Five Quick Ways to Play with Your Food!

Recipe of the Week

I know, I know, I can hear my mom and yours in the background saying, “DON’T play with your food!” But, if you have picky eaters in your family it might take a bit of creative thinking to get them to eat healthy.

Seeing as the summer is quickly coming to an end, apples will soon be in season. You and I know apples make a great tasting healthy snack, but if your kids are not too keen, a little playtime might help. Below are five examples of quick ways to make a boring old apple into something fun and exciting. My kids and I also used grapes and peanut butter to make these, but you and your family can experiment with your own ingredients!

1. Smile – two apple section lips, white grape teeth, and a little peanut butter to hold it together
   
2. Race Car – an apple section for the car, grape wheels, a grape headed driver, and again the “magic peanut butter glue” as my kids call it
   
3. Turtle – a green apple half (with the stem as a tail), grape feet, a grape head, and peanut butter if needed
   
4. Butterfly – thinly cut apple section wings on either side of a grape body
   
5. UFO (my favorite) – a cross section of an apple with a grape alien in the middle
   

 

Scott Nitza
Graphic Designer & Marketing Associate and Father of Three

Tip of the Week: Smoothies for Breakfast

And so it begins, or continues, depending on your situation. The process of getting the kids up and out of the house can be a daunting one. And fed a healthy breakfast, an additional task of dread. I would imagine few families (well, at least mine, for sure) sit down to a full family meal on a school morning. If I am in the minority, I would love to be wrong on this   one! At our house, we are fortunate to have a staggered work schedule – dad is home with the girls in the morning and I take the afternoon (homework!) shift.

Our family table is often crowded with books, papers, and the like, if the kids are at home. Art projects and the ‘finds’ from playing outside must be cleared before dinner. But by breakfast – that order has disappeared at my house. Clothes laid out the night before and bookbags join the cereal bowls and occasional pancake (so I hear). Healthy is a priority, but eaten more so. With school lunch not being served until around 1 p.m., a quickly eaten bagel is the minimum requirement. Then the other day, a friend mentioned smoothies. My kids love the idea of eating this ‘treat’ for breakfast!

Not all that keen on the process? Sounds messy, for sure. But the fruit and protein the kids will get from these ideas will help make that long morning a bit more possible. And, there are dozens of combinations to please even the pickiest of eaters. For a seasonal fruit, try Mango-Peach Smoothies or Peanut Butter-Banana Smoothies for those less adventuresome types. Happy breakfast!