Wondering what Mommy Homework is??? Each week you will have an “assignment” here to share in our comments here on this site. You will love this-both sharing AND enjoying answers by others. Some of them, I compile into an ebook (contributors can resell as a product of their own–be sure to submit your email and full name when you register so I can credit you appropriately!).
The result is AWESOME!
We get to know each other…we are encouraged in our journey…and we glean super ideas from other great moms!
Ready for this week’s MH? This is going to be a good one!
This weekend, I was editing some of the AMAZING audios from our Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2010. We have had some great workshops. During a few of the workshops, we had great “chat” about substituting some of the unhealthy recipes for some healthy AND yummy substitutes. I was amazed at how easy some of the ideas were and, believe it or not, how much better tasting they are. So, how about a spot to share those ideas so we can all find them easily? Yep! Right here for Mommy Homework!
Have you changed out some of your recipes to make them healthier? Why not share some of your substitutes? Got a healthy recipe? Share it!
There is something about this time of year that makes me want to lighten up even more. My body just craves healthier foods this time of year. So, let’s get compile our favorites. I suspect this will be a super collection of great ideas! I am looking forward to all of these! It will be super! Have fun! 
DIG IN!
Love ya!
Cindy
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One of the biggest changes we have made in our cooking is to substitute natural applesauce for oil. You use the same ratio as oil. It is natural and SO much healthier! We cannot taste a difference and our food/baked goods turn out wonderful!
Also, we love to make smoothies. So many places outside add sugar of some type to their smoothies to “make them taste better”. We bought some black cherry concentrate from Walmart and have started to add that to our smoothies. It adds a little extra flavor and sweetness that sugar would normally add! It’s also healthy for you! For our smoothies, typically, we put banana, frozen blueberries, orange juice, a dab of lemon juice, cherry concentrate, and frozen pineapple. (The pineapple I buy fresh, cut, and freeze it). You don’t need ice or anything, so no watered down smoothies here!!!
Here are a few of the healthy substitutions that I often use.
If the recipe calls for white four, I will either replace it with all whole wheat flour or I will use 1/2 white-1/2 wheat.
For bacon-I replace with turkey bacon or Canadian bacon.
When I am baking, I will replace the amount of shortening or oil with equal amount of applesauce. It works great and is often more moist and yummy than using oil. I also experiment with replacing sugar with honey or molasses.
If I am making a recipe that calls for creamed soups etc. I will make a cream mixture of mashed potato flakes and skim milk. I just add a little seasoning to the mix depending on recipe and it works great!
For ground beef- I will use 1/2 lean gr. beef and 1/2 ground turkey.
Replace iceberg lettuce with spinach or arugula.
White rice can be substituted with brown rice. If your family does not care for brown rice…..try 1/2 white-1/2 brown. Uncle Ben’s also has converted rice. It is not as healthy as brown rice but better than white.
For eggs- substitute 1 egg fwith 2 egg whites.
Other things I try to do to make our meals a little more healthy are:
removing skin from chicken
trimming all fat from meats
Use less of some items than the recipe calls for. For example:
chocolate chips
nuts
olives
sugar
Brenda Keller 🙂
Well we have a solid summer stand by. It is a pasta salad. We have two versions of the salad. Both are healthy and offer a wide variety of choices.
1: Mama’s Tuna Pasta Salad (Name is from my Mom’s family cookbook)- 1Large can of tuna, Pasta enough to feed your family and extras, 2 medium tomatoes, 2 stalks of celery diced,2 medium carrots diced or thin sliced, 4 green onions with the green diced, 1/2 bell pepper diced, 1cup broccoli florets, 1cup blanched spring sweet peas. Put all ingredients in a large bowl and toss. For dressing we use either Mayo or Ranch Dressing. Serve with Grated cheese for toppping and a bed of lettuce greenleaf or red and Ice Tea. This one is great for outting, Dinner on the run, Party food. Etc.
2: Lisa’s Chicken Pasta Salad – (No not my original recipe. My BF is also named Lisa and this is her original recipe below you will find my variations.)
1 Large can of Chicken, Pasta enough for your family and extras, 1 square package of either snow peas or sweet peas, 1 carrot grated, 1/2 cup of Parmasean cheese, Put all ingredients into a large bowl toss and add 3/4 cup mayo or to taste. Mix up all ingredients, Serve with Whole wheat french loaf garlic bread, Sliced tomatoes and cucumber.
