The Children's Table

healthy kid snacks

buildonlinenow — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 09:04:00 -0700

I can't believe the amount of sugar, salt, preservatives in every snack on the market. No wonder so many children are on meds for ADD, along with many others. Let's start a campaign to find some snacks that are healthy, nutritional, all natural. Post what you find, this should be quite a journey.

Eat Your Greens...Kale Chips

lauren — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:18:55 -0700

FitSugar

Inspired by babysugar's series Eat your Greens, I decided to try to make Kale chips for my little niece. She is only a year and half but I definitely want to try to expose her to a lot of different types of food. The chips themselves are really easily to make and only require a bit of olive oil, kale and a touch of salt.

I used FitSugar's recipe but basically lightly toss the kale in olive oil and bake. I happened to buy dinosaur kale and next time I will buy a kale with a slightly softer stalk or remove more of it before I bake them. But all in all the chips were tasty, crunchy and definitely healthier than any chip out of the bag. My niece even enjoyed a few to my amazement.

INGREDIENTS

1 large bunch kale (10 to 12 chips)
1 tablespoon oilve oil
Sea salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 275°F.
2. Remove stalks and ribs from kale. Rinse and dry leaves.
3. Toss leaves in a large bowl with olive oil. Sprinkle leaves with sea salt and ground pepper.
4. Arrange leaves in a single layer onto a baking sheet.
5. Back for approximately 30 minutes or until crisp.
6. Transfer and let cool onto a wire rack or paper towels.

Eat Your Greens: Get Some Muscles From Brussels Sprouts

babysugar — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:00:22 -0800

St. Patrick's Day may conjure up memories of Irish soda bread, corned beef, and pints of Guinness, but we're approaching the holiday from a different direction this year – an opportunity to get our kids to eat more green. We're taking five green vegetables and trying out different methods to get our tots to gobble them up.

Brussels sprouts get a bad rap because they are often overcooked, which makes them sulfurous and hard to stomach. Children can also be intimidated by their cabbage like appearance. The round lil goodies are packed full of vitamins A and C, as well as folic acid and fiber, making them great for the digestive system. To get my tot to give them a chance, I deconstructed the bulbous greens by shredding them prior to placing them in the roasting pan. The result: a side dish that even a picky eater is willing to try!

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Check out the recipe, and step-by-step instructions, when you read more.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Shallots
Original recipe

Ingredients

1 pound Brussels sprouts, peeled and washed
4-6 shallots, peeled and washed
2 TBS olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Shred Brussels sprouts and shallots either by hand or with a food processor.
Mix shredded Brussels sprouts and shallots with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
Spread mixture evenly on baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

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Eat Your Greens: Spinach Pesto Grows Lil Muscles

babysugar — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:00:42 -0800

First up, spinach! Popeye's favorite vegetable isn't always tops on lil ones' list of favorite foods. The leafy vegetable may be known for supplying vast amounts of iron, calcium, and rich antioxidants, but its overall texture can scare away the kids. By transforming it into a sauce to accompany a favorite pasta dish, the vegetable's nutritional value remains intact, and wee ones will be begging for more. We added some fresh lemon (both juice and peel) to some baby spinach, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese to create a pesto that my son helped blend to perfection.

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Check out the recipe, and step-by-step instructions, when you read more.

Spinach Pesto
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis' Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Pine Nut Pesto

Ingredients

2 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Combine the spinach, pine nuts, lemon juice, and lemon peel in a processor. Lightly pulse. With the machine running, gradually add 1/3 cup of the oil, blending until the mixture is creamy. Add salt and pulse. Put half of the pesto into ice cube trays and store in the freezer for future use.
Transfer the rest of the spinach mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in the Parmesan. Season the pesto with salt and pepper, to taste.
Spread the pesto over your favorite pasta and serve.

