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Stealthy Meets Healthy: How to Sneak More Fruits and Veggies Into Your Child’s Diet

December 17, 2015 by

Many parents worry about whether or not their child is getting the proper vitamins and nutrients. Until your picky eaters are old enough to fully understand the benefits of healthy eating, you may need to adopt a tactical approach to their meal prep — one that involves sneaking in some fruits and veggies! These recipes are so tasty, they’ll be none the wiser!

  1. Make your own ice pops. Instead of giving your kids sugar-laden, store-bought ice pops, replace them with homemade versions that are just as delicious. Make your own using 100 percent fruit juice and frozen berries in an ice pop mold.
  2. Stir spinach into your pasta. If you make a family-sized pot of pasta for a weeknight dinner, stir spinach into the sauce for a full serving of veggies that the kids likely won’t even notice. You can even add the mild tasting green to macaroni and cheese!
  3. Make a cauliflower pizza crust. If your kids refuse to eat pizza topped with vegetables, cut calories and incorporate a sneaky serving of veggies by using a recipe for cauliflower crust.
  4. Top burgers with fresh veggies. For children who are less squeamish about veggies, make treat meals like cheeseburgers a bit healthier by topping with fresh vegetables. Add fresh spinach, sliced tomatoes, and even onions in addition to the burger patty and melted cheese.

Cooking Tips [Fruits & Veggies More Matters]
5 Ways to Sneak Veggies into Family Meals [Eating Well]
Sneak Vegetables Into Your Kids' Food With These Tasty Recipes [All You]

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Make-Ahead Breakfast Recipes for Busy Mornings

September 17, 2015 by

If you find yourself pressed for time once the alarm clock rings, these make-ahead breakfasts may just be the solutions to your busy mornings. Best of all? Some are so portable that you can even eat them as you dash out the door!

Oatmeal With Apricots and Raisins [realsimple.com]
It takes quite a while to boil water and cook oatmeal on the stovetop, but with this pre-planned recipe you can whip up a whole batch of oatmeal for the entire week. With low-fat milk, dried apricots, and roasted almonds inside, it also offers a healthy boost first thing in the morning.

Herby Frittata with Vegetables and Goat Cheese [myrecipes.com]
If you love eating eggs for breakfast, this make-ahead frittata is the perfect choice. It’s filled with savory goat cheese and fresh herbs, as well as colorful veggies that offer essential nutrients that will keep you feeling even more energized than that cup of coffee.

Crunchy Cashew Sesame Bars [bonappetit.com]
Instead of stocking up on store-bought granola bars, make your own much more delicious (and nutritious) options. These cashew and sesame options have much more complex flavors than the standard breakfast bar, but they’re just as easy to grab on busy mornings.

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These Tips Can Help You Enjoy Fruits and Veggies on a Budget

April 16, 2015 by

If you think that you have to increase your grocery budget in order to begin a healthier diet plan, think again. There’s no reason why a meal plan filled with fresh fruits and veggies should cost more than one filled with snacks and sweets, and these helpful tips will show you how to do it — even on a tight budget.

  1. Buy in-season produce. You’ll often find better deals on fresh produce when it’s in season, so consider stocking up on large quantities of, say, apples in the fall or berries in the summertime. If you buy more than you can consume, freeze the fruit for future use.
  2. Plan meals in advance. One of the best ways to make the most of what’s in season (and avoid throwing away produce that has gone bad) is by planning a week’s worth of meals in advance. You can even make a few meals over the weekend and freeze them to eat on busy weekdays.
  3. Use sales to get adventurous. If you purchase only fruits and veggies that are on sale at the grocery store, it won’t just save you money, it will also give you an excuse to experiment with new foods that you wouldn’t normally try. Rhubarb, anyone?
  4. Store produce properly. If you get frustrated about how quickly your fresh produce goes bad, create a more organized storage system to maximize its lifespan. Keep vegetables separate from fruits, as many fruits emit a gas that causes veggies to spoil more quickly.

Fruits and Vegetables on a Budget [Fruits and Vegetables More Matters]
10 Smart Tips for Eating Healthy on a Super Tight Budget [The Kitchn]

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Caffeine Hides in These Two Common Foods

June 19, 2014 by

Caffeine can give you a great boost of energy in the morning, but it can also cause headaches and annoying jitters when you drink too much. If you already cut out coffee but still feel the side effects of caffeine, you may be getting it from a different source altogether. Here are two surprising sources of caffeine that you may not know about.

  1. Decaf coffee. While you may think that switching to decaf is a solution to your caffeine problems, you still can’t go wild with your coffee intake. A cup of decaf coffee contains about five milligrams of caffeine, which is much less than a normal cup of regular, but it can still cause you to feel some side effects if you drink too much.
  2. Chocolate-flavored foods. Even if you opt for a plain old cup of hot chocolate instead of the espresso flavored truffles, many chocolate flavored foods contain a great deal of caffeine. Instant breakfast drinks can have about nine milligrams of caffeine, while powdered hot chocolate mix can also contain around nine milligrams. Be sure to check the label on any chocolate products that you purchase.

12 Surprising Sources of Caffeine [Health.com]
7 Hidden Sources of Caffeine [Eating Well]

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5 of the Best Uses for Day-Old Bread

April 17, 2014 by

Eating bread before it gets stale can be tricky. If you’ve got a surplus of hard, days-old remains on your hands, here are a few ways to ensure your bread doesn't go to waste:

  1. Make a crostini. One way to maximize your stale bread is to act like you wanted it to be hard and crispy in the first place. Toss the bread in the oven on 325°, then top with your favorite bruschetta, cheeses, meats, or spreads.
  2. Top your French onion soup. French onion soup just wouldn’t be the same without the crunchy croutons smothered in gooey cheese. Roughly chop your stale bread and add a few pieces on top of the soup before you melt the cheese topping.
  3. Try out a bread salad. No, this isn’t a ploy to make salad more delicious (and less healthy). Bread salad, also known as “panzanella,” can be topped with sliced tomatoes, artichokes, grilled chicken, and your favorite Italian dressing to create a rustic, hearty meal.
  4. Make a grilled cheese. It may seem counter-intuitive to attempt to use your day-old bread for a sandwich, but lucky for you, grilled cheese and panini are supposed to be crispy anyway.
  5. Give it to the birds. If all else fails, break the bread up into bird-sized crumbs and you’ll make the avian community in your neighborhood very happy campers.

What to Do With Stale Bread [Real Simple]
17 Uses for Stale Bread [Wise Bread]
The 10 Best Things to Do With Stale Bread [First We Feast]
Recipes for Stale Bread [Saveur]

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4 Unique Dishes to Take to Your Next Potluck

March 20, 2014 by

A potluck dinner is a fun way to experience a wide variety of different cooking styles, inviting every guest to bring a covered dish to contribute to the meal. Whether you’re tired of your usual potluck recipes or you’ve never brought a dish to a party before, don’t sweat it. If you’re invited to an upcoming potluck but don’t know what to bring, these four recipes will help make your dish a hit.

Caramelized Onion and Bacon Tart [Oprah.com]

Best Broccoli Salad [Mr. Food Test Kitchen]

Make-and-Take Potluck Dishes [Chow]

Old Fashioned Pineapple Upside-Down Cake [All Recipes]

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