Lisa R’s variations, I also add Celery diced, green onions diced 3-4, garlic clove crushed and minced, shredded cabbage is added to the side along with shredded lettuce. To serve I place lettuce and cabbage in a bowl and toss. A hand ful goes on each plate, then pasta salad is added to the top, sliced tomatoes, cucumber are added on the side or top,toasted bread crumbs are sprinkled on top and whole wheat loaf is sliced with butter on the table for all.
Both of these recipes are great with the low cal Mayo and Ranch dressing as well.
Lisa’s Low Cal baked potato: Bake your potatoes, Once cooled slice in half and scoop out the middle, don’t throw away the skins you will need them. Place all of the potato middle in a bowl to the bowl add Parmesian cheese, (sprinkle is fine) diced onions, dried herbs Italian blend is what I use, minced garlic, dried or fresh chives. Mash all of this together, now add 1/2 cup of Mayo or dressing -Low cal is fine. Mix all ingredients together and place in to the half shells of potato skins. sprinkle with seasoned breadcrumbs and pop back into oven on 300 for about 15 minutes. (Or you can microwave the middle and add it to the skin shells after for a faster meal. Add diced Turkey ham and sliced garden veggies. Lunch is served. Works great for Dinner too.
Blessings
Lisa
I have a few things I’ve learned to use in the past year or so and really like them:
COCONUT OIL. I LOVE coconut oil. It is so amazing in baked goods. I use it in equal amounts as a substitute for shortening or margarine. Sometimes I use half coconut oil and half butter. It makes baked things so moist, and I’ve never had an overwhelming coconut scent or flavor, although I wouldn’t mind if I did. =) Whether you use it to oil your pans or massage it into dry skin (even on your face) it is great to have on hand!
FLAX SEED MEAL. Ground flax seed is SO nutritionally good for you. As a substitute for eggs in baked goods, it’s another way to reduce cholesterol and increase fiber and has Omega-3s. I usually only substitute 1 or 2 eggs (or no more than half), as too many more seem to make the finished product a bit soggy. Use 1 Tbsp flax seed meal + 3 Tbsp water to substitute for each egg. You can also just add it to hot cereal, stir it into yogurt, or substitute it for a small portion of flour in a baking recipe, too.
Those are my 2 favorite substitutions. I can’t wait to read what other substitutions are given here!
1. Popcorn rather than chips
2. Frugal…and more healthy than cereal…
Bake Oatmeal
from MOMYS cookbook
3 cups of rolled ats
1 c brown sugar
2 tsp cinnaom
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sale
1 c milk
2 eggs 1 stick butter
2 tsp vanilla
3/4- 1 cup dried fruit
Prehat to 375. Mil all ..Spread in 9×13 pan and cook 30-40 min
If you really want to treat your kids, skip the fruit and stir in Choc Chips when they come out!
THEN
With leftover Oatmeal of any kind, or any leftover gran, make Leftover bread
also momys cookbook
2c flour
2 c brown sugar, packed
2 tsp baking powerd
2 tsp baking soda
1 c oil
4 eggs,
2 c raisins (unless it’s choc, then add more choc!)
2 tsp vanill
2 cup oatmeal or grain…
Mix sugarr, oil, egg , vanill and oatmeal in mixer. Add dry ingredients til mositened. Add raisens or choc chips. Batter will be thin and lumpy. bakde 350 for 50-60 min. Cool before cutting. Freezes well
3. Water at one meal
4. When you have meat for a meal, cook 1/4 to 1/2 the amount your family will eat. Then recycle.
For example,…if you make a roast
It can become beef and noodles the next day for supper
Then beef/veggie soup the next day for lunch.
Chicken can become chicken tortillas, chicken and rice, or soup..
hth
Monique
5.
We substitute for health but also for flavor. My favorites are as follows:
If you need salty flavor in something add a little citric acid. Garlic and Lemon are also great salt replacements in cooking especially in chicken.
When I bake, I use whole wheat flour and oatmeal flour. For cookies I reduce the recipe by 1 egg and 1/2 the butter and add 1/2 – 3/4 cup homemade no sugar applesauce.
Any recipe that calls for pork , use turkey meat.
We love turkey bacon and if we can find it beef bacon gives the same effect as pork bacon with less salt and more meat per piece (so less fat).
Brown rice is a great substitute for pasta. For extra flavor we cook our rice in homemade chicken stock instead of water. (chicken stock with no salt added and preserved with a little citric acid).
Those are our favor healthy /flavor substitutes.
I have been trying to switch my family over to brown rice for over 10 years, and I finally found a way they eat it without complaint. My dh actually didn’t realize he was eating brown rice until he watched me make it this way.
