COOKING WITH KIDS HELPS THEM LEARN
HEALTHY EATING HABITS WITH
FUN & EASY RECIPES

Recipes

Kid-Tested Gourmet Meatloaf

Magic Mashed "Potatoes"

Rainbow Salad

Ed. Note: In case you missed this article in past features, here's a link to more kid-pleasing recipes they'll love to prepare:

Having Fun With Healthy Foods

Tips For Cooking
With Kids

Show children the importance of organizing, e.g., get them involved in measuring ingredients, laying out the utensils, etc., needed to prepare the dish.

Involve them in the process of deciding which steps or element of a meal may need to be done ahead.

Depending on age or skills, they may not be ready to use a knife or cook stove-top. Suggest other work they can do while you are doing those steps. Save pride by telling them working together saves time.

Depending on their experiences, they may not be familiar with some ingredients. This is a chance to explain how and where they’re grown and their health properties.

Explain how each food offers unique health protection. With vegetables, the color is often a "secret code" to how they protect our health. Here are a few examples:

• Tomatoes and tomato products (pink grapefuit and watermelon, too) contain lycopene, which helps fight cancer.

• Red, orange and yellow vegetables contain beta carotene which is believed to fight cancer and cataracts, and enhance the immune system.

• Dark, leafy greens, like romaine lettuce, spinach and collards, fight cancer and eye disease.

• Cruciferous veggies like cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage contain five important groups of phytochemicals that help protect against cancers in different ways.

• Garlic helps protect against heart disease and cancer, especially if cut-up garlic is allowed to sit 10 to 15 minutes, which helps develop its effectiveness.

• Meat like beef contains the building blocks for muscles, skin and most other parts of the body, plus important vitamins, like B6 and B12, and minerals like iron and zinc.

Involve children in tasting dishes as seasonings are added. Give them the power to decide, with your help, when a dish has enough salt or other seasoning. Involve children in "clean as you go" and other steps that can be done during cooking or baking times.Make sure the family gives credit to the "helpers" for the important role they played in preparing a dish or a meal.

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Changing Children’s Eating Habits Starts
With Family Meals

     "Cooking together is a great time for parents to talk with their children about what makes a healthful meal," according to Melanie Polk, RD, AICR’s Director of Nutrition Education, "and summer, with school vacations and more leisurely time, is a perfect opportunity." Polk notes that dinnertime is usually the one time of day when parents have a chance to eat with their children. "Dinner," she says, "offers parents a great opportunity to involve their children in preparing a meal in a way that’s both fun and instructive. Another good opportunity is preparing lunches to take to school."

     Helping children to learn how to cook early in life can also motivate them to continue developing their cooking skills. Learning to cook for themselves can help children develop confidence and self-reliance as well as healthy eating habits and a greater appreciation for a wide range of foods.

     Cooking can also help children improve skills they use in their everyday lives, especially in school: organizational and mathematical skills, for example, as well as attention to detail and accuracy.

     Polk advises parents to look for three features in selecting recipes that children can help prepare:

• dishes their children already enjoy eating

• recipes that involve the child’s skill level - stirring, mixing and pushing blender and microwave buttons for young children, plus using knives and cooking stove-top for older children; and

• dishes with recipes children will find appealing to their sense of fun.

AICR Develops Recipes Tailored to Children’s Needs

     The recipes below include a classic favorite, meatloaf, and fun alternatives to familiar vegetable stand-bys. They reflect AICR’s healthful approach to eating, the New American Plate, which advocates two-thirds (or more) of the plate devoted to plant-based foods like vegetables, beans and fruit, and one-third (or less) of the plate to meat, poultry, or fish.

     The Kids-Tested Gourmet Meatloaf achieves a number of goals. It fits the New American Plate guidelines and is more healthful than most traditional meatloaves, maximizing the use of healthful vegetables and grains. It also produces a light, moist and flavorful meatloaf through ingredients that provide more flavor than fat. The variety of ingredients creates a rich flavor that raises this meatloaf from the ordinary to the gourmet level, yet one that can be enjoyed by children as well as adults.

     Children with moderate skills can help with many of the steps in preparing the meatloaf, for example: laying out ingredients and utensils, measuring ingredients, spraying a muffin tin or loaf pan with spray oil, handing the parent each batch of ingredients to be sautéed, and combining ingredients. Children with more advanced skills can cut up and sauté vegetables, beat the eggs and transfer the meat mixture into baking pans.

     One task children will find especially enjoyable is the "hands-on" mixing of the meat. This step will help them learn one of the secrets of a light-textured meatloaf: mixing gently with clean hands to retain a light texture and avoid compacting the meat.

     If all three recipes are made for the same meal, the dip for the Rainbow Salad should be made first and refrigerated while the other two dishes are prepared. This will allow enough time for the dip’s flavors to develop while it chills and slightly thickens.

