Archive: food

The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge 2013

Fifty-four kids, ages 8 to 12, attended the second annual State Dinner, hosted at the White House by Michelle Obama. They were there on July 13 to celebrate winning the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge. At dinner, some of the winners’ healthy recipes, submitted by the kids that were affordable and easy, were served to the guests. A child and guardian from each state attended.

 

There were 54 winning dishes in total (one from each of the states and each U.S. territory). The recipes hit a wide variety of flavors, ingredients and courses. Some salad favorites included Colorado’s Nicholas Hornbostel de Moura e Silva’s sushi salad and Ingrid Gruber’s, from D.C., Inga Binga’s Salmon Salad. North Carolina’s Vijay Dey won with her famous spring rolls and Campbell Kielb, from Virginia, made the list with her orange-chicken lettuce wraps.

 

The winners were selected from over 1,300 entries. They shined and dined with one another, making new friends and supporting healthy eating around the country. The dinner was set to mirror official State dinners, allowing the kids to see what it’s like to be a world leader. Michelle thanked the kids and parents for their hard work and healthy leadership skills. President Obama even made a surprise visit.

 

The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge was founded to compliment Mrs. Obama’s Let’s Move campaign. Let’s Move focuses on making healthy food more available, in both schools and homes, and encouraging kids to stay physically active. The First Lady’s initiative is meant to fight obesity and teach healthy lifestyles in children, helping them lead healthier lives.

 

To try some of the winning recipes for yourself, download the 2013 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge Cookbook for free.

 

Sources:

-“Learn the Facts” Let’s Move: http://www.letsmove.gov/learn-facts/epidemic-childhood-obesity

-“Announcing the winners of the 2013 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge” http://www.recipechallenge.epicurious.com/

-“2013 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge Cookbook” http://www.epicurious.com/images/pdf/TheEpicuriousHealthyLunchtimeChallengeCookbook2013.pdf

-“The 2013 Kids’ State Dinner” Let’s Move: http://www.letsmove.gov/kids-state-dinner

-“The 5 Best Moments from the 2013 Kids’ State Dinner” The White House Blog: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/07/09/5-best-moments-2013-kids-state-dinner

-Photo courtesy of Damian Brandon/freedigitalphotos.net

Creative Picnic Food for Kids

Are you looking to take your children on a summer picnic? Whether you’re munching at the park, in the woods or in your backyard, eating outside is always fun for children. Looking to spice up some snacks? Check out these creative ideas for picnic food for kids:

 

Ants on a log

Stick with this classic favorite. Wash and chop some celery, spread some peanut butter on each stick and drop a few raisins on top. For a fun twist, make fire ants on a log by using dried cranberries instead of raisins.

 

Melon straws

Cut small squares or scoop small spheres of watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe. Then, string the melon chunks onto colorful straws. Kids will love the new, fun way to eat fruit.

 

ABC pasta salad

Make your favorite pasta salad, but replace the regular noodles with ABC noodles. You’ll have a lunch that’s both tasty and educational!

 

Sandwich shapes

Make some simple meat and cheese, peanut butter and jelly or veggie sandwiches, but make them in shapes. Use a few large cookie cutters to cut the bread and sandwich toppings. This is also a favorite for kids who don’t want to eat the bread crust.

 

Cucumber cups

Chop a fat cucumber into two to three inch thick slices. Use a melon scooper to scoop the inside out and fill them with a mixture of hummus and chopped bell peppers.

 

Pickle rolls

For a leaner option than the classic ham and pickle rolls, use turkey. Spread low fat cream cheese on thin slices of turkey and roll a pickle in the middle. Then chop into bite-sized pieces. To make the snack even healthier, ditch the pickles. Try replacing them with other crunchy veggies such as strips of bell pepper or cucumber.

 

Water bottles

An afternoon in the sun means higher risk of dehydration so remember to pack plenty of water before heading out.

 

Sources:

-“Picnic Food for Kids: Quick and Easy No Fuss Foods Kids Will Love” Hubpages: http://gabrielwilson.hubpages.com/hub/Picnic-food-for-kids

-“Picnic Food Kids will Love: Pack a Safe and Healthy Basket” parents.com: http://www.parents.com/recipes/familyrecipes/quickandeasy/picnic-food-kids-will-love-pack-a-safe–healthy-basket/#page=1

-“Picnic Ideas Gallery” Spoonful: http://spoonful.com/recipes/picnic-gallery

-Photo courtesy of Michelle Meiklejohn/freedigitalphotos.com

Animal Themed Snacks

Teaching your kids about animals? There’s no better way than using tasty treats. Check out these fun, animal themed snacks:

 

Bear S’mores

Put a fun twist on s’mores by making them into little bears. Break the graham cracker in half so that you have a square. This will be the head. Take two mini marshmallows and melt them so that you have two gooey dots in the two upper corners of the square. These are the ears. Then take a regular sized marshmallow and melt it near the bottom center of the square. Add a chocolate chip on top for the nose and use chocolate syrup to draw the mouth on the big marshmallow. Place two chocolate chips under the ears to represent the eyes. Then chow down on your bear-themed s’mores.

 

Animal Pancakes

You can create virtually any animal from giraffes to bees out of pancake batter. All you need is a squirty tube to help you create intricate designs on the pan (think the dressing squirters at Subway) and your regular old pancake batter. If you want to get super creative, add a few drops of food coloring to the batter to make peacocks blue and green or ladybugs red. Check out JimsPancakes.com for ideas!

 

 

Fruit Frogs

Make a healthy snack by turning apples and grapes into green fruit frogs. Use a core-remover to get rid of the center of a green apple. Then, cut the apple into fourths. Using a couple dabs of cream cheese to prop two of the pieces on top of each other horizontally. This is the frog’s body. Then take three green grapes and chop them in half. Cut slits that represent toes in four of them. Use cream cheese to stick two feet near the center and two feet on either side of the body, underneath the plain-sliced grape halves. Next, use a little cream cheese to glue two mini marshmallows on top of the body with a chocolate chip inside of each one for the eyeballs. Ribbit!

 

Sources:

-“Traceee Young” Pinterest

-“Apple Frogs” Clean and Sentsible

-Photo courtesy of Feelart/freedigitalphotos.net

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