For an 8 inch square pan – Bring 2 2/3 cup water to a boil. In the 8 inch pan put 1 1/2 cups brown rice, 1 Tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon salt. Pour water over rice and stir. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for one hour on 375 for glass pan, 400 for metal. Fluff and serve.
For a 7 x 11 pan – Use 4 cups of water, 2 1/4 cups rice, 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook the same.
For a 9 x 13 pan – Use 5 1/4 cups water, 3 cups rice, 2 Tablespoons butter, 2 teaspoons salt. Cook the same.
Not exactly a substitute, but I never use as much sugar as any recipe calls for. If your family is already used to the recipe, slowly reduce the amount of sugar every time you make it until they start to complain. Then go back up a notch. (My family actually likes chocolate chip cookies better when I use half the sugar, half wheat flour, and half the recommended chocolate chips. Go figure.)
Recently I have started experimenting with Stevia. My family isn’t ok with a complete substitute of Stevia for sugar, but no one notices when I substitute Stevia for half of the sugar that I would normally use in the recipe. I use powdered stevia in baked goods. One teaspoon of powdered stevia equals 1 cup sugar. I use liquid stevia drops in things like herbal tea and lemon aide. BTW artificial sweeteners like nutra-sweet, equal, and splenda give me migrane headaches, but I have had no trouble with stevia.
My suggestion is for salad dressings. I often cut out half of a heavy dressing and substitute in 1/2 of the volume for apple cider vinegar and salt. I LOVE vinegar, so this is super-tasty for me!
A few things ideas that came to mind are…
1. White Whole Wheat flour to replace all purpose flour. White whole wheat is 100% whole grain, but it is a more fine ground than regular whole wheat flour (ground from red wheat). My kids don’t even know they are eating 100% whole grain when I use this flour. King Arthur Brand is one of the only ones I’ve seen.
2. Using ground turkey instead of ground beef.
3. Sneaking in veggies when I can. Every day I make fruit smoothies for my family with frozen fruit. I always add a few handfuls of lettuce or spinach. The color changes, but you cannot taste the spinach. All of my kids drink this- no problem- and I am happy to get some green veggies in them! I will add cauliflower into our mashed potatoes and nobody can tell.
4. Butter Buds. These are in the spice section and you sprinkle it on foods if you want the taste of butter without the fat or calories. I use this in making shrimp scampi and it tastes just as good as the kind made with lots of butter!
I also do many of the things above. Thanks for the recipes ladies! Amy you and I are on the same page! I do the exact same things! Something else I do is puree many fruits and vegetable and freeze them in ice cube trays and sneak them in.
My secret weapon for my incredibly picky eaters (dh and ds, who like completely opposite things!) is Butternut Squash. I grow it in my garden and they last till the next harvest (I still have 5 of them!) I roast them, puree them and freeze them in Ice cube trays. I have found the smooth buttery flavor is the easiest to sneak in. Ds doesn’t even like Mac and Cheese without it anymore!
Some great books for sneaking in veggies and making favorites healthier are “The Sneaky Chef” and “Deceptively Delicious” . The Sneaky Chef also has a cookbook for getting hubbies to eat healthier too! \
have a Blessed Week!
1. Coconut oil replaces butter and shortening.
2. Blend up carrots and celery and broccoli stalks in blender with a little spaghetti sauce, then heat on simmer in saucepan and use this for your spaghetti sauce dishes like spagehtti and meat sauce, lasagne sauce, or just plain sloppy joes. The children will not know they are getting extra nutrients.
3. I make homemade chocolate with coconut oil, some tahini paste, cocoa powder and coconut , some ground up almonds and voila – chocolates they will munch rght up.
4. Dried apple rings are great snacks on vacation and keep the sweet tooth at bay.
5. My boys have at least one green smoothie per day – 1-2 frozen bananas, frozen strawberries, 2-3 handfuls of mixed greens (from garden or box from Sams), blend up – add flax seed and some ice and drink up. Best taken between meals for those snacky times of day.
6. Our meat is bought from a local farmer so is costly. Use half of the amount called for in the recipe unless it is Chicken and Noodles.
7. Beans and rice and tortillas are at least one meal a week, served with mixed salad.
8. Oatmeal at least 3 times per week, then add ground flaxseed, 1 tsp cocnut oil per bowl, and some dried fruit or defrosted blueberries. Cereal is a 1x per week thing – too much $$$.
