Great Meal Ideas: Getting Kids to Eat Vegetables

It is important to give our kids healthy and delicious meals on a daily basis and getting kids to eat vegetables can be a real task. Forcing them to eat can be the worse thing to do. There are ways to make eating vegetables more appealing, more natural, or even fun.

1. Start early, and put vegetables on the plate when they’re babies. Offer toddlers lots of different types of foods and let them see you eat and enjoy different foods, especially fruits and vegetables. This will influence them. If you hardly serve or eat vegetables, it is more than possible that your kids develop the same tastes.

2. Invite them to try a new vegetable. Sometimes they will love it the first time they try it, other times, it may take two, three, or even several tries before getting used to the taste of a new item. Ask kids to try just one bite. They may not like it, so leave it at that. Allowing them to stop at just one bite will make trying new foods less scary.

3. Let them choose a vegetable. When serving fruits and vegetables, letting kids choose from three kinds is a great food idea. Choosing between green beans, carrots, or corn will teach them that they can make a decision and their opinions really do matter. If you ask kids to pick the vegetables for a meal, this gives them a chance to be actively involved in what the family eats.

4. Kids like finger foods, why not cut some fresh veggies into little chunks and serve in a tray for all the family members. Set out individual cups of dipping sauce.

5. Another one of my great cooking tips is to serve salads first at dinner time just as the restaurants do and make it a routine. Think of it as a pre-dinner snack. Have a salad set out wherever the family is waiting for dinner. Whatever you are serving, even if it is a simple meal or one of the family’s favorites like a pizza, smelling the food cooking will surely build up the kids’ appetite and they will start nibbling on the snack.

6. Kids are hungry after school or play, so have snacks readily available. They will grab what they see first. Grab and run snacks are the best. Have cut raw vegetables, maybe grapes, plums, and peeled segmented oranges ready in small bags.

7. Grab their imagination by making vegetables more exciting. Serve cut up fruits and vegetables, and then let them create funny faces, cars, flowers, or animals. While their creativity is in the working, they are most likely to snack on the tasty pieces of art.

Quick and Easy To Prepare Meals

There’s no doubt about it: these days we are just too busy. Like most families we are working, tending to kids, taking care of home tasks, preparing meals, paying bills, shopping, traveling, and if time and money allows, we fit in some kind of recreation. Whether a household has two parents that hold jobs or one works and the other stays home to take care of the house and kids, it is a pleasure and a relief to find ideas for quick and easy meals. Preparing quick recipes will help in allowing more time to be spent on relationships, activities we love, and quiet time to reflect and replenish our energy. Here are three shared recipes to try.

Quick

4 to 6 already skinned boneless chicken breasts
2 cloves garlic
1 packet French onion soup mix
1 can chopped mushrooms
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
1 cup sour cream
2 cups milk
salt & pepper

Brown chicken with garlic. Place breasts in butter greased casserole dish. Sprinkle onion soup mix evenly on chicken and add cut mushrooms on top. Spread sour cream on top of that. Pour milk over the chicken dish. Bake at 350 degrees for ½ hour. The chicken should be very tender and moist. (7- 10 min. Prep time) Serves 4 to 6

Easy Broccoli Casserole

2 packages frozen cut broccoli
1 can Campbells cream of mushroom soup
1 can Campbells cream of celery soup
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Ritz cracker crumbs

Boil frozen broccoli just until tender (or as suggested on frozen package).
Drain the broccoli and pour into lightly greased casserole dish. Add creamed mushroom and creamed celery soup. Sprinkle grated cheese. Crush Ritz crackers (enough to evenly sprinkle over top). Sprinkle the Ritz. Dot with butter. Bake at 350 degrees for ½ hour or until the top is golden brown. (About 10 min. Prep time) Depending on portions-can serve 4 to 8.

Fluffy Fruit Salad

1 can fruit cocktail, drained
½ cup coconut
½ cup sour cream
½ cup small marshmallows

Mix ingredients together in bowl. Place in bowl or mold and cool in refrigerator.

Give An Old Recipe A Twist!

We all love the old recipes that come from family tradition or cookbook favourites. Sometimes preparing or eating those recipes become boring, unexciting, predictable, or just fall into the plain ole’ “get-the-dinner out the way” mode. So, why not give them a twist. Try some of these suggestions.

Add Berries to Oatmeal Cookies

Follow your usual oatmeal cookies and instead of just adding raisins, add a mixture of raisins, dried raspberries, cranberries, currants, and even cherries. The cookies turn out moister, chewier, and fruitier. They still taste like oatmeal cookies but with an extra surprise. You can purchase dried mixed fruit like the above and other different varieties.

Fried Potatoes with a French Flare

Go ahead and fry up those potatoes for breakfast or maybe even for dinner, but this time sprinkle a little tarragon over your potatoes. It really does give it a delightful and different flavour. The spice is similar to anise or liquorice. Don’t add a lot because it is definitely potent, and you don’t want it to overpower the potatoes. You just want to give it a hint of special flavour—a kind of French flavour.

