dinner Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Happy Healthy Kids

Best Easy Applesauce—Six Ways

October 11, 2014 by Kelley 1 Comment

We all have certain foods we like to have on hand. Applesauce is one of mine. It serves as an easy snack, a quick side dish, sweet condiment, and a healthy filler for any number of baked goods. In the fall, I like to make it myself. Yes, I realize there are entire grocery store aisles devoted to applesauce these days, and the whole idea of making homemade applesauce calls to mind Diane Keaton’s overzealous sauce-making scenes in Baby Boom (a self-conscious attempt to get all “country” and “homey” as the leaves turn.) But: The whole process is so simple and kid-centric, and the results are more bright, fresh, and delicious than you’ll ever get in those plastic cups that sit on the supermarket shelves.

Ideally, applesauce making starts at a pick-it-yourself orchard, between late August and early November. More than half of the U.S. states—mostly in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, and Pacific Northwest—have apple growing climates, and the varieties that are ripe to pick depend on the month. To find a great U-Pick place, check out this site. http://www.pickyourown.org/index.htm#states. Alternatively, hit up a farmer’s market or grocery store—apples are plentiful from now through the early winter, and if you keep them cold in the ‘fridge or in the garage or a cellar, they’ll stay fresh for months.

While most applesauce experts favor a “tender-tart” variety for sauce-making—Macintosh, Cortland, and Macoun—I usually just use what I have around. But I do mix two different kinds in a batch. They’ll soften at different rates in your cooking pot, adding two different tastes and slightly different textures to the sauce.

Just in case you can’t shake the idea of applesauce as baby food, here are some sauce uses:

1. Substitute for oil in baked goods to reduce fat and add vitamin C. My favorite use is in boxed gingerbread mix.

2. Toasted-nut applesauce: (The best fall/winter breakfast or afternoon snack (with a cup of coffee or tea.) Toast a handful of walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts in an oven or toaster oven at 375 for a few minutes. Sprinkle warmed nuts on warm or room temperature applesauce.

3. Make acorn squash special (my mom Cindy’s recipe and my absolute favorite veggie dish growing up): Split squash lengthwise, scoop out seeds, and put both halves face-down on cookie sheet and bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Turn right side up and cook for 15-20 minutes more, until lightly browned and fork tender. Put spoonful of applesauce, a pat of butter, and a tablespoon of brown sugar in each half.

4. Spoon onto plain, salt-seasoned, pan- or oven-roasted pork tenderloin medallions or chicken.

5. Stir into vanilla pudding or yogurt.

6. Dollop on pancakes or waffles. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar on top.

Best Easy Applesauce

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 10-12 servings

Best Easy Applesauce

Ingredients

3 pounds (nine small, or 6 medium-large) apples
1 cup apple cider (juice or water works ok too)
Half of a lemon
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 Tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions

Peel, core, and slice apples into eighths.
Add apples and liquid into a large stockpot or Dutch Oven.
Bring to a boil, and then reduce to low. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until apples are easy to mash with a fork.

Remove from heat, and stir in juice from half a lemon, cinnamon and brown sugar.
In two batches, if necessary, puree until desired consistency in food processor. We like it smooth.

If desired, store into reusable plastic cups, which are great for packing in lunches or outings. I love the size and sturdiness of these Glad containers, which come in a pack of 8.

https://www.happyhealthykids.com/best-easy-applesauce/

Toddler Dining Solutions

October 8, 2014 by Kelley 13 Comments

There comes a time in every parent’s life when the whole family dinner thing starts to make sense. Your child steps up and tries the chili, and maybe even likes it. She answers a question or two about her day. She might even remember to clear her plate from the table without being asked. It’s a beautiful thing.

Until then, your child may be more apt to treat mealtime like a crime spree. He dumps his milk into the spaghetti bowl. He delicately picks up his peas, one at a time, and drops them to the floor. Every so often, he arches his back and screeches like a banshee, for no apparent reason at all. And finally, without warning, he shimmies down from his seat and makes his getaway, in search of a toy, book, or anything more interesting than you or his older siblings. Many a weary day, at least in our house, he isn’t likely to get an invitation back.