     Children and adults both will find the preparation will go more smoothly and easily if all the ingredients and tools are organized and laid out first. Once they are assembled, preparation time for the meatloaf takes about 30 minutes and baking time about 1 hour; for the Magic Mashed "Potatoes," about 15 minutes; to make the dip for Rainbow Salad, about 5 minutes; and 10 to 15 minutes to cut up the vegetables for the salad. Allow more time if a child, depending on age, is involved in the process.

KID-TESTED GOURMET MEATLOAF
A light, moist and flavorful meatloaf through ingredients that
provide more flavor than fat. Recipe from the AICR.

2 garlic cloves (optional)
Canola oil spray
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup finely diced mushrooms preferably cremini or
   portobello (optional)
1/3 to1/2 cup finely minced carrots
1 cup finely minced onion
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup cooked brown rice, at room temperature, OR 1 cup fine
   bread crumbs, preferably whole wheat
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup non-fat or reduced-fat (2%) milk, at room
   temperature
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Kitchen Bouquet, OR 2 Tbsp tomato, steak, or
   barbecue sauce
1/2 tsp Tabasco, or to taste (optional)
1 lb. EACH:  lean ground beef and ground turkey (preferably
   breast), at room temperature*

*A combination of either ground turkey and pork or ground pork and veal can also be used.

     If using garlic, finely mince and set aside. Lightly spray the interior of a muffin tin or a loaf pan with oil spray and set aside. Preheat over to 350 degrees for individual meatloaves and 375 degrees for one large loaf.

     Heat oil in a non-stick pan over high heat until hot. If using, add mushrooms to the pan and sauté lightly. Reduce heat to medium and add carrots, onion and garlic. Gently cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are almost tender, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, break up cooked rice until kernels are separate, season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside. When carrots are almost tender, add salt and pepper to the sautéed vegetables to taste and remove the pan from heat.

     In a medium bowl, use a fork to lightly beat eggs until just blended. Stir in milk, thyme, marjoram, Worcestershire sauce, Kitchen Bouquet and Tabasco sauce, if using. Stir in rice. Let stand 5 minutes.

     Meanwhile, place beef and turkey in a large bowl and, using a fork, lightly break up meat. Spread meat up sides of the bowl to make as wide a surface as possible. Spread sautéed vegetables over the top. Using just-washed hands (or two large forks), lightly mix in. Add milk/rice mixture, pouring over entire surface. Gently combine ingredients with hands or forks until ingredients are well combined but mixture remains light. (Mixture will be very moist, almost wet.)

     Transfer mixture into cups of prepared muffin tin, using a 1/2 cup measure, or into a loaf pan. Place muffin tin or loaf pan on a shallow baking pan (like a cookie sheet) to catch any juices that might overflow during baking.

     Bake individual meatloaves about 45 minutes and a loaf pan 60 minutes, or until juices run clear or a thermometer inserted into the meatloaf registers 155 to 160 degrees. (Meatloaves will continue to cook after being taken out of the oven, so do not bake in the oven to the usually recommended 170 degrees, which would result in an overdone and somewhat dry meatloaf.)

     Remove meatloaf from the oven, cover with foil and allow it to rest a few minutes to cool slightly and "set." Remove foil and take the meatloaf out of the muffin tin or loaf pan. (To remove meatloaf from individual muffin cups, use two salad forks to gently lift out. Two flexible metal spatulas will help lift one whole meatloaf out of the pan in one piece. Meatloaf can also be sliced while still in the pan, if desired.) Leftover meatloaf, which is traditionally thought better tasting the second day, can be used for sandwiches as well as re-heated for an entrée. Makes 12 muffin-sized (1/2 cup) servings or about 12 slices of a large meatloaf servings.

Per serving: 154 Cal; 6 g Total Fat (2 g Sat Fat); 6 g Carb;  278 mg Sodium (w/o optional salt); 19 g Protein; <1 g Dietary Fiber. Exchanges: 1 Veg; 3 Meat; 1 Fat.

     The "magic" of the following vegetable dish, which looks like mashed potatoes, is that it is made with cauliflower, not potatoes, yet is mild and creamy enough to fool all but the most experienced palate. The AICR’s staff who tasted this dish without knowing its ingredients did not identify the main ingredient on their own.

     Young children can activate the microwave and blender in the preparation of this vegetable dish. Older children can handle the entire preparation process, with guidance from the parent. As a bonus, children can learn why cauliflower is superior to potatoes when parents tell them about its health-protective substances that are believed to be a great fighter against birth defects, cancer and heart disease.

MAGIC MASHED "POTATOES"
Children who make this easy-to-prepare dish will enjoy having a "secret" that will surprise the rest of the family at dinner. Cauliflower is the "secret" ingredient. Recipe from the AICR.

