Recipe: Green Bean Parmesan Soup

 If you have trouble getting your kids to eat their vegetables, try this creamy soup. It's tasty, super simple to make, and creamy and cheesy so even the kids will eat it! If they object to the color, just tell them it's what "The Hulk" eats for breakfast. :-)


Smooth Moves Green Bean Parmesan Soup
(Makes 4 servings.)

Ingredients:

8 oz fresh young green beans, trimmed
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, grated
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup cream or half-and-half
kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

• In a large soup pot, add the beans and olive oil, place over medium-high heat and stir until beans start to soften; about 3 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
• Add the stock and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until the beans are tender.
• Let cool slightly, then put into a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
• Return the soup to the pot over low heat and stir until heated through again.
• Add the Parmesan cheese and cream and stir until cheese melts.
• Taste and add salt and pepper as needed; serve hot.

How to Create Healthy Harvest Soups Even Kids Will Love

Digging into a big pot of hearty vegetable soup might seem like the perfect meal to end a busy day, but not necessarily of you're a kid. It seems a kid's taste in soup is often limited to chicken noodle soup out of a can. When it comes to serving healthier soups, kids don't always appreciate your delicious creations.

Feeding kids a healthier bowl of soup can be tricky since most nutritious soups have a fair amount of vegetables in them. And picky kids tend to turn their noses up at vegetables, so it's pretty hard to get them to even try a bowl of soup that contains more than broth and noodles. Let's take a look at a few tricks to create a nutritious soup loaded with nutrients that even the fussiest kids will try.

Ranch Style Soup

As most parents know, dipping vegetables in creamy Ranch style dressing usually results in the kids ingesting at least some nutrition. Why not use this trick to serve a whole bowl of soup filled with vegetables? Cook up a batch of broccoli, for instance, then throw it in the blender and puree it until smooth. Now, sprinkle in a little bit of dry Ranch style dip seasoning and some milk, and puree again. Crush some whole wheat crackers into the bowl for a bit of crunch. Your kid may think they are eating a whole bowl of Ranch style dressing, but you know better. This trick works with any vegetable you can puree. However, if you prefer a chunky soup, just simmer chopped vegetables in broth until tender, then add Ranch style seasoning, milk, and stir. It's the flavor of the seasoning that will grab, and keep, a kid's attention.

Vegetable Noodle Soup

(Image courtesy of tiramisustudio at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)

If chicken noodle soup out of a can is the only soup your child will even consider eating, why not give in – sort of.  To make the leap to a more nutritious option, begin by making chicken broth at home with lots of fresh garden vegetables. Simmer a variety of vegetables to get the most nutrients you can right in the broth itself. Use carrots, celery, onion, parsnips, kale, turnips, collard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, zucchini, yellow squash, beans, corn, sweet potatoes, and anything else you can pull or dig out of the garden. Simmer these vegetables until they are completely soft, then strain and set the solids aside to puree later for another soup. Use the super-vegetable broth to make a more nutritious chicken noodle soup. Add even more nutrition by choosing whole wheat, spinach, or sun-dried tomato noodles. Your child gets the beloved chicken noodle soup, and you get the satisfaction of knowing it's loaded with nutrition.

Sweet Surprise Soup

Take a dessert or sweet side dish and turn it into soup. Pumpkin is a good example of a vegetable that most kids equate with dessert. Use plain canned pumpkin and flavor with spices and a pinch of sugar to taste. Or, you can dice a cooking (sugar) pumpkin and simmer until tender, then puree until smooth. Add a swirl of heavy cream to the top of the bowl for a pretty soup presentation, and sprinkle with cinnamon or allspice. You can also use sweet potatoes in the same way, mimicking a sweet potato casserole. Add a generous sprinkling of crushed pecans to complete this nutritious soup that also happens to be just sweet enough to please a picky eater.

Look at your kids' eating habits right now. No matter what they like to eat, you can usually find a way to re-create those eating habits into new healthier habits. It takes a bit of imagination and, let's admit it, a bit of trickery, but it's all worth it. Soon you'll be feeding your kids healthy soups they will actually eat, and enjoy!

Recipe: Healthy Homemade Fish Sticks

Do your kids love fish sticks, but you hate thinking of all the grease they are fried in?  Try this tasty homemade baked version that will make both you and the kids happy! You can also freeze these and reheat them later for a quick meal when you're pressed for time.

Healthy Homemade Fish Sticks
(Serves 4-6.)

