The Bite:
Put the nutritious stuff undercover. Try fortifying their favorite foods like pancakes and brownies with organic veggie purees and whole grains. With these foods and recipes, your kids may never spy the additions.
Boosting Nutrition
On a mission to make your kid's meals healthier on the sly?
09.02.2009
Submitted by alara on Tue, 09/01/2009 - 11:00pm.
The Benefits:
- Planting nutritious decoys. Whole fruits, vegetables, and grains are chock-full of phytonutrients that support kids' immune systems and ward off chronic disease. These recipes help get 'em in there.
- Reducing CO2 subterfuge. Unlike conventional farming, organic farming doesn't use pesticides, and, some scientists say, removes CO2 from the atmosphere by capturing the carbon in the soil.
- Less suspense at the kitchen table. Tweaking your kid's fave mac 'n' cheese or smoothie is a painless route (for you and the squirt) to healthier eating without a war of wills at mealtime.
Personally Speaking:
Wanna Try:
- Salba - an ancient grain farmed without chems and packed with omega-3s, fiber, and antioxidants - similar to flax; slip into sauces, smoothies, and baked goods ($30/16 ounces).
- Hip Hip Puree - frozen organic veggie purees in carrot, cauliflower, broccoli, or sweet potato; add it to pastas, salad dressings, pizza toppings, and muffins ($28/64 ounces).
- As a quick sub for homemade purees, try our favorite frozen organic baby foods.
- The Sneaky Chef - recipes, based on the book with the same title, such as Speedy Stovetop Lasagna with undetectable spinach, broccoli, and peas, and Brawny Brownies with blueberries, spinach, and wheat germ.
- Weelicious - recipe blog arranged by age group for busy moms; we dig the Blueberry & Mango Breakfast enriched with tofu and wheat germ, as well as the carrot-packed Veggie Pancakes.
- Mayo Clinic's Ingredient Substitutions - a list of easy swaps for everyday ingredients from the world's largest nonprof health practice.
Timeout
Andrea Schwartz of PA, mom to 2-year-olds Sydney and Mason, fortifies quick, healthy meals with veggie purees.
Bang For The Bite
If 10,000 Mama Biters make a batch of veggie-infused brownies instead of the regular kind, we'll boost kids' diets with the weight of 36 secret agents in nutritious food.
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