Kid Friendly Healthy Recipes


FAMILY COD

This recipe is good for the whole family because the first step doesn’t include much seasoning (and no green stuff!) for the kids. The finishing step includes an herb crust for the adults giving it a great flavor boost. This is also good use of fresh leftover herbs and cheese used from a previous recipe.”

Ingredients
4 cod filets
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
Half bunch of herbs (pick 2-4 of your choice) mint, basil, tarragon, flat parsley, rosemary, etc.
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. grated parmesan, asiago and/or romano cheese

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 375°.

Season the cod filets with salt and pepper.

In a pan on medium heat, drizzle olive oil and sauté fish on each side until golden - approximately 4 minutes or until fish begins to flake. Remove from pan and place on paper towel to drain and cool. This is the portion served to children.

Flavor boost: add a couple of garlic cloves cut in half to the pan while cooking fish.

In a food processor, mix all the herbs of choice, bread crumbs, garlic clove, cheese and enough olive oil to blend well (create a consistency similar to pesto sauce).

Place herb blend on top of fish and bake in oven for 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Drizzle finished fish with olive oil.

Side dish suggestions: steamed broccoli with couscous or spinach rice.


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SHORT RIBS


“This recipe can be adjusted based on the amount of short ribs used. They usually come in large packages so I split it up by cooking some of the short ribs now and then freezing rest. This is also a good last minute recipe, even if the ribs are frozen because they thaw out quickly in warm water and you only need to marinate them for one hour. These can be made in your broiler or on the barbecue grill. You can even baste them with barbecue sauce to boost the flavor while grilling or serve the children with the marinated version and serve the adults the barbecued ones.”

Ingredients
8 Short ribs
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp. seasoned salt
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
2 Tbsp. honey
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Combine all ingredients and marinate ribs for at least one hour.

Preheat broiler or grill.

Place short ribs in broiler or on grill and cook for 10 minutes or until desired doneness. Keep in mind they are very thin and will cook (and char) quickly. I typically don’t turn them over, one side cooked will cook through to the bottom side, unless you desire to do so.


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 MEAT BALLS


I like this recipe because I can season all of the meat at once using only what I need for now and then storing the rest in the fridge or freezer for other recipes later.”


Ingredients
1 lb. ground meat (turkey or beef)
½ tsp. seasoned salt
½ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. flax seed meal
½ tsp. dried basil
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. dried thyme
3-4 sprigs fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 squirt mustard
spray oil


Directions
Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine all ingredients together in a plastic ziplock bag, seal bag and mix well.

Spray cookie sheet with oil.

Spoon out portions of the meat mixture into your hands to form desired size meat balls. (I make small balls the size of large marbles for the kids and larger balls for the adults the size of a lime.) Place balls on cookie sheet.

Make desired amount of balls.

Bake for 25 minutes, turning once if desired.

Seal bag and store remaining meat mixture in fridge for up to 3 days or freeze.


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SPINACH RICE

This is a good recipe for the whole family because you can take the rice and add ground meat (turkey or beef) and stuff into bell peppers to be steamed or grilled (be sure to grill the peppers first before stuffing, add the rice stuffing mix and back for 15 minutes to let the pepper flavors blend with the rice stuffing).”


Ingredients
2 cups steamed rice
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2-3 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
5 mushrooms, chopped into pieces
1 clove garlic, chopped
Olive oil
Seasoned salt (or sea salt) and pepper

Directions
Drizzle pan with olive oil. Add garlic and mushrooms sauté until they begin to soften.

Add remaining ingredients to pan until well heated.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

My kids love soy sauce and I add it to the rice as an extra flavor boost.

The vegetables in this recipe can also be substituted with others such as zucchini, finely shredded carrots, etc. This recipe is also good for any ‘stray’ leftover vegetables.

Also, parsley is said to be higher in iron than spinach and if chopped small enough the kids never know it exists!

add ground meat (beef or turkey) and stuff into bell peppers for the grown-ups.


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CHICKEN TENDERS

“These chicken tenders can be cut up and placed in a salad for the adults.”

Ingredients
1 chicken breast or pre-cut raw chicken tenders
1 cup bread crumbs (see recipe in Gift Ideas section)
1 egg, beaten
2 cloves garlic, cut in half
Olive oil

Directions
Cut up chicken breast into thin strips or use pre-cut raw chicken tenders (no need to cut further).

Dip in egg. Cover with bread crumbs.

Heat olive oil and garlic in medium/high skillet.

