paige Works of Mrs. Marzon’s class of Switzerland County Middle School, Vevay, IN.

Click on 2012 Stirring Up Health™ National Middle School Recipe Contest to see their award winning recipes and learn more about the Chef for a Day Grand Prize!

The recipe contest is an interactive tool that Healthy Kids Challenge and our partners Johnson & Wales University and Home Baking Association use to help kids learn to eat, move and enjoy a healthy balance. Students create or modify recipes to make them healthier while also setting individual healthy goals. Creativity flows when you get middle school students in the kitchen!

11 Healthy Quinoa Recipes for Kids

Get kids into the kitchen with these quick and easy to prepare quinoa recipes. They’ll love the versatile little super-grain as it teaches them some handy cooking skills!

The one that started this conversation was Matt Bernard’s Fruity Quinoa Salad Recipe, a 2010 National Stirring Up Health™ Middle School Recipe Contest Winner. Click on the link to find the recipe and learn more. Here are additional recipes to try with kids:

1. Confetti Quinoa – Thanks to fellow blogger Roxann McCann (the Nursing School Blog) for sharing this easy snack or side dish from KidsHealth.org with us. 
2. Quinoa, Corn, and Tomato Salad – A taste of summer in this quick recipe from Cooking Light.
3. Orange Quinoa Salad – An especially colorful, nutrient-rich recipe also from Cooking Light. This salad can easily go from snack to side dish to main dish with the suggestions provided.
4. Quinoa, Spinach, and Walnut Stir-Fry – Simple and fresh ingredients and easy too; thanks to our friends at Relish.
5. Mexiquinoa Salad - Another from Relish, and fun for kids to make too.
6. Pecan-Quinoa Breakfast Bowl - Yes, quinoa for breakfast!
7. Summer Salad of Quinoa and Raisin-stuffed Tomatoes - A yummy California Raisin Board recipe.
8. Quookies – Quinoa cookies, that is. Enjoy these when you want a sweet treat with a little extra nutrition. Thanks to the Super Healthy Kids blog for their creativity in cooking for (and with) kids!
9. Breakfast Quinoa - Simple, filling and easy for kids to help make!
10. Mediterranean Quinoa Salad - A tasty side dish, which can easily be made into a main dish if you wish.

Enjoy! Let us know if you like these!

New Kids’ Contests for Making Half Your Plate Fruits and Vegetables

    

I have some exciting new kids’ contests to share with you as we come to the end of “Fruits & Veggies-More Matters” month!

• The first one is the Stirring Up Health National Middle School Recipe Contest.
  • The goal is to engage the kids you know to create or modify a recipe to make it healthier, using USDA MyPlate guidelines. Two of the categories are Fruits and Vegetables.
  • The contest is open September 1, 2011 – March 2, 2012 to all kids currently enrolled in 7th or 8th grade. Prizes include: Chef for a Day for 5 National Winners: A J&W University chef will prepare YOUR recipe with you at a school or youth group event!
  • Go to the Kids’ Recipe Contest web page for entry rules, sample recipes, and past winners with the chefs who came to their schools!

• The second one is the MyPlate Fruits & Veggies Video Challenge.
  • Create short videos (approximately 30 seconds) showing how you’re adding fruits and vegetables to your diet without spending a lot of money.
  • 3 categories:
    • Tips for kids
    • Tips when eating at home
    • Tips when eating away from home
  • The goal of the challenge is to encourage healthy eating habits using MyPlate, which includes making half your plate fruits and vegetables.

• The third one is, admittedly, not a contest but a pledge. We think it’s so important that you personally take action that I want to challenge you to take this pledge today. It’s to join America’s More Matters Pledge for fruits and veggies. You could make this one into a contest by challenging kids to see which class or group can have the most taking the pledge!

It has been fun to share all these resources with you this month. Let me know if you want more along this line!

Related articles

• 5 Kids Activities for Fruits & Veggies-More Matters Month (healthykidschallenge.wordpress.com)
• Favorite Kids’ Fruit and Vegetable Cooking Activities (healthykidschallenge.wordpress.com)
• Continue the MyPlate series? Start a new one? (healthykidschallenge.wordpress.com)

Del Monte “Dump-Cake” Trifle

A healthier version of the dump cake—trifle-style! Melissa Akoni, a middle school student, from our Exemplary Award winning school created this recipe contest standout!

Del Monte “Dump-Cake” Trifle
Servings: 20-24

1 (15-oz.) can Del Monte Sliced Yellow Cling Peaches in 100% Juice (not drained)
1 (15.25-oz.) can Del Monte Crushed Pineapple in Juice (not drained)
1 standard box yellow cake mix (used 18.25-oz Betty Crocker Super Moist cake mix)
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. cinnamon
1½ c. walnuts, chopped
6 Tbsp. margarine
6 c. fat-free vanilla yogurt
2 (15-oz.) cans Del Monte Tropical Fruit Salad in 100% Juice, drained (reserve a few pieces for garnish)
Optional garnish: maraschino cherries

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Lightly grease bottom of 13” x 9” cake pan.
3. “Dump” peaches and pineapple into cake pan. Peaches can be cut into smaller pieces directly in the pan.
4. Using a sifter (or wire strainer), sprinkle dry cake mix, cornstarch and cinnamon over fruit.
5. Sprinkle nuts over pan.
6. Drop small spoonfuls of yogurt (roughly ½ c. amount) and dot very small chunks of margarine evenly over the pan.
7. Bake for 45 min. to 1 hour. Cool completely.
8. Create individual trifles by alternating spoonfuls of yogurt, tropical canned fruits and cake in small trifle dishes.
9. Garnish with reserved canned fruits and (optional) maraschino cherries.

“I had never tasted canned papaya before until I got to try it in Del Monte’s Tropical Fruit Salad.”
 – Melissa

This healthy kids recipe is a 2010-11 Stirring Up Health National Middle School Recipe Contest Winner. Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) teacher, Suzanne Nozaki, and her class at Pahoa High and Intermediate School, Pahoa, Hawaii, received an Exemplary School Award for exceptional teaching skills using the Stirring Up Health National Middle School Recipe Contest.

Related articles

• Pahoa Teacher Receives Exemplary School Award for Exceptional Teaching (damontucker.com)

Students Win Recipe Contest, Chef for a Day

Kids Healthy Recipe Contest Winners Announced!

Healthy Kids Challenge and featured sponsor, Del Monte, along with educational partners, Johnson & Wales University and Home Baking Association are pleased to announce the winners of the Stirring Up Health™ National Middle School Recipe Contest. Winners’ classrooms will experience an entertaining and educational visit from a Johnson & Wales University Chef!

The 2011 award winning recipes are:

Creamy Mandarin Orange Meringues - Stephanie Williams ofHardingAcademy,Searcy,AR

Fruity Tarts  - Sara Wright of Southern Regional Middle School, Manahawkin, NJ

A+ Sloppy Sandwiches – Mrs. Henry’s OAA Reading Class: Tawnya Rufener, Andrew Hackney, Destinie Devore and Beau Milburn of Claymont Junior HighUhrichsville,OH

Click on 2011 Stirring Up Health Middle School Recipe Contest to see their award winning recipes and learn more about the Chef for a Day Grand Prize!

Creativity flows when you get middle school students in the kitchen! The recipe contest is yet another Healthy Kids Challenge interactive tool to help kids learn to eat, move and enjoy a healthy balance. Students create or modify recipes to make them healthier while also setting individual healthy goals.