News
Spicy Mom Tip
Self-Serve Suppers
Even as registered dietitian, two goals I’m always trying to accomplish are 1) getting my kids to eat more fruits and veggies and 2) getting dinner on the table quickly. One of my favorite secret weapons has turned into one of my kids’ favorite meals. “Self-Serve Suppers” are pretty straightforward – the kids get to serve themselves as many toppings as they want onto their own plate. Here are the basics:
- Think of a theme. For example, read a book about a family living in another country and try to figure out what sorts of food they may eat there. We talk about meat, produce, dairy, seasonings and eating utensils like chop sticks.
- Pick a creative canvas or base. This could be just a plate, but we usually use a food (see examples below.)
- Chop, chop. Kids can help with this step and when they do food preparation, they’re more likely to try a few bites of a food they’ve invested in chopping. We place the chopped foods in separate custard cups or small bowls for self-serving. Some delicious examples:
- Japanese: Base – bowl of rice. Toppings – cucumbers, radishes, crystallized ginger, tofu.
- Mexican: Base – tortilla. Toppings – red and green peppers, jalapenos, shredded carrots, cilantro, black olives, Hispanic cheese, black beans.
- Greek: Base – pita bread. Toppings – tomatoes, chickpeas, fresh oregano, feta cheese.
- Southern: Base – bowl of grits. Toppings – okra, black-eyed peas, corn.
- Hawaiian: Base – ring of pineapple. Toppings – coconut, ham, water chestnuts, bean sprouts.
Berry Delicious
Summer is easily the best time to introduce (and reintroduce) your kids (and perhaps your spouse) to fruits and veggies when they’re at the peak of flavor. This year, for the first time, we signed up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share. We receive a box of local Lancaster County fruit and vegetables each week – whatever is ripe is what we get – which challenges us to try something different while we also get to enjoy perennial favorites.
Currently, we are knee-deep in berries (namely raspberries, blueberries and blackberries.) For the most part, we polish them off on their own but for the times we have some extra cartons, here are a few other ways we like to savor their natural sweetness (who knew vitamins, fiber and antioxidants could be so tasty?)
- Toss into a leafy green or chilled pasta salad
- Add to chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and onions for a fruit salsa (great with fish!)
- Mix into a morning bowl of oatmeal, cold cereal or yogurt
- Freeze extra berries on cookie sheets then store in freezer bags for the winter months
- Make “Mia Berry Soup”
- Ask Mom for a small bowl of berries
- Ask Mom for a small cup of milk
- Pour milk into berries and then ask Mom for a spoon
- (Optional: add some whole-grain cereal or granola)
Veggie Ice Cream
While fruit-based ice creams have long been established, vegetable flavors aren’t exactly on the menu at your local Baskin Robbins. The idea occurred to me while scooping vanilla ice cream for my 2-year old - I saw some leftover mashed sweet potatoes in the fridge and decided to swirl a few spoonfuls into the bowl. She devoured it. The next week, I tried carrot puree – again, the bowl was licked clean. Sure, this isn’t the best/only way to get your kids to eat their veggies, but it’s certainly another approach to get them excited about eating them in the first place (the bright colored ice cream is another enticer!)
Tips on making veggie ice cream:
- Stick to sweeter veggies like carrot, pea, corn, beet or butternut squash
- Roast veggies first (for extra flavor), then puree
- Start with a few tablespoons of puree to mix in
- Use vanilla ice cream as base for best flavor…and color!
- Have kids pick their own flavors and mix in themselves