Cook chicken until golden. Turn and cook on other side until golden.

Drain chicken tenders on paper towels before serving.


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Homemade bread crumbs

Ingredients
4 slices of bread (this recipe is a good use of bread ends) or 2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. flax seed meal
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. dried basil
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper

Directions
If using slices of bread, place in food processor until completely crumbled (this may need to be done in batches).

Combine all ingredients.

Place in decorative clear cellophane bags and tie with decorative ribbon.

Store in ziplock bag in freezer.


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EGGPLANT & Zucchini Coins

“My 6 year old loves this recipe and it has become one of his favorites.”

Ingredients
Bread Crumbs (see recipe in Gift Ideas section)
1 Japanese eggplant
1 zucchini
1 egg, beaten
Olive oil spray


Directions
Preheat oven to 380°.

Slice eggplant and zucchini into  ¼ inch thick coins widthwise.

Coat with egg on both sides.

Cover with bread crumbs. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before cooking.

Lay the eggplant and zucchini on an ungreased baking pan and generously coat each side with cooking spray.

Cook for 15 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crisp.

Let cool on paper towel.


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JAMAICAN RICE AND PEAS

Ingredients
1 package of rice (Uncle Bens converted rice or similar brand is good for this recipe)
½ cup red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 stalks green onions, cut in half
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 small package dried coconut powder
2-3 dash salt

Directions
Cook rice according to package.

When rice is cooked halfway, stir in coconut powder, salt and beans.

Place green onions and thyme on top of rice and cover. Simmer until rice is cooked. If rice appears to be too moist, place a sheet of aluminum foil on top of rice and cover until rice is cooked and moisture has evaporated.

Stir and serve!


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EASY (GUILT-FREE) MAC & CHEESE


“This is a good recipe while traveling with the kids when getting them to eat veggies can be challenging.”

Ingredients
Use your favorite mac and cheese recipe, either homemade or packaged
2-3 tsp. orange colored baby food such as sweet potato, carrot, or winter squash


Directions
Prepare mac & cheese per package directions.

Mix with baby food.

Serve (kids will never know you added the veggies - as long as they don’t see you do it. My kids will no longer like the taste of mac & cheese without the baby food!)

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BRAISED BROCCOLI

“This recipe is how I got my kids to eat broccoli!”

Ingredients
Broccoli
Olive Oil
1 clove garlic, sliced thinly
Soy sauce, optional


Directions
Heat pan and drizzle with olive oil.

Add broccoli and garlic. Sauté until broccoli softens. It may brown a little but be careful not to burn. Stir constantly.

Serve with soy sauce if desired.


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Roasted Lamb

“This recipe was created for Christmas dinner and it was so good I decided it will be my annual holiday tradition to be remembered by family for years to come... This is great for the rotisserie oven because it is constantly basting but if you place the lamb in a conventional oven be sure to baste often.”

Ingredients
3-4 lb. boneless leg of lamb
2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, remove stems
¼ bunch fresh parsley
½ bunch fresh mint
4 cloves garlic
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Butcher’s twine

Directions
Place all ingredients, except lamb, in food processor and blend until well chopped.

Rub herb mixture on lamb. Place in ziplock bag along with any extra any mixture. Let marinate overnight.

Preheat oven to 325°.

Tie lamb with butcher’s twine to hold meat together.

Place lamb in rotisserie oven per the pound/time instructions. If using conventional oven, Bake uncovered for 2-3 hours or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a meat thermometer should read 145°; medium, 160°; well-done 170°).

Let stand 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Tip: If you are worried about dryness put the roast on the top shelf and place another baking tray full of water on the bottom shelf in oven. The water will stop it from drying out.


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BAKED PASTA

Ingredients
1 lb. ground turkey or beef
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 - 8 oz. container ricotta cheese
½ cup mozzarella
1 package pasta (bow ties, fussili, penne, etc.)
1 jar favorite pasta sauce
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan or Romano cheeses, optional

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.

Cook pasta as directed on package, drain and set aside.

Drizzle olive oil in pan and heat to cook ground meat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Once finished cooking, drain any excess oil from meat.

Mix all ingredients together in baking dish with half the cheese (the boys help mix all the ingredients together). Sprinkle remaining cheeses on top.

Bake for 45 minutes. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.













1 comment:

  1. Wow, thanks, my daughter loved the eggplant and zuccini coins. Great way to make veggies not boring! Next, I'll the brocolli!

    ReplyDelete