Lucky for me these greens are good for me....and Magically Delicious!

St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner. Although traditionally a day set aside for adult indulgence in green colored beer, children have been swept into the "making everything green" day. For children the fun starts with lots of artificially colored green foods such as Jell-O, cakes, cookies, ice cream and cereals. Recently I saw a Pinterest post that had a box of Lucky Charm cereal with a tag wrapped around it that said "Lucky to have you! Love Mom".

Who doesn't remember the happy little Leprechaun  jumping over the rainbow touting about his Lucky Charms Cereal being "Magically delicious". I am pretty sure that the cereal company did not really add any magic into their boxes of sugar, chemical and artificially colored cereals, just a whole lot of junk. Do you know what the ingredients are in Lucky Charms Cereal? Here is a list of the ingredients found in Lucky Charms Cereal.

Whole Grain Oats, Marshmallows (Sugar, Modified Corn Starch, Corn Syrup, Dextrose, Gelatin, Calcium Carbonate, Yellows 5&6, Blue 1, Red 40, Artificial Flavor), Sugar, Oat Flour, Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, Salt, Trisodium Phosphate, Color Added, Natural and Artificial Flavor. Vitamin E (Mixed Tocopherols) Added to Preserve Freshness. Vitamins and Minerals: Calcium Carbonate, Zinc and Iron (Mineral Nutrients), Vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbate), a B Vitamin (Niacinamide), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B1 (Thiamin Mononitrate), Vitamin A (Palmitate), a B Vitamin (Folic Acid), Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3

Needless to say, I got a little upset with the idea of giving out the cereal as part of the festivities.

Why does food always have to be colored, flavored, sugar laden and just flat junk, to make a party fun? Why can't we serve green vegetables and fruits and have just as much fun? Here is a list of snack ideas I came up with and/or found on Pinterest that do reflect a healthier side of St. Patrick's day.

1.Guacamole with green chips, broccoli, celery or sugar snap peas for dipping
2. Green smoothie (combine apple juice, milk, berries, 1 teaspoon honey and an avocado or spinach leaves)
3. Grapes and green apple slices kabobs (vanilla yogurt for dipping)
4. Kale chips (roast kale tossed in olive oil and sea salt until crispy)
5. Veggie Pirate Booty chips
6. Cucumber shaped shamrocks dipped in low-fat ranch
7. Mini-sandwiches cut with clover molds
8. Healthy, low fat potato salad 
9. Ants on a log (celery with nut butter or hummus sprinkled with raisins)
10. Pistachio low fat pudding topped with shelled pistachios.
11. Baggie filled with green grapes with the tag: "Lucky this green stuff is good for me!" To print out the tag click here.

May the luck of the Irish be with you, and not all the junk!

Happy National Nutrition Month!

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Shamrock Pancakes! Good greens for breakfast (without any food coloring or chemicals).

This morning I made a recipe that I originally saw posted at SuperHealthyKids.com. I initially thought that the kids would freak out when they saw the "green food" but I spun it a little bit and said that they were "lucky" pancakes!

I made a few modifications from the original recipe and I must say these are probably the best pancakes that I have every made.

 

 

Photo courtesy of Kel Thompson www.AmericasProductionCompany.com

 

Here is the recipe just in case  you are looking for a fun healthy idea for breakfast or snack for anytime of the year.

5 cups spinach leaves

2 large eggs

1 tbsp. melted coconut oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. Honey or Maple syrup

3/4 cup almond milk

 

Blend together above ingredients in a blender or food processor

until frothy and smooth without chucks of spinach.

 

In another bowl combine:

2 cups all purpose gluten free flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

 

Mix dry ingredients with green mixture and combine. Add more milk if consistency is too thick or more flour if consistency is too thin. Heat griddle and spray with oil. Make silver dollar sized pancakes.

Feeds 2 kids and 3 adults!

Everybody was happy even mom and dad!

 

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What is on your plate?

 

Can you name the 5 food groups? The 5 food groups are as follows: Fruit group, vegetable group, protein group, grain group and dairy group. Each group is important in a balanced diet. Throughout National Nutrition Month we will be discussing the different food groups. Think about the foods that you eat at every meal and try to include a little bit of each group at each meal.

 

 

This week we will explore the fruit group. As babies the first taste that we enjoy is sweet and we have a natural tendency throughout life to enjoy sweet tasting fruit. Fruit provides us with antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Each fruit varies from the next and it is important to eat a rainbow of color of fruit. Children should have at least 5 servings of fruit per day. A serving of fruit is considered: 1 cup chopped fresh fruit, 1 small apple, banana, orange, or ½ cup juice (limit to 1 time per week) or ½ cup dried fruit.

Here is a fruity challenge!

Where does your favorite fruit grow? Can you name where the following fruits grow?

 

Bananas, Mango, kiwi, orange, grapes, strawberries, watermelon.

 

Answer key: Bananas- tree, Mango- tree, kiwi- woody vine, orange-tree, grapes- vines, strawberries- plant, watermelon-vines.

 

Fruity Recipe of the week:

 

Fruit Kabobs with
Fluffy Fruit Dip
6 servings
Ingredients for dip:
1 cup fruit-flavored, low-fat yogurt...
1 cup fat-free whipped topping, thawed
1 teaspoon honey
Ingredients for kabobs:
6 to 8 pineapple chunks
6 to 8 whole strawberries
1 banana, cut into 1⁄2 chunks
6 to 8 red or green grapes
6 wooden skewers
Directions:
1. In a small bowl, make dip by mixing together yogurt, whipped topping and honey.
2. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
3. Thread one piece of each fruit onto a skewer.
4. Repeat until the fruit is gone or skewers are full.
5. Serve with dip.
Variation: Use any of your kids’ favorite fruits.
Serving size: 1⁄6 of recipe
Nutrition Facts Per Serving:
Calories: 64 Fat: 0.4 g Saturated fat: 0.2 g
Cholesterol: 1.9 mg Sodium: 26 mg Carbohydrates: 16.5 g
Fiber: 1.1 g Protein: 2.5 g
Recipe provided courtesy of Eat Right Press, from Healthy Eating, Healthy Weight for Kids and Teens by Jodie Shield, MEd, RD and
Mary Catherine Mullen, MS, RD. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, ©2012.See More

 

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