9. Snacks in our home is usually a piece of fruit, or some nuts/sunflower seeds.
The closer the meal is to the original product the better it is for you.
10. Raw fruit and veggies to be dipped in yogurt with Organic Ranch dressing added a little to give them the flavor. Lessen the amount of Ranch each time until they are satisfied with yogurt to dip in.
11.I make soups in my blender from carrots, celery, vegetable/chicken broth added instead of water, then some broccoli stalks, cloves of garlic, and garlic chives at the end. Thicken with mashed sweet potato or regular potato. this is my favourite meal in winter and it is only mildly cooked on stove until warm so veggies are actually almost raw (except potato). Much better for your colon than cooked foods.
12. Take your own jar of salad dresing to restaurant. I take extra virgin olive oil and balsamic mixed together in a canning jar and that makes my restaurant salad taste so much better.
Vegetable fruit juice 2-3 times per week is extra if I have time to make it.
Thats all for now I think. Have fun trying these out.
Julie Knight
I blend olive oil with butter, I prefer organic but can’t afford it. This stretches the butter to last longer and you have the added benefits of olive oil. This also will give you spreadable butter right out of the fridge.
I blend cooked vegs with spaghetti sauce. Carrots, peppers, squash.
We LOVE the V-Fusion fruit/veg juice and make that sometimes with our juicer. Carrots, sweet potatoes, beets, apples, strawberries, peaches. Fresh is good but frozen often is more fresh because it is frozen quickly after picked. Whereas “fresh” could have been sitting around for a while.
We do turkey bacon.
Turnips with mashed potatoes is good too.
~Marni
Great ideas and recipes Ladies.
We don’t do salad dressings! I just squeeze a lemon or lime over the salad once its on the plate the kids think is so funny they usually do it themselves after its been squeezed a few times and easier for them to squeeze. I use alot of lemon or lime in cooking dinners and adding to the plate. Its more sour and causes the little bit of salt to taste better too.
I try to use a little oil as possible and its usually Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
I make my own stock or save the broth from stews to use as stock.
I’m lucky and my kids like all of the veggies most kids don’t like: spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, salads, cabbage. Mexican veggies. I do have trouble with 1 whom doesn’t like tomatoes…so I chop them up very finely or she picks them out. :roll eyes:
We very very rarely ever eat out. My hubby is OCD and that just heebie Jeebies him out too much.
I make my own homemade tortillas both flour and corn. I need to look into the White whole wheat flower. I have tried to make wheat ones but no one likes them.
I try to make all of my foods from scratch because of DH’s OCD, so I’m able to control it better.
I have a few questions for you ladies.
Can I use applesauce instead of butter while baking?
Julie, Does oatmeal turn out good with coconut oil in it? I’ve never tried oil in my oatmeal.
Anne, When you bake your brown rice have you ever tried flavoring it? I’m Hispanic and always make Mexican rice with tomatoes, onions and chicken stock. I’ve tried brown rice as Mexican rice and it never turns out good. I’m going to try it in the oven though, thanks for the tip.
MariaR
I have been using the cookbook called Deceptively Delicious to sneak in veggies for my kids.
I have a platter of veggies and homemade salsa on the table for dinner…so my little hungry ones can eat these goodies instead of junk food when they get the munchies. I either purchase the tray on sale or when I get the fresh fruits and veges, I make sure to clean and prepare them before hand.
I took the healthy eating course by Super Mom. I am currently a member of One Roast Vegetable and am taking a weight loss class…most of it is adding in those veges!
I have started using Stevia in lots of our drinks. Including making yummy lemonade with Stevia. My kids get lots of fresh water by using this drink.
I drink H2Orange, which is a healthy drink to keep your blood sugar up, instead of getting the lows that make you get the munchies. It is 1 part Tropicana OJ with 4 parts water. You can add Stevia to sweeten…a yummy and healthy way to get water down. I keep a pitcher in the fridge. Stevia has helped us cut way back on sugar!
If we do have snack food….I break it down into healthy portions, so we do not eat it all at once, but can have a treat without feeling guilty.
I use Milton’s Whole Grain bread. It is very filling and you only need 1 slice to fill up a yummy sandwich.
I have cut out simple carbs and try to get these with fruits and veges.
I have started purchasing whole grain foods to feed my family….whole grain pasta, brown rice, etc.
We are now drinking almond milk because of milk allergies. This has made everyone feel better. Make sure to get a simple blood test to check food allergies…it makes all the difference.
We love broth soups with lots of veges. So simple in the crock-pot and yet so filling and healthy!
