You're Never Too Old to Play With Your Food

From USDA:

Posted by Jessica Larson, MS, RD (Nutritionist, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion), on December 18, 2014 at 12:00 PM

MyPlate offers easy ideas for making healthy foods festive and fun.

Who doesn’t want to have a little fun with their food? Especially if you have a picky eater at home, try adding a creative flair to the plate to boost a healthy meal’s fun factor. Our team of nutritionists has been having fun using cookie cutters to come up with creative, healthy ideas, but there are lots of easy ways to make healthy choices more appealing.

Earlier this week we shared a blog about making a snowman from all 5 of the MyPlate food groups. Below are some additional ideas. Have fun!

• Try using cookie cutters to make a two-toned sandwich, like the mitten sandwich above. This also helps teach kids about making at least half their grains whole grains.
• Serve foods in seasonal colors. For Valentine’s Day, play up red fruits and vegetables, for St. Patrick’s Day- all green, for the 4^th of July- red, white, and blue.
• Create a “new” dish with your child and name it for him or her. Make a big deal of serving “Dawn’s Spectacular Salad” or “Peter’s ‘Pan-tastic’ Sweet Potatoes” for dinner.
• Use seasonal placemats and napkins to make the meal more festive.
• Create faces on the plate. For example, create a potato person by decorating half a baked potato with sliced cherry tomatoes, peas, and low-fat cheese to make a funny face.
• Use cookie cutters to create fun shapes out of low-fat cheese and whole-grain bread. Pair with fruits and veggies for a MyPlate snack plate. (See image below)

And, importantly, be a healthy role model! Let kids see you enjoying healthy foods and they’ll be excited to try them, too.

Stay connected with MyPlate for healthy food inspiration year round:

• ChooseMyPlate.gov
• MyPlate Facebook page
• @MyPlate Twitter
• Sign up for MyPlate email updates
  

  Try using cookie cutters to add a fun, seasonal theme to healthy choices.

Winter Food Fun for Kids of All Ages

From USDA:

Posted by Sasha Bard, MS, RD (Nutritionist, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion), on December 16, 2014 at 3:00 PM

You’re never too old to play with your food! This winter, while the kids are home from school and family and friends gather together, you can experiment with ways to make healthy foods festive and fun. This blog shows how we created a snowy scene using foods from all five of the MyPlate food groups.

We will continue to share ideas throughout the season on the MyPlate Facebook page, @MyPlate Twitter, and ChooseMyPlate.gov, and we want you to join in the fun. Get creative in the kitchen and find ways to make healthy foods the main attraction at your winter celebrations!

MyPlate Snowman Scene

Before getting started, be sure to wash your hands.

Edible MyPlate Snowman. Step 1.

Step 1: Gather all of your ingredients and supplies. You’ll need whole-grain bread, peanut butter, a banana, raisins, a carrot, pretzel sticks, low-fat cheese slices (a white cheese will work best), your favorite green vegetable (we used a bell pepper), and edible snow (we chose air-popped popcorn, but a light colored cereal would work as well). Be creative and use what you already have on hand.

You’ll also need the following supplies: butter knife, snowman cookie cutter, cutting board, and a small snowflake cookie cutter.

Edible MyPlate Snowman. Step 2.

Step 2: Make a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Use the snowman cookie cutter to create your main character. (Tip: Don’t waste the crusts! Enjoy the non-snowman parts of the sandwich now as a snack or save for later.)

Edible MyPlate Snowman. Step 3.

Step 3: Make the snowflakes. (Tip: If you don’t have a small snowflake cookie cutter, you can use a plain circle and create snowballs instead! Cheese leftovers from the cutouts can be enjoyed as a snack now or refrigerated for later.)

Edible MyPlate Snowman. Step 4.

Step 4: Now it’s time to create your scene! Relocate your snowman to a plate (a plate in a solid color works best) and give him a face, hat, buttons, and arms. If it’s cold outside, he may need a scarf too.

Edible MyPlate Snowman. Step 5.

Step 5: Cover the ground in “snow” and plant trees. (If you don’t have a bell pepper, use another green fruit or vegetable such as snow peas or kiwi.)

Edible MyPlate Snowman. Step 6.

Step 6: Let it snow! Add cheese snowflakes or snowballs to complete the scene on your plate. Add seasonal tableware and napkins to complete the scene on your table.

Step 7: Any finishing touches? Have fun and make it your own. Orange and yellow low-fat cheese can be used to add stars or a sun to the sky. Plant extra trees or build a house. Then eat and enjoy!

Check the MyPlate Facebook page throughout December for additional Winter Food Fun ideas. We’ll also be posting them to ChooseMyPlate.gov.

Celebrate 30 Delicious, Kid-Approved Recipes during National Nutrition Month

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Jessica Milteer, Writer, FNS, USDA, on March 26, 2014 at 2:00 PM

The Mediterranean Quinoa Salad won second place in the grains category. Photo by Jeanne S., Lauren M., Jeanne G. and Rodney P. from Bellingham Public Schools, Bellingham, MA.

For much of the nation, the long winter has presented a great opportunity to gather in the kitchen and cook up a new dish with the family. In the spirit of National Nutrition Month, USDA has recently released new cookbooks that feature 30 delicious, kid-approved recipes. The offerings represent the top picks from the Recipes for Healthy Kids Competition where teams of students, teachers, community members and chefs competed to create dishes that could be incorporated into school lunch menus.

Inspired by the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative, the Competition kicked off on September 7, 2010 at the start of the school year.  The Competition supported historic improvements made to school meals made possible by the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 and the aggressive goals set by the White House for the HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC).

Schools must now meet updated standards that include more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and right-sized portions. All along, we knew that in order to truly inspire kids to make healthier choices, the meals couldn’t just be nutritious – they had to be tasty as well. The resulting recipes meet requirement to increase consumption of whole grains, dark green and red/orange vegetables, and beans/peas (legumes).

The dishes the competing teams came up with were so good, we decided to put them all together and make cookbooks for home, schools and child care centers. With dishes like Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, Crunchy, Hawaiian Chicken Wrap and Fiesta Mexican Lasagna, the teams proved you don’t have to sacrifice taste when making a nutritious and filling meal.

The Recipes for Healthy Kids: Cookbook for Homes provides downloadable recipes for six servings. Or, if you’re interested in feeding a larger crowd, the Recipes for Healthy Kids: Cookbooks for Child Care Centers and Schools provides recipes that yield 25, 50 and even 100 servings!

Cooking together is a great way to teach kids about the importance of nutrition and plays an essential role in securing a healthier next generation!