With school starting soon parents across the nation are bracing themselves to hear “I’m hungry. What can I have to eat?” just as soon as the kids slam the door shut after they’ve come home from school.
The challenge is finding foods that the kids (and the 10 friends they bring home with them) are nutritious and delicious, easy to make and won’t break the bank can be daunting.
The truth is that all children (regardless of the age or gender), benefit from spending time in the kitchen. Not only is it fun face time with the (gasp) parent, guaranteed to generate conversation but with the younger kidlets, it helps reinforce math skills, reading and comprehension skills, the spirit of cooperation with siblings they consider public enemy number 1 and sometimes even a smidgen of chemistry gets thrown in.
The older, dare I say more obnoxious teenagers, because they’re familiar with the kitchen tend to take the initiative and can, when nagged judicially, be convinced to actually make a meal for the entire family.
If all else fails, comfort yourself with the knowledge that following a recipe can also maybe, perhaps, if we’re lucky, develop the ability to follow directions (can’t have too much of that, can we).
And, as if all that weren’t enough, when all these lesson sinks in, kids are less likely to fight you about eating something (trust me, they find something else to fight about) if they’ve helped make it themselves.
No fast food, not too much sugar, and more importantly, snacks shouldn’t take longer to make than they do to eat.
2. Invention makes everything taste better so encourage them to experiment after they’ve got the original recipe down pat.
3. I try not to have them make snacks that require forks and or knives. It’s a proven kid fact that anything eaten with fingers tastes better. Spoons for some reason seem to be ok with most kids.
4. I try to keep basic ingredients, like fresh fruit, grated cheeses or cold cuts to pair with low fat baked chips, tortilla wraps or pita bread for microwavable snacks and rice cakes, granola bars or nuts for instant snacks.
Banana Fruit Ambrosia (dairy)
1 to 2 medium bananas, sliced
8-ounce can unsweetened pineapple tidbits, drained
1 large pear, peeled and diced
1/2 cup small seedless grapes
1/4 cup dark or golden raisins or diced dried apricots
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, optional
16 ounces (2 cups) vanilla low-fat yogurt
Place all the ingredients except the yogurt into separate, small bowls. Divide the yogurt among 4 to 6 individual serving bowls and let the kids add what ever they like to each bowl.
Peanut Butter Muffins (dairy)
1/4 cup banana (about 1 banana), mashed with a fork
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and then add the milk, mashed banana, peanut butter, oil, apple juice and dry milk. Mix until combined and creamy.
Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix again.
Line a muffin tine with paper liners or lightly spray with nonstick spray. Spoon in the muffin mix. Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 of the way up.
Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from muffin tin and cool them on the wire rack. Makes 12.
Mini Fruit Pizza (dairy)
1 18-ounce package (20 cookies) ready-to-bake refrigerated sugar cookies
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
10 fresh strawberries, quartered
1 kiwi fruit, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and cut into 10 slices
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
Bake cookies as directed on package. Cool 10 minutes or until completely cooled.
Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine cream cheese, limeade concentrate and powdered sugar; beat until smooth.
Spread each cooled cookie with 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture. Arrange fruit on top of each. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 hours. Makes 20.
Perked Up Mini Pizza (dairy)
4 English muffins, split in half
1/2 small green or red bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup ready made pizza or spaghetti sauce
2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese to sprinkle
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place muffin halves on a baking sheet. Spread each with about 2 teaspoons of sauce, spoon the tuna and pepper on top of each piece.
Sprinkle the cheeses over the top. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and muffin is crispy. Makes 8 pizzas.
Quick Chicken Quesadillas (meat)
12 (6- to 8-inch) whole-wheat tortillas
non-stick cooking spray
1 cup shredded cooked chicken or drained flaked white tuna
1/3 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup pareve sour cream
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Arrange 6 tortillas on baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Spread salsa on top of tortillas.
In a small bowl, combine chicken, black beans, corn and pareve sour cream. Spoon equal portions on top of tortillas. Top each with another tortilla, pressing to adhere.
Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until filling is heated through. Cut into wedges. Makes 6 quesadillas.
Note: You can substitute tuna for the chicken and cheddar cheese for the pareve cream cheese.
Peanut Butter Snack Attack (dairy)
3 tablespoons peanut butter
4 cups Chex cereal (assorted wheat and corn)
1 cup M&Ms, optional
Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Combine honey, butter and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until smooth.
In another bowl combine cereal, pretzels and peanuts. Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal mixture and toss to coat. Spread on baking sheet and bake for 1/2 hour. Remove from oven and cool.
Place mixture in a large bowl. Add M&Ms and mix to combine. Makes about 6 cups.
Fruit Wraps (dairy)
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 cup cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 apple chopped (leave on the skin)
2 medium bananas, sliced
6 tablespoons raisins or chopped dried apricots
In a bowl combine the cream cheese, honey and orange peel and apple. For each sandwich, spread 1 side of 1 tortilla with the cream cheese spread. Cover with half of 1 sliced banana and sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons raisins.
Roll tortilla up tightly; cut in half to serve. Repeat to make 3 more sandwiches. Sandwiches can be made up to 12 hours in advance, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated.
No-Bake Homework Cookies (dairy or pareve)
Crunchy noodles and raisins help when you need to tackle tons of homework.
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
2 cups chow mein or rice noodles
1-1/4 cups salted peanuts or pecans
Line two cookie sheets with waxed paper. Set aside.
Place chocolate chips and butterscotch chips together in 2-quart microwave-safe bowl and microwave at medium power for 1 1/2 to 4 minutes, until chocolate turns shiny.
Remove from microwave and stir until completely melted. Add chow mein noodles, peanuts and raisins to melted chocolate. Using rubber spatula, toss ingredients to coat well.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Place cookie sheets in refrigerator until cookies harden. Store in cold or cool place in airtight container.
Eileen Goltz is a kosher caterer, author of “The Perfectly Pareve Cookbook” (Feldheim), and a freelance kosher foods writer.
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