Luckily, there’s a growing number of clever tools that can make mealtime a little less painful for you and your toddler. We’ve chosen three of our favorites, below. And for a limited time: Pass along your own best tip or trick in the comments section and be automatically entered to win a Bambinos! Tidy Table Tray (see description below).

1. Tidy Table Tray (by Bambinos!). Plates and placemats might as well be Frisbees in the eye of a curious (or mischievous) toddler. And if you’ve ever tried to solve the problem with silicone mats and tableware that suction directly to the table, as I have over the years, you know they’re no match for a determined child. Enter the Bambinos! Tidy Table Tray. BPA and phthalate-free, it clips easily and securely to your table in seconds, and has an ingenious spill-catch lip that expands and ergonomically molds your child’s body to reduce the amount of food that finds its way into laps, chairs and floors. Additional inserts available in blue, pink and white. And it adjusts to suit kids ages 18 months to 5 years. Food safe and dishwasher safe.
Buy it: Bambinos! Tidy Table Tray, $34 on Amazon.

2. Dinner Winner Kids’ Plate (by Fred). This interactive Melamine plate eliminates the need for pleas for “just one more bite.” You can divide your child’s food into small portions that fit into each little box that marches across the plate; kids are encouraged with messages like “Keep it up!” and “Good job!” along the way. Feeding experts may frown at reward systems when it comes to food, but this plate is just plain fun.
Buy it: Fred Dinner Winner Kids’ Plate, $13 on Amazon.

3. Drawing paper roll dispenser. That’s right; a fat roll of paper that serves as a cheap alternative to drawing pads can double as the at-home equivalent of a restaurant kid’s meal placemat. When you can’t seem to keep your toddler at the table, pull out a placemat-sized length of paper, a couple crayons, and let your child go to town in between bites. Distraction technique? Maybe. But on challenging days, it might also be just the thing to keep a meal on track. Plus, there’s no need to wipe down a placemat or countertop afterwards; just tear and toss or recycle.
Buy it: Cra-Z-Art Wooden Paper Roll Dispenser, $9 on Amazon; or Melissa and Doug Tabletop Paper Roll Dispenser, $15 on Amazon.

What’s your secret for keeping mealtime fun and sane with a toddler? Describe it in COMMENTS section below for your chance to win a Bambinos! Tidy Table Tray.

The Problem with Salt

October 2, 2014 by Kelley Leave a Comment

My kids bicker over any number of household items, and the salt shaker, I’m not proud to say, is one. They love to shake extra salt on pasta, potatoes, rice, and eggs; I’ve even caught one of them licking the top of the shaker before. But they aren’t alone, apparently, in their taste for the stuff. According to the CDC, 90 percent of children between ages 6 and 18 consume an unhealthy amount of salt. This is a big reason why 1 in 6 kids over age 8 have too-high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for stroke and heart disease.

This report was a bit of a wake-up call to me. I’ve always associated sodium concerns with older Americans, and frankly, health experts have been so busy decrying the amount of sugar in our kid’s diets, salt awareness has gotten little play as of late. If anything, salt seems to be experiencing a “moment”; I just spied something called Pink Himalayan Sea Salt among other exotic variations in the spice aisle of my not-fancy supermarket the other day. Upon having babies, neither our pediatrician nor the parenting books I read made much mention of sodium restrictions. I had a vague notion that I shouldn’t salt my baby’s food; until one day, when I told my neighbor down the hall, who was from Spain and also had a baby, that my son was picky about meat and fish. “Are you adding salt to his food?” she asked. When I answered no, she said, “Would you like to eat meat or fish that didn’t have any salt?” This made sense. I started adding a pinch of salt to his food during cooking, and sure enough, he did seem more interested.

But according to the CDC, salt used in home cooking isn’t even the problem when it comes to sodium in our kids’ diets. The perps include the usual suspects in the realm of kids’s junk food: frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, and chips, as well as deli meats and prepared Mexican foods. These processed convenience foods are loaded with salt, among other questionable ingredients. Problematically, to children’s taste buds, they are also like manna from heaven, which is why it’s unrealistic to take things like pizza and nuggets off our kids’s plates entirely. But you can make some healthier swaps, and your children’s hearts may be healthier for it. “Reading labels may take a little extra time, but it’s a must,” says Dana White, R.D., nutrition adviser for HHK and author of the forthcoming book, First Bites: Superfoods for Babies and Toddlers. “There’s an incredible amount of variation across brands, especially for things like snack foods.”

Here’s a cheat sheet for cutting back on salt in your house:

For more tips for reducing sodium in your family’s diet, check out the CDC’s helpful page on the subject, here.

Honey-Lemon Chicken Thighs

September 29, 2014 by Kelley Leave a Comment

Chicken is what’s for dinner in many of our households tonight: It recently surpassed beef as the most common meat purchased in America. And chances are, if you’re eating chicken, it’s all-white-meat breasts. Pan-fried, breaded, or stuffed into casseroles, breasts are America’s favorite cut of chicken. But what’s interesting is that this preference for white meat chicken is decidedly American—most other country’s cuisine favors richer, more savory dark meat, according to an investigation into worldwide poultry consumption on Slate.com.

We might want to follow suit. Dark meat—like on the chicken’s legs—has more nutrients, and only marginally more calories and fat. I was first lured to the dark side after talking to dietitian Colleen Pierre, R.D., for an article I was writing for Fitness magazine about healthy postpartum eating. She called dark meat poultry a new-mom superfood for its high amounts of iron and zinc—two nutrients which aren’t just great for nourishing postpartum bodies, but growing bodies, too. So I started buying boneless, skinless thighs and occasionally drumsticks instead of breasts to eat during pregnancy, and later, to mince into baby food; and lo and behold, along with being more nutritious, they’re more delicious, too.

My sister Julie, a former professional chef, introduced me to lemon-garlic marinated chicken thighs long ago, and it’s amazing how everyone loves the recipe. What’s more amazing is how much kids—some of whom have never enjoyed a piece of chicken that wasn’t smothered in a crunchy coating—enjoy it, too. I add a little honey to the marinade to balance the citrus with a little sweetness. It’s a winner with pasta, rice, roasted carrots, or any other veggie, and then diced into a salad with some green apple slices and goat cheese crumbles for a grown-up lunch the next day.

Two tips: use fresh lemons rather than bottled lemon juice (the zest is key); and marinade the thighs at least a few hours, or even better, overnight, for extra flavor.

Honey-Lemon Chicken Thighs

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Yield: Serves 4-6

Honey-Lemon Chicken Thighs

Ingredients

1 lemon
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup canola or olive oil
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (available in many supermarkets; you can also ask a butcher to remove the bones and skin from the thighs.)

Instructions

Halve lemon and squeeze juice into small bowl. Using a zesting tool or the fine side of a box grater, remove zest from half the lemon, and add to juice. Whisk in honey, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Slowly pour oil in, whisking briskly to emulsify the marinade. Place thighs in dish or in a plastic Ziploc bag, and pour marinade over, distributing evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours, or as long as overnight.
You can grill or sauté the thighs, using medium heat. Cook 4-6 minutes on both sides, until golden brown. Add more salt to taste if desired.

https://www.happyhealthykids.com/honey-lemon-chicken-thighs/

Data source: American Chicken Council, Earth Policy Institute

5 Ways to Make a Healthier Hot Dog

August 29, 2014 by Kelley Leave a Comment

Hog dogs are on my weekly shopping list, and odds are they are on yours, too: last year, more than 1 billion packages were sold in retail stores, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. Including hot dogs in my culinary rotation wasn’t something I exactly aspired to back when I was steaming and pureeing my own zucchini for my first son, but I’ve since surrendered to their allure: They are easy, they are cheap, and they are almost always met with something other than a look of utter dismay, which is more than I can say for a good number of the main dishes I’m apt to serve on any given weekday.

Photo by: TheCulinaryGeek

But obviously, the nutritional stats on franks leave a lot to be desired. Mass produced and processed, they also tend to be high in preservatives, sodium, and saturated fat. They pair nicely with a squishy white bun, which may contain about as much sugar as your average lollipop. I’d love to feel a little better about our hot dog habit if I had a few guidelines for making it less detrimental to our collective health. So, just in time for your Labor Day cookout, I’ve conducted some hot dog industry research and chatted with HHK resident nutritionist Dana White, R.D. about my quest for a healthier hot dog. Here are some tips worth remembering next time you’re facing down the franks aisle at the grocery store.

Choose a 100% Beef Dog. Choosing a product that doesn’t have gross fillers is a no-brainer. But long ago, I also got it into my head that turkey dogs would be a better choice than beef dogs, and bought two packages to try. If you’ve ever made the same mistake, you’ll understand what I mean when I say that both brands tasted almost exactly like pencil erasers (an anxious middle school career gives me ground to make the comparison). The good news, says White, is that 100% beef hot dogs aren’t much worse nutritionally than the alternative meat brands, and are sometimes even better. “There are very few good-tasting turkey or chicken ones, and sometimes they have even more preservatives and sodium than traditional beef dogs,” says White.

Look for lower sodium brands. Some hot dogs contain more than 600 mg of sodium, a high daily intake of which is linked to high blood pressure and other health problems. Other brands keep salt a bit more in check. Applegate and Coleman are two companies that offer all-beef hot dogs with less than 350 mg of sodium per serving.

Serve on a whole wheat bun. Many mainstream bakery companies, like Pepperidge Farm, now make whole wheat buns. Just like whole wheat bread, these buns cause less of a blood sugar spike than their white counterparts, and keep us feeling fuller, longer. And hot dogs are so flavorful, chances are your kids won’t notice the switch.

Add some veggies! Sometimes, the best thing you can do with a less-than-healthy food is balance it out with a more virtuous one. A side that contains vitamin C, like sliced red bell peppers, is extra-good, because a healthy dose of the vitamin may help counteract the affects of the nitrates found in hot dogs on our body (see below for more on nitrates). White likes to serve her dogs with a side of zesty Jalapeño Pickle Relish (see her full recipe, here, and below).

Save them for special occasions. Nitrates and nitrites, which are chemicals added to hot dogs and other foods to preserve freshness and color, have been linked to cancer in some studies (particularly when a nitrate-containing food is cooked to high temperatures). Many companies now market their hot dogs as nitrite- or nitrate-free, but these dogs often have preservatives in the form of celery powder or juice, which do in fact contain nitrates. More research needs to be done to assess the long-term effects of chemical or natural nitrates on our bodies, but it’s perhaps one more reason why hot dogs perhaps shouldn’t be, alas, a weekly staple. Save them for birthday parties, the ballpark, or the occasional busy Friday night. Like any special treat, they may taste even better to our kids when served every so often.

Jalapeño Pickle Relish (courtesy of Dana White)

Ingredients

½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup granulated sugar
?1 cup water
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup each thinly sliced cucumber, carrot, onion and jalapeno pepper
?2 teaspoons honey
Juice and zest of ½ a lemon
Hot sauce (optional) *I recommend Cholula brand

Instructions

In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, water and salt. Bring to a boil and allow sugar to dissolve. Stir in vegetables; turn off heat and allow to sit on the stove for 10 minutes. Transfer to a glass jar and place in the refrigerator to cool. Once cool, drain and place pickled veggies in a food processor. Add honey, lemon juice, lemon zest and hot sauce, if using. Pulse until well chopped.

https://www.happyhealthykids.com/healthier-hot-dog/