ARTICLE: Turning healthy food into quick snacks for kids!

Obesity and children being overweight is a big problem in today´s society. I believe that this is the result of the busy lives we all live today, it´s much easier to grab quick processed food than to prepare a healthy meal. However, here are some ideas to make it easier on you to give your children healthy food without making you go crazy!

• Right after returning from the grocery store, slice fruit (pineapple, cantaloupe, mango) and place in individual tupperwares in the fridge. Easy and accesible for children by just grabbing a fork.
• Place apples in a bowl in the kitchen counter. Older children can grab one as they go by. You can take one and quickly slice it for younger ones.
• Fill small sandwich ziploc bags with plain cheerios, almonds or plain corn flakes. Put them in a box inside the pantry. Show children how they can open up a bag to munch on for a snack.
• Peel and slice cucumber. Place in a tupperware in the refrigerator. Squeeze a lemon and sprinkle a bit of low sodium salt. Great snack!
• Buy plain yoghurt and offer it to your children with granola mix.
• While making dinner, prepare a box of jell-o and pour into individual cups.

DAILY RECIPE: Easiest Cream Cheese Frosting!

1 large cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 can condensed milk

Beat cream cheese until softened. Add vanilla extract and condensed milk and beat well until desired consistency. Perfect for chocolate and carrot cakes!

TIP OF THE DAY

Always put your computer or laptop in the family room or next to the kitchen so you can keep a close eye on what your children are surfing through in the internet. Another plus? You can give a quick check on emails while working in the kitchen!

DAILY RECIPE: Healthy Kid Pizza!

3 English muffins

Olive oil

2 small tomatoes

Salt and pepper

2 zuchinni

2 carrots

1 small squash or eggplant

1 cup Mozzarella cheese (grated)

Slice the english muffins into two halves horizontally. Place in oven pan. Drizzle with olive oil. In a shallow pan heat a little olive oil, add blended tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Spread over muffins. In the same tomato pan, pour a little oil and cook diced vegetables, seasoning well. Divide onto english muffins. Sprinkle cheese and bake in 400° F oven until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Enjoy!

TIP OF THE DAY

When measuring vegetable oil in a glass measuring cup, spray it first with cooking spray (Pam). Oil will pour much easier and will not remain in the cup.

DAILY RECIPE: Lentil Soup

1 cup lentils

4 cups water

1 potato

salt, pepper, garlic powder

5 strips bacon

2 tablespoons chopped onion

oil

1 tomato

Cook lentils in water with a little bit of salt. When tender, set aside. In a large pot heat oil and sauteé chopped bacon and onion. Add lentils with the water you cooked them in. Peel and dice potato and add to soup. Blend tomato with a little water and seasoning and add. Cook well. Check for seasoning once more and serve hot.

TIP OF THE DAY

Oil fell on your clothes while cooking? Sprinkle salt on top of the stain right away. It will absorb the oil and make it easier to wash later.

ACTIVITY: Yearly time capsule

Years seem to fly by and our children get older without us even noticing it. This year, try a family one-year time capsule.

You will need:

A water proof seal tight container of any shape
Recent photos
Paper
Colors and markers
Today´s paper

Sit together as a family and choose a few pictures that depict what your children, and you, look like right now. Have each child draw or write what they like right now, what movies, cartoon characters, food, games; what they can do or what they have just recently achieved; what they wish they could do in 2010. In a separate piece of paper, write down each child´s height, how many teeth are missing, and general information such as the cost of a milk carton or favorite candy bar. Place everything in the container (or time capsule) together with a few newspaper clippings from this past week. If you are confident about the seal of your container you can bury it in your yard, if not, just place it in a high area of your closet, pantry or even on top of your refrigerator. Save it for the whole year and open it on January 2011. See how much everyone has grown and how things have changed in just a year! Have fun!

DAILY RECIPE: Mushroom Slow Cooker Chicken

1 chicken, cut into pieces

1 can Campbell´s cream of mushroom soup

1 can sliced mushrooms

salt and pepper

Wash, pat dry and season chicken. Place in slow cooker. In a bowl, mix cream of mushroom and mushrooms throughly. Add to slow cooker and cook on low overnight.

TIP OF THE DAY

Not enough closet space? Try keeping winter/summer clothes in plastic under the bed containers (The Container Store).