Lots of veges for meals is a big plus, we have loved grilling them since the weather has been so nice.
We have a salad with every meal.
Lots of beans for meals!
My children have learned to read food labels and are making choices based on the information they are reading. We are choosing products that have better nutritional value this way. Because they are involved in the process things are much easier to change.
Love this salsa recipe!
Easy and Quick Salsa
In a blender add:
1 large can stewed tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes in the summer)
1 bunch of cilantro with stems cut off
1/2 onion
1 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic
2-3 nacho jalepeno peppers
salt and pepper to taste
Refrigerate before eating and serve with your favorite veggies.
Oftentimes, I will cut back on the oil with either plain yogurt or applesauce substituted for the amount of oil used. Most baked goods can handle the substitution with little loss in consistency.
In baking, I will also sub some of the regular flour with WW pastry flour.
I try to buy organic when possible and am always doing a happy dance when I find produce or milk products marked for LESS than the ‘regular’ items. Usually, the quality is better and worth a small mark up anyways.
We also make our own oatmeal most of the time. Instant oatmeal packets are basically quick oats with dried milk and other items (sugar, dried fruit, spices, etc.) added to it. We’re just starting to experiment with making our own ‘instant’ oatmeal, but typically just make a bunch of regular oatmeal that each person doctors up to their own taste.
Laura O’Neill
We have been using ground turkey as a substitute for tacos, chili and recipes that need seasoning to cover the “sometimes” wild taste. Also, the Smart Balance brand cooking oil and butter margarine spread, my family really enjoys this and I have not had any problems frying with this oil. I make a lot of soups like broccoli soup, but I cook the broccoli, onions, carrots, even cauliflower ahead of time until it is almost undetectable by children and then put this mixture with the chicken and add potatoes, my children love this and it is chocked full of hiding veggies! Another one of my new favorites is seedless grapes with walnuts, sounds odd but really calms my sweet tooth!
Thanks Tina K
I like the casseroles which use the “cream” soups, but they are so unhealthy. I found this recipe for homemade cream of chicken soup, and it is good (and easy):
3 c. chicken broth (I use the broth from chick cooked in crock pot, etc. w/veggies)
1/2 – 1 tsp poultry seasoning
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp chopped onion (or use less of dried onion)
2 tsp. chopped garlic (or use less of garlic powder)
salt/pepper to taste
parsley
3 c. milk
1 1/2 c. flour
In sauce pan, heat the chicken broth w/the onion, garlic, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper and parsley. Let simmer for a while. Then, mix the milk and flour together (I shake in a jar well, or use a whisk). Bring the broth mixture to a slow boil, and slowly add the milk/flour mixture until it thickens. It is now ready to use in a recipe (my daughter likes to eat just as it is). You can experiment around w/the amount of spices, etc. to suit your taste.
I also use oatmeal instead of bread crumbs in some recipes (like meatloaf). We either grill, broil or use the crockpot for our recipes, instead of frying.
For chicken tetrazini, I use no cream soups. I cook onions, garlic & mushrooms, w/salt, pepper & some poultry seasoning. Then I add to my cooked chicken & noodles. I add either cream or milk & broth to my recipe-I even water down my whole milk so it has less fat-once in a while, we will use the heavy cream as our Italian recipe calls for-it is yummy, but a little more fat.
For snacks, we try to do more popcorn than chips, and when we get that sweet tooth for something sweet, we try to make our own, so it doesn’t have all the preservatives in it (homemade is better anyway).
Wow! You guys have some great ideas. I’ve already used the flax seed to replace eggs and it worked great.
Something I just learned lately is for making bread using chopped grains or extra cooked oatmeal, even if you are using whole wheat or white flour; soaking the grains, etc. in hot hot water before adding anything else makes wonderful bread.
Here’s what I do:
Put 1 cup or so of chopped grain, bran, and 1 to 2 cups whole wheat flour in my mixer. Then add 2 1/2 cups hot hot water. Mix, cover and then let set for an hour or so. It will turn a grayish color and bubble. Don’t panic. 🙂 Then I proof my yeast in 1/2 cup of water with a tsp of sugar. When it is ready, I add it and 1tsp salt, 1/3 cup oil, 1/4 cup sugar and enough white flour to make the dough pull away from the sides. Rise, put in pans, rise and bake. This makes wonderful bread that is fairly light.
I, too, mince veggies and put in spaghetti type sauces, and even in salads.
We do a lot of smoothies with all types of fruit, but I hadn’t thought to throw in veggies, nice idea.