Ingredients:

Fish sticks. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tartar Sauce:
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp finely chopped pickles or pickle relish
sprinkle of dried dill, optional

Fish Sticks:
1 lb firm white fish, cut into finger-size strips
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 tsp garlic powder
dash cayenne
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 egg whites
1 whole large egg
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:

• Make the tartar sauce first: Put the sour cream, chopped pickles, and dill in a bowl and stir to combine then cover and refrigerate.

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and put a cooking rack on a baking sheet.
• In a blender or food processor, combine the cornmeal, almonds, garlic powder, and cayenne, pulsing until a fine consistency. Pour out into a shallow dish; set aside.
• In another shallow dish, stir together the whole wheat flour and black pepper; set aside.
• In another shallow dish, whisk together the egg whites, whole egg, and lemon juice; set aside.
• Arrange the shallow dishes in this order - flour, egg, cornmeal.
• Dip each fish strip into the flour first, then the egg, then the cornmeal, shaking off excess in between each, then laying on the rack covered baking sheet.
• Repeat until all fish is coated.
• Bake fish in preheated oven for 15 minutes, flipping carefully with tongs once during the cooking time.
• Remove and let cool slightly on the rack before serving with the tartar sauce you prepared earlier.

Cooking for Little Ones

Cooking for toddlers and growing children presents some unique challenges along the way. While you want to provide them with those ever so important nutrients, it is often difficult to get them to eat those foods that are best for their growing bodies. We are all probably well aware of the food pyramid and the number of servings our children need of healthy grains, proteins, fruits, vegetables, and calcium products. Getting them to eat these nourishing foods is another matter all together unfortunately.

Image via WikipediaThe good news when cooking for children is that you do not necessarily need to incorporate all the important nutrients into every meal. The truth of the matter is that raw cucumbers, thinly sliced and sprinkled with salt, make a much healthier snack than potato chips and many little ones actually love this for a snack. You get a vegetable in their system and they are getting a treat at snack time. The same holds true for melon and cantaloupes. These make excellent snacks and can also be a great and healthy part of the diet for little ones.

When it comes to cooking for little ones, however man, woman, and child cannot live on macaroni and cheese alone. (It's been tried and tested and failed miserably.)  Try mixing things up whenever you can while keeping meals kid-friendly. It is important that you try to introduce whole grains, proteins, and vegetables whenever possible at meal times around your home.

Cooking healthier meals for kids is now easier than ever before. Fresh fruits and vegetables are best whenever possible. However, if you cannot manage fresh, you should avoid canned (fruits especially as they are often swimming in sugary sweetness) whenever possible. Frozen is far preferable to canned when it comes to both fruit and vegetables, as there are often fewer additives, and frozen foods are often frozen soon after picking, preserving many nutrients which may be lost from canned foods during processing.

If you need some great meal ideas that are kid-friendly and easy on the budget, you can often find recipes readily available online. You can meet your child's calcium and dairy product needs by adding milk as the drink of choice for meals or a slice of (REAL - NOT "American") cheese melted over their favorite vegetable. Ice cream, yogurt, and pudding also make excellent calcium rich treats, in moderation of course.

Image via WikipediaEncourage your children to try new things rather than cooking the same few meals over and over again that you know they are likely to eat. This prevents two things from happening. First of all, it helps you not to get bored when cooking for your children. Second, it allows your children to try new flavors and textures and form opinions about them. By trying new things they will learn not only about the things they dislike but also the foods they really enjoy. And they are more likely to grow up to become adults with a more adventurous (and healthy) palate when they are out on their own and cooking for themselves!

You should also keep in mind that your children are people too when cooking for them. Just as you have foods you like and dislike, they also will develop tastes over time. Those tastes may also change in time as well. It's frustrating, I know, to spend time and money preparing a meal only to have your child push the plate away and refuse to even try the meal. For this, I recommend enlisting their help in the kitchen. Children are much more likely to eat the things they had a hand in preparing as a matter of accomplishment and pride. (It's psychological warfare I know but all is fair in war and dinnertime!)

Perhaps the greatest gift you can give yourself (much greater than the help in the kitchen) by 'forcing' your little ones to help prepare dinner is that they will learn to better appreciate your culinary efforts and eat peacefully rather than sullenly. This tactic has met with great success in many households when cooking for little ones. I hope you will enjoy the same degree of success as well. (We'll talk more about cooking with your kids in our next post, so  be sure to check back later this week!)

Cooking Ideas for Kids: