Planning, cooking and organizing meals does not need to be a one person responsibility. Children of all ages can help plan and shop for meals.
For instance, having toddlers and preschoolers help with meal preparation will help raise their interest in the foods that are served, will provide practice for fine motor skills and will provide time for interaction with other family members.
Children feel a sense of importance when they are given tasks they can finish. Try these easy recipes with your children and enjoy the memorable time together!
Delicious Steel Cut Oats
Oatmeal is a wonderful source of nutrition. It’s healthy, nourishing, inexpensive, and easy. Oatmeal is a wonderful ingredient in many recipes, and a familiar food to most Americans. Yet, steel cut oats are less known, but equally as 
delicious. Steel cut oats are a less processed form of oats. Instead of rolling oats into what is commonly known as rolled oats (oatmeal), steel cut oats are cut only a couple of times, leaving them to look more like a broken grain of rice.
Because of the lack of processing, steel cut oats retain a nuttier, delicious taste and a lower glycemic index. They require longer cooking time, but are still very easy to make. Many people soak steel cut oats in water to cut down on cooking time, while others love using a crock pot to cook steel cut oats slowly, overnight.
You can buy steel cut oats in your hot cereal isle, organic food department or bulk section of your grocery store.
Interested in NuVal scores? Quaker Steel Cut Oats score a 60, while traditional, flavored instant varieties score around 25 on the NuVal Scoring System.
Recipe Ideas for Steel Cut Oats
1 Cup Steel Cut Oats
4 Cups Water/Milk (You can make with all water, or 3 1/2 Cups water and 1/2 Cup Milk Combination)
Optional Ingredients:
Vanilla Extract
Fresh or frozen berries
Raisins
Craisins
Pinch of salt
Nuts
Cinnamon
Directions Stove Top: Start by bringing water to a boil, the add oats and pinch of salt. Reduce and cook for 30 minutes. Stir in milk and vanilla if desired, or add a bit more water once they start to thicken a bit. Cook for about 10 more minutes and then add your other toppings such as cinnamon, walnuts, and/or berries.
Directions Crock Pot: Add steel cut oats, 4 cups of water, 1/2 cup of milk (yes, this is 1/2 cup more liquid than above recipe, as it will cook slowly in crock pot, vanilla, pinch of salt, and dried fruit, etc. to crock pot and stir. Place on low for for the day or overnight.
Have you tried steel cut oats? Do you have a trick to making steel cut oats or a recipe you’d like to share? Maybe a wonderful ingredient that is both delicious and nutritious? Please leave your comment below!
Healthy Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pancake Recipe
November 22, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
If you are hosting guests at your house the morning of Thanksgiving, why not try this delicious, yet healthy Pumpkin Pancake Recipe? Thanks to Health.com for posting this recipe, as well as sharing details about serving sizes, nutritional information, and cooking instructions. We’ve added the NuVal Score for Libby’s canned Pumpkin. We encourage you to check additional NuVal scores when shopping for your family, and “trade up” when possible.
Pumpkin Pancakes
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (Libby’s has a NuVal Score of 94)
- 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 cup cake flour
- 4 large egg whites
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Cooking spray
- Maple syrup or honey
Preparation: Whisk together pumpkin, yogurt, baking soda, egg yolk, and flour. Whisk egg whites with salt; fold into pumpkin mixture. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Spoon in 1/3 cup batter for each pancake. Flip when tops are covered with bubbles and edges are slightly brown (about 3 minutes per side). Drizzle with syrup or honey. For more information about this recipe and other healthy recipes, please visit the source: “Health.com”
Do you have a healthy recipe you’d like to share? Contact us today!
Sweet Corn Salad Recipe
August 25, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
It’s hard to tell if this is a salad or a clever variation of salsa. Whether you eat it with a fork or scoop it up with a tortilla chip, one thing is certain; it’s made with fresh ingredients, and it is very flavorful. With sweet corn in season in Central Minnesota, this is the perfect time to share sweet corn recipes. If you have a recipe you’d like to share with us, please post it in the comments below, email us, or share it on Facebook!
Recipe: Sweet Corn Salad
3 cobs of sweet corn, cooked and cooled
1/2 cup sweet red pepper chopped
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion (Yellow or Vidalia)
4 green onions chopped
1 cup cilantro washed and chopped
1 can of black beans drained and rinsed
1 tsp lime juice
1/4 cup sour cream (regular, light or fat-free will work)
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut corn off the cob and mix all ingredients well. Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours if possible before serving. This recipe flavors as it sits, so it tastes great the next day. Serve as a side salad, chip dip, or taco topper.
NuVal Scoring Your Smoothie
July 26, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
Ever wondered what the NuVal Score of your favorite smoothie is? Maybe you’d like help scoring entire meals? One Nuval blogger, “Trading Up Downtown” frequently writes about the NuVal scores of your favorite foods, meals, and even smoothies! In her quest for “Living on the nutritious side of the city” and helping others successfully use the NuVal Scoring System, BLEND has been given permission to repost this great recipe.
Score My Smoothie
I made this smoothie last week for lunch. It had lots of nutritious ingredients, so I wanted to see how they scored on the NuVal scale. My Blueberry-Quinoa smoothie, which was delicious, nutritious, and incredibly satisfying.
In the mix:
- 1 frozen banana (NuVal score: 91)
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (NuVal score: 100)
- 1 1/4 cups Almond Breeze Unsweetened Organic Non-Dairy Beverage (NuVal score: 90)
- 1/3 cup cooked quinoa (NuVal score: 91)
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed meal (NuVal score: 100)
Check out those high scores! That’s a pretty rocking smoothie, huh?
Recipe: Colorful Kabob
June 22, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
This is a refreshing grilling recipe that tastes great and allows you to use your choice of meat. Any combination of peppers and onions will taste delicious, but using the variety suggested in this recipe make for a beautiful presentation.
Colorful Kabob Recipe
2 pounds of chicken, beef, and/or pork cut into 2 inch cubes
Marinade:
1/4 C. vegetable oil
3/4 C. soy sauce
1/2 C. lime juice (fresh or bottled)
1/4 C. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 cloves crushed garlic
Vegetables:
Red, yellow, green, and orange pepper cut into large 2 inch chunks
Videlia onion and red onion, cut into large sections
Bamboo skewers soaked in water
Mix the marinade ingredients together in a ziplock bag, add the meat and refrigerate at least two hours or overnight. When ready to assemble, alternate meat and vegetables on pre-soaked skewers. Discard remaining marinade, and grill skewers until meat is cooked well. To avoid burning skewers, try a hot but indirect flame.