Dilly-up Your Devilled Eggs

Another one of my cooking tips is if you like eggs, most likely you adore devilled eggs. It is hard to stop at just one. Throw a dash of dill weed/ground seeds in your creamy filling. This will surely surprise your senses, and you’ll be grabbing more than one egg for yourself or you will egg others on to try this tasty little treat.

Who said Noodles Cant Be Healthy?

For such lazy times! You can digg out your favourite packet of instant noodles and turn it into a complete and nutritional noodle meal which will make a quick and easy dinner!

It is always handy to keep some instant noodles at home as they’re a good quick meal when you’re just too busy to cook a heavy meal. However, with some creativity, you can always make a bowl of noodles into a healthy meal!

Try adding these healthy ingredients:

Vegetables:

Search your fridge for some healthy greens such as lettuce, mushrooms or carrots. If you don’t keep fresh food in your house, stock up, so you can toss them into the noodles.

Dried food:

You can soak a few dried mushrooms or dried soy bean skin in with your noodles for instant added nutrition.

Meat:

Meat can be a very tasty ingredient to add with your noodles Meat can also come in handy if you have nothing to cook but need the added protein!

Eggs:

Eggs are a great addition to alot of recipes. To make your noodles that extra bit tastier, scramble 1 or 2 eggs with black pepper and mix it with your noodles!

2 Quick Healthy Recipes For You and Your Family To Enjoy!

Heres 2 quick recipe ideas to get you started on a journey to creating those quick healthy food ideas which will not take up alot of your time!

Recipe 1:

Tuna Salad

Ingredients:1 tin of tuna
low fat Mayonnaise or salad cream
Salad (lettuce, cress, carrots, cucumbers or onions)
Black pepper (optional)

This is very good quick and healthy recipe which is very easy to prepare and will not take up too much time. First, find a decent size bowl which is where the tuna salad will be prepared. Open the tin of tuna, drain the oil, then empty the tuna into the bowl.

Next, open a bottle of mayonnaise or salad cream and pour half of the contents into the bowl of tuna while mixing. Mixing the tuna is important so that the tuna does not end up looking too lumpy.

Wash the lettuce or cucumber in warm water, this is to properly wash off any small insects that may be found while preparing. After washing, put salad into the bowl of tuna and mix. Add black pepper and these you have it……Tuna Salad

Optional ingredients include:

olive oil
croutons
tomatoes
anchovies

Recipe 2:

Banana and oat Smoothie

Here is another idea to add to your list of great cooking tips! Even though the idea of a porridge drink does not sound too appetizing, this drink really is delicious and extremely healthy. Porridge has been proven to lower cholesterol, and having this drink will be a great addition to your healthy diet plan.

Ingredients:400ml cold milk (semi skimmed)
2 bananas
2 table spoons of Porridge Oats
Honey (optional)
4 ice cubes

To make a delicious healthy porridge oat smoothy, put all of the ingredients listed above in a blender, and blend for one minute and drink immediately.

5 Quick Tips On Cleaning Your Kitchen After Your Meal

Now your done cooking that traditional family recipe, theres nothing more important than seeing your kitchen back to how it was before, by using simple and effective cleaning techniques which is important in terms of hygiene. Raw meat, poultry, fish and other raw foods can cross-contaminate foods that have come into contact.

After handling these foods such as raw meat and fish always wash your hands using anti bacterial hand wash, also wash and wipe down utensils and surfaces thoroughly before preparing food, especially cooked and ready-to-eat foods.

Here are 5 great tips on how to have a very hygienic kitchen:

1. Use separate cloths and/or sponges while cleaning; one very good tip is to make very good use of disposable cloths which are very cheap to buy. If you are going to be using a standard cloth, wash it in soap and hot water and then place in a disinfectant, rinse thoroughly and allow to dry.

2. Keep all food cupboards clean and tidy. When you take cans of beans or peas from the cupboard to prepare your lovely recipes, wipe over the tops first with a damp cloth to remove any dust and germs.

3. If you are preparing food fit for an army, for example a family meal. It is always important to take off your watch, rings, bracelets and any other jewellery as well as washing your hands with a good anti bacterial hand wash before you start.

4. Cover all cuts, burns and sores and change any bandages or plasters that are beginning to loose their stick. Whats more important is to pay attention to any open wounds on hands, fingers and arms.

5. Store food correctly to find out how to store your food correctly, follow the manufacturers guidelines and check the ‘Use By’ dates which are usually located at the back of food packets. Also keep your food covered.

Top 6 Healthy Cooking Tips For The New Year

If you are looking to start the new year off with a healthy beginning, here are a few healthy cooking tips to help you along the way!

1. Use lots of herbs, vegetables, tomatoes, fat-free or low-fat sauces or healthy salad dressings, this is particularly important if you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes.