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets or 1 package (about 1 lb.) frozen, about 4 cups
2 tsp canola oil, if using garlic
1 to 3 large cloves garlic, or as desired (optional)
1/4 cup low-fat (1%) or reduced-fat (2%) milk
1 to 3 Tbsp canola oil or extra virgin olive oil, as needed
Salt and white pepper, to taste **

**Salt-to-taste is optional and NOT included in the nutritional analysis

     If using garlic cloves, mince and set aside.

     Place cauliflower in one layer in 1 or 2 large, microwave-proof plates or in shallow dishes. Sprinkle with water. Cover with 2 layers of wet paper towels. Steam in a microwave oven until soft but not mushy, in two batches if necessary. Fresh cauliflower may take 4 to 6 minutes; frozen cauliflower may take 8 to 10 minutes. (Cauliflower can also be steamed stove-top.) Let cauliflower cool slightly.

     Meanwhile, if using garlic, heat 2 tsp. canola oil in a small, non-stick pan over very low heat. Add garlic and gently cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add milk and heat until hot. Do not allow milk to come to a boil. (If not using garlic, heat milk in small saucepan.)

     Transfer milk or milk/garlic mixture to a blender or food processor. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Add cauliflower and purée until smooth. If purée is too dry or thick, put blender on low speed and gradually add more oil in small batches until desired consistency is reached. The mixture should be fluffy. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If necessary, re-heat in a microwave oven to serve piping hot. Makes 4 (1/2-cup) Servings.

Per serving: 94 Cal; 6 g Total Fat (<1 g Sat Fat); 8 g Carb; 51 mg Sodium (w/o optional salt); 3 g Protein; 4 g Dietary Fiber. Exchanges: 2 Veg; 1 Fat.

     Children find the wide range of (vegetable) colors appealing and enjoy making individual dipping cups out of bell peppers. Children like to dip finger-sized foods into sauces, which the food industry already recognizes and capitalizes on with its new products.

     Young children who are still not ready to chop and slice with a knife can make the dipping sauce. Children who can safely use a knife can also prepare the vegetables. Children of all ages should be involved in deciding what vegetables to serve with the sauce, with parental encouragement to "max out" the number of vegetables used.

     While preparing this dish, parents can point out that a vegetable’s color is often an indicator of special substances (phytochemicals) that protect health in a very specialized way. For example, red and orange signify the presence of beta carotine, which helps protect the eye from several health problems and prevent certain types of cancers. The red of tomatoes and tomato-based products indicates the presence of lycopene, which helps protect against several cancers.

RAINBOW SALAD
This salad is especially appealing to children who like to dip finger-sized foods into sauces. Recipe from the AICR.

1/3 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1/3 cup reduced-fat or fat-free mayonnaise
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 tsp (or to taste) prepared garlic paste or a pinch of garlic
   powder (optional)
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
Salt and white pepper, to taste**
4 green bell peppers
1 each red, yellow and orange bell peppers*

*Other vegetables can be used: grape or cherry tomatoes (on toothpicks, for dipping); carrot, cucumber or zucchini sticks; steamed asparagus, sugar snap or snow peas; and broccoli or cauliflower florets.

**Salt-to-taste is optional and NOT included in the nutritional analysis

     Make dip by placing yogurt, mayonnaise, sour cream, garlic paste or powder, if using, and Worcestershire sauce in a blender. Mix on medium speed until well blended and smooth. Before transferring dip from the blender, season to taste with salt and pepper. Taste to check if additional Worcestershire sauce or other seasoning is desired.

     Transfer dip to a container with a cover and refrigerate about 1 hour to allow flavors to develop. Bring dip to room temperature before serving.

     Either shortly before or about an hour before serving time, cut green peppers about two-thirds below the top so that the bottom section can serve as a cup to contain dipping sauce. Remove seeds and any fibrous tissue in the bottom sections and set aside. Reserve top portions of the peppers for a future use.

     Cut remaining bell peppers into quarters. Remove seeds and fibrous tissue. Cut quarters into strips suitable for dipping in a sauce. If preparing in advance, wrap pepper cups and strips in plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time.

     When ready to serve, fill each bell pepper cup with dipping sauce. Place each bell pepper cup on a salad plate. Arrange one-fourth of the bell pepper strips, in each color, next to or around the bell pepper cup. Makes 4 Servings, with 1 cup of dip (enough to fill 4 bell pepper cups, depending on size.)

Per Serving: 149 Cal; 9 g Total Fat (3 g Sat Fat); 15 g Carb; 189 mg Sodium; 3 g Protein; 2 g Dietary Fibers. Exchanges: 3 Veg; 2 Fat.