I throw oat bran or wheat bran into a lot of my baking. Adds fiber and no one knows.
I pour the juice from my home canned fruits into popsicle molds. It is a bit of sugar, but at least some real fruit juice and no high fructose corn syrup.
I make our own maple syrup using Mapleine. Tastes good and, again, no high fructose corn syrup.
Linda Sprague
Wow! good stuff! i’ll be gleaning more than sharing but off the top of my head…
I like to substitute coconut oil for regular oil, shortening and sometimes butter. I REALLY like the taste it provides, as good as butter, but more expensive.
I also sometimes sub applesauce for oil, or mashed bananas.
Also this might sound weird, but babyfood can easily be added to recipes to increase the veggie content or subbed out like in carrot cake, to have a more creamy texture 🙂
Rebecca Kvenvolden
I don’t have anything to add. All these look great! My kids love veggies so there is no issues getting them to eat them any. My son doesn’t like tomatoes but he loves things like spaghetti sauce, salsa, etc and those are loaded with tomatoes. He’s OK with them like that. He agrees to have a few on one taco but doesn’t have to on his 2nd one. So we’ve come to a compromise there. But he does not like peanut butter at all and no getting around that one lol I cook from scratch for most everything and try to be as frugal and healthy as possible.
Here’s a Burrito recipe that is loaded with veggies and even my picky picky granddaughters love it and ask for 2nds.
Dad’s Burritoes (the older kids named it this years ago)
5 c shredded zucchini
2 cans white hominy (undrained)
2 cans black olives (undrained)
3 stalks of celery (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
1 can enchilada sauce
1 sm can chopped jalepeno or green chilis (undrained)
1 pkg each taco and enchilada powder
1 1/2 lbs hamburger (cooked & drained)
flour tortillas
grated cheese
Optional: sauteed mushrooms and sour cream
Put all veggies in blender or food processor (I use my kitchen aide) til well chopped up. Put all in a crock pot til tender. Add sauces & powders. Add cooked hamburger. Simmer in crock pot (we cook most all day). Put in tortillas, top with mushrooms, cheese, and sour cream if desired. Roll and enjoy!
This overflows 5 qt crock pot…..I double the recipe and use my 18 qt roaster pot. This is great as left overs.
My number one suggestion is to get every child and adult a water container and put their name on it. Keep it filled with filtered water (or good tasting well water like my parents have!) and tell everyone they have to drink the whole thing every day (or one and a refill, depending on size). In summer months, hydration is especially important, and you will crave food less if you are drinking water all day.
When it gets warmer outside, my kids are less likely to want to sit for a full meal in the summer (playing outside is too much fun), so we keep a bowl of carrots and celery in the fridge. We plant lots of grape and cherry tomatoes and they eat those like candy off the vine. Whatever veggies your family likes, grow a lot of those, or buy whatever is in season at the Farmer’s Market. We generally have salads (veggie or fruit) every night, sometimes with dressing, others without. When we use dressing, we serve it on the side (yogurt dip as a treat for fruit).
Once things from the garden start coming in (or you can find good produce at the store), add whatever you have into your recipe repertoire. Grilled vegetables are delicious. We try to go heavy on the veggies and lighter on the meat. Grilling fish when we can makes a nice change. You can add zucchini to bread, spaghetti sauce, casseroles. Tasteof home.com has an awesome recipe bank. Type in any ingredient and you can find many good recipes. The have healthier ones marked.
My kids love yogurt with cereal for breakfast as a change of pace from the usual grain cereal and milk. We don’t add sugar to the cereal…we add dried fruit instead. We dried our own pears last year. Those things turned out SWEET, no sugar added! I bake for morning meals as much as I can because the kids like it and it’s not as hot in the morning. My kids love the bran muffins made with AllBran (we don’t have a grain mill yet). We substitute applesauce for the oil and add diced apple bits, too. They come out very moist and delicious. And good for you! I usually make my pancakes with 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat flour. They tend to bake better than all wheat flour ones. Oh, have you ever baked with duck eggs? I can use one of those for several chicken eggs. I don’t know that this is healthier, but everything tastes better!
The kids love tortillas rolled up with lettuce, tomato, carrots (shredded), cucumbers, other veggies in the summer. Or tortillas with black beans and fresh pico de gallo (tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, onion, jalepeno, sea salt). Or tuna salad with apples, walnuts, and grapes on lettuce. Or BLTs with turkey bacon, heavy on the L and T.
I love the ideas everyone has posted. Anyone have recipes for healthy cookies kids will LIKE to eat?