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Yummy Pudding Cone

lauren — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:43:54 -0800

To entertain my niece and nephew, we made a box of pudding since it is easy to have them help. Once the pudding was finished to surprise them I served it in an ice cream cone topped with sprinkles! They said they loved pudding in a cone even more than ice cream. I think it would be great dessert option for a untraditional birthday party.

10 Tips For Introducing Finger Foods

LilSugar — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:00:48 -0800

Finger foods are the gateway to self-feeding. We recently sat down with children's chef Annabel Karmel to discuss the importance of finger foods and how parents can ease the transition for their children. Her newest book, Top 100 Finger Foods ($13), features several tips and tricks for introducing these foods.

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Table For Two For Fresh Baby Food

LilSugar — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:00:35 -0800

Waiter, we'll have one zucchini, carrot and potato puree please – hold the salt. The homemade baby food trend has taken the parenting community by storm, so it is hardly a surprise that restaurateurs are jumping on the bandwagon.

GustOrganics, a certified organic restaurant in New York City's hip West Village neighborhood, caters to a foodie crowd that can't even order for themselves. In addition to the adult menu of all natural dishes, the eatery introduced a baby menu featuring fresh, organic purees for early solid food eaters. With menu items such as baked squash, tenderloin beef puree with zucchini, carrot and one bay leaf and macaroni with spinach and Parmesan cream, the restaurant gives parents a break from the Beaba machine.

But such luxury comes at a cost. GustOrganics offers home delivery of their gourmet creations which starts at $60 for a four day supply – quite a bit more expensive than steaming and pureeing in your own home.

Are You Nutritionally More Lenient With Snacks Than Meals?

LilSugar — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:30:00 -0800

"Mommy, I'm hungry!" Even an hour after having breakfast or lunch, lil ones' stomachs seem to find a way to ask for more food. A handful of goldfish crackers here and pack of graham crackers there, snacking has become big business. In the food section of yesterday's New York Times, a reporter took a look at the endless snacking that goes on with her own children and their classmates. She found:

Between 1977 and 2002, the percent of the American population eating three or more snacks a day increased to 42 percent from 11 percent, according to a large study of American nutritional habits conducted by the Agriculture Department with the Department of Health and Human Services.

While we may work overtime to prepare healthy and nutritious meals, with only the freshest organic ingredients, when it comes to snack time, many mamas seem to grab whatever they can to appease their tots' hunger tantrums, even if it means cookies, cakes and candy-like treats.

What is especially baffling where I live, in Los Angeles, is how often the kind of parental paranoia that obsesses about school ratings, vaccines and myriad imagined plagues is matched by utter disregard for the nutritional downsides of mowing down Fruit by the Foot every afternoon at 4. Rarely do I see a parent show up on the soccer field with a homemade snack, or even a bag of carrots.

Are you as careful with the snacks you give your kids as you are with their meals?

Delilicious: Hot Chocolate on a Stick

Lil Community — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:00:22 -0800

This post comes from our group The Children's Table from member Angelica.

I recently attended a festive holiday cookie swap and was delighted by a creative treat contribution that's bound to please any mini eater: hot chocolate on a stick.

The creator melted chocolate, poured it into an ice try, impaled the chocolate bits with a Popsicle stick and let it set. He made little labels that instruct "stir into one mug steaming milk...Mmmmm!" He also packaged up three marshmallows in cellophane and dressed with a ribbon so party goers could take home their chocolate treat for later enjoyment.

Not only is the idea adorable and a sure-fire crowd pleaser, but the project seems like less of a cooking commitment than baking homemade treats. What child doesn't want a cup of warm chocolate in Winter?

Do you have a favorite product or recipe that your tots love? Share it with other lunch making mamas in The Children's Table group over in the LilSugar Community!

Hot Chocolate on a Stick

Angelica — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:05:04 -0800

I recently attended a festive holiday cookie swap and was delighted by a creative treat contribution that's bound to please any mini eater: hot chocolate on a stick.