Give us this day our daily bread.Matthew 6:11 KJV

Work, school and the seemingly never-ending schedule of meetings and activities can eat into family time, but cooking together as a family is a great way to carve some special bonding time with your kids out of a hectic schedule.

In addition to providing quality and meaningful time together, preparing meals or snacks with your child will help him develop an interest in eating right, healthy foods and food preparation, an important life skill.

Cooking together as a family also means fewer fast food meals, structured family mealtimes and a more nutritious, often lower calorie family diet.

Invite your little ones to try out their budding culinary skills on one of these three, delicious and healthy dishes, and enjoy the blessings that come with working side-by-side to put the “daily bread” on the table.

Include your children, if possible, when shopping for the ingredients of dishes you plan to cook together. Let them help you find the items on the list, select the produce items; helping to weigh the fruits and veggies.

Before starting any of the recipes below, have everyone wash hands with soap and water and make sure the counter tops and other food preparation spaces are clean.

Gather your cooking gear and ingredients and wash all fruits and veggies before putting them into your dishes. Children should be closely supervised around stoves and ovens, appliances and knives.

When possible, use fresh, organic or locally grown produce in your recipes, substituting frozen, rather than canned, if needed. 

Tropical Breakfast Burrito

You’ll need:

– 1 cup tomato, diced
– 4 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
– 1/2 cup diced frozen mango
– 1/2 cup egg substitute or 2 large eggs
– 2 whole-wheat 6-inch tortillas
– 4 tablespoons pineapple salsa

Cook the first three ingredients in a small skillet over medium heat. Once until the tomato, onions and mango are soft and moisture has evaporated, add the eggs or egg substitute. Scramble eggs with rest of ingredients for about three minutes, then spread half of the entire mixture in the center of each tortilla. After adding two tablespoons of salsa to each burrito, tuck the sides of the tortilla up to fold over the filling. Roll the burrito to close and serve hot. Makes two burritos.

 

Adapted from recipe posted on Mayo Clinic website
 

Confetti Soup

You’ll need:

– 2 cups diced carrots, raw
– 1/3 cup chopped kale, raw
– ¼ cup finely chopped onion
– ¼ cup coarsely chopped celery
– 3½ cups water
– 2 tablespoons parsley, raw
– ¼ teaspoon whole fennel seed
– Pinch each of crushed red pepper and black pepper
– 1 pound fresh black-eyed peas
– ½ pound turkey sausage
– ½ teaspoon salt
– 2 teaspoons canola oil

In a large stock pot, add oil, onion and celery. Cook over medium high heat until the ingredients are soft and semitransparent, then stir in carrots, fennel seed, salt and both peppers. After cooking for a couple of minutes, add in black-eyed peas and water. Let soup cook for 25-30 minutes, and when the peas are soft, add in ham or sausage along with the kale and simmer for another 10 minutes until the kale is tender. Yields six servings.

 

Adapted from recipe posted on Kids Health website.

Banana-Berry Smoothie

You’ll need: 

– 1 cup coconut water (may substitute water for coconut water)
– 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
– 1 cup each, fresh or frozen blueberries and strawberries
– 1 very ripe, peeled and sliced frozen banana
– 4 ice cubes

In a blender, combine water, ice, yogurt and fruit. Blend on lowest setting first, then on medium, for two to three minutes, until smooth. Pour or spoon the delicious banana-berry smoothie mixture into four glasses and serve. For a frozen treat that can be enjoyed any time, pour smoothie mixture into frozen popsicle mold.

Adapted from recipe posted on HealthyChildren.org website.

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