2. When you cook once, prepare several other healthy meals at the same time. A good tip is to Freeze them and have a ready made healthy meal for the next time you are simply too tired or lazy to prepare a meal

3. There are a whole range of healthy smoothies that are available on the market. A smoothie can cover a range of important nutritional needs. To make a healthy and tasty smoothie, put loads of fruit such as bananas, apples, kiwis and peaches which you can keep in the freezer for weeks into your blender, also use some orange or any other fruit juice (tropical tends to work very well!) and some low-fat yogurt. The great thing is you can get at least 5 servings of fruit in one glass of delicious home made milkshake. are easy, cool, refreshing and very healthy.

4. Keep a look out for ‘low-sodium’ vegetables or try the frozen section in your supermarket. It is always important to compare the sodium content on the Nutrition labels of similar foods you come across while you are out shopping. To maintain a healthy lifestyle it is always important to choose products with low sodium content.

5. If you want to treat yourself by Preparing muffins and delicious breads with less fat and fewer calories. Use 3 or 4 ripe, very well mashed bananas, instead of butter, lard, oil or substitute one cup of apple sauce per one cup of these fats.

6. Choose wholemeal as part of a healthy diet and leave out high carbohydrates such as white bread. Use wholemeal flour or oatmeal. Wholemeal flour can be substituted for up to 1/2 of all-purpose flour. A good example is if a recipe asks for 2 cups of flour, try 1 cup of wholemeal flour and 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour.

New Years Special Meal Anyone??!!

With 2008 fast approaching, why not cook up a meal that will nicely see you through to the new year! On todays menu we have:

Roast Beef

Preparation time: 40 minutes.
Cooking time: 2- 2 ½ hours.
Oven temperature: 220 C, 425 F, gas 7.

Ingredients:
1. Sirolin rib- 1.75-2.25 kg/4-5 lb, boned and rolled.
2. Table Salt
3. Ground Pepper
4. Dripping- 2 oz./50g.(For the Yorkshire Puddings*)
5. Plain flour- 4 oz/100g.
6. 2 Eggs

7. Milk- ½ pint.

Cooking Instructions :

1. Place the beef in a roasting tin with the thickest layer of fat on the top.
2. Lightly season the beef with table salt and pepper (all purpose seasoning also works well) and spread with the dripping.
3. Roast the beef in a preheated oven, basting several times. A great meal suggestion would be small roast potatoes alongside the joint.
4. Take the beef to a warmed serving dish with the roast potatoes and those lovely Yorkshire puddings!.

Do You Need A Romantic Christmas Dinner Tip?

Here are a few ideas to help you make a perfect romantic evening for you and your partner!:

– A romantic dinner should be a stylish meal idea so that you’ll impress your partner and have time to enjoy together.

– Think ahead and rent a Christmas DVD, this will be the perfect opportunity to cuddle your partner in bed, watch the movie and play games together. Perfect!.

– Plan a day of romantic activities together just for the two of you and make your romantic Christmas a memorable occasion…

– Look up recipes or meal ideas that will get you and your partner in the mood for a romantic and shall I say memorable Christmas!

– Another great romantic meal idea is garnishing your plates..this should bring out your decorative touch. You can also use scented candles or potpourri to create a romantic atmosphere.

Need Help Setting A Beautiful Christmas Table

Hosting a Christmas dinner party for your family and friends can be quite a task…especially knowing that you have to cook a big enough turkey with the right recipes, get the setting right and most importantly making your guests feel welcome, ensuring that this Christmas will be memorable to them for all the right reasons.

Here are a few tips that will make your Christmas dinner event go without any hitches:

Use an Impressive Tablecloth

This is a basic rule that everyone must follow and get right! First, use an impressive tablecloth with a table runner, place mats and napkins as you never know who who could leave pieces of turkey all over the table!. Another good tip is try using Christmas themed prints and avoid giving your table a busy look as the table may have cramped look and guests will be thinking ‘where is the food going to go?’ Finally, always keep attention focused on your centerpiece, which is your brilliantly cooked Christmas meal.

Use Appropriate and Stylish Cutlery

White plates are always in style. The best thing about white cutlery is that you can dress them up with lots of Christmas themed accessories which will give that casual or playful look. Its good to have a relaxed environment without being too formal, so having a Christmas theme set on your table will definitely lighten the mood. You can also try mixing colors and styles which always adds interest and looks very pretty.

Small Gifts

What will really get your guests happy and in the Christmas spirit, will be neatly placed small gifts placed on the table. Christmas gift ideas can be be Christmas ornaments, Christmas sweets, peanuts or other imaginative gifts.

Finally,

The Centrepiece

The centerpiece must compliment the table. Even if you want to be creative in how you make the centrepiece, you should in any case remember to avoid certain common mistakes:

1. avoid compositions which are too high because they can block the view of the diners

2. the centerpiece must not be too big for the table

3. then there’s the container which holds the centerpiece: it will be better to use a low and unnoticeable container, or if it is visible see that it goes well with your creative table decorations.