Tag: recipes

Summertime!

Hannah Carlozzi

5 Tips For Keeping Meals Easy and Stress-free This Summer

Summer is just around the corner. As the days grow longer and the temperatures rise, summer brings with it a unique set of challenges and opportunities, especially when it comes to feeding your family. From impromptu picnics to backyard barbecues, summer meals are all about embracing the season’s bounty and making the most of the warm weather. In this post, we’ll explore some tips and tricks for parents to set yourselves up for success with meals during the summer months.

  1. Embrace Flexibility
    Summer schedules can be unpredictable, with last-minute plans and spontaneous adventures. Embrace flexibility when it comes to meal planning and be prepared to adjust your menu accordingly. Keep a stock of pantry staples and versatile ingredients on hand for quick and easy meals that can be thrown together in a pinch. 
  1. Make Mealtime a Family Affair
    As kids find themselves with extra time on their hands, this is the perfect time to get them cooking by implementing a weekly dinner-night. If your children are too young to be responsible for a full meal, get them involved in meal preparation. Assign them age-appropriate tasks, such as washing and chopping vegetables, stirring a dressing, or setting the table. Not only will this help lighten your load in the kitchen, but it will teach your children life-long cooking skills. 
  1. Packable Picnic Meals
    Take advantage of the sunny weather by planning picnics and outdoor outings with the family. Packable picnic meals are perfect to enjoy on the go and can be customized to suit everyone’s tastes. Think sandwiches, pasta salads, and fruit packed in reusable containers. Leftover grilled chicken and vegetables can be repurposed for wraps or filling salads, and kids can get involved in the meal planning process by choosing their favorite snacks and treats to bring along.
  1. Fire Up the Grill
    Summer wouldn’t be complete without firing up the grill. Grilling lends a delicious smoky flavor to your food and saves on pots and pans and dishes. From burgers and hot dogs to grilled veggies and seafood, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Skewers of veggies like zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes, and peppers are a great way to take advantage of seasonal produce.
  1. Stay Hydrated
    Staying hydrated is essential during the hot summer months, especially when spending time outdoors. Keep your family cool and refreshed with homemade drinks like fruit-infused water, iced tea, or fruit smoothies. Get creative with flavor combinations using fresh herbs, citrus fruits, and berries. Plain seltzer can be spruced up with a splash of fruit juice and a squeeze of lime and made festive served in a large glass with crushed ice. Offering fruits and vegetables with a high water content like cucumber, watermelon, strawberries, and pineapple, is another delicious and refreshing way to stay hydrated. 

With a little planning and creativity, summer meals can be both easy, versatile and delicious. Embrace the season’s bounty, experiment with new recipes, and make mealtime a fun and enjoyable experience for the whole family. Whether you’re firing up the grill for a backyard barbecue or packing a picnic for a day at the beach, summer meals are all about making memories that will last a lifetime. So go ahead, soak up the sun, and savor every bite of the delicious meals that summer has to offer!

Are You Stuck in a Food Rut?

Hannah Carlozzi

Why Variety is Key in Feeding Kids

Do you find yourself sending your kids off to school with the same lunch in their backpack every single day? Having had the same breakfast as usual, and with a rotation of only a handful of dinners to look forward to? If that’s the case, you might find yourself stuck in a food rut!

In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it’s easy for parents to fall into a routine of serving the same few meals to their kids. After all, once you’ve identified meals that they will actually eat, it is understandable that those become go-to. However, variety is essential. It allows us to explore new flavors and textures and ensures that we are getting a diverse array of nutrients. Here are 5 tips to promote variety when feeding kids:

  1. Rotate Within Each Food Group

Aim to include 4-5 food groups in each meal and 2-3 for snacks (the food groups are fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy products). Each food group provides an array of essential nutrients that support growth, development, and overall health, and there are numerous options to choose from within each group. Offering a diverse assortment exposes children to a wide range of flavors, textures, and nutrients. It also prevents monotony and boredom with repeated meals and can help keep children interested and engaged.

For example, if your little one enjoys rice, try experimenting with couscous or quinoa. If yogurt is usually available, try cottage cheese or kefir. If your preschooler asks for sliced apples every day for snack, explore different varieties of apples. It is a great idea to take advantage of seasonal produce to add variety to your meals throughout the year. Using fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season can help create vibrant and flavorful dishes.

2. Change It Up

Get creative with how you prepare and present meals. For example, if you know your child enjoys mashed potatoes, serve them roasted next time. You can try out different cooking methods and experiment with grilling, roasting, steaming, sautéing, braising, or baking to bring out different flavors and textures in your ingredients.

3. Don’t Serve The Same Thing Twice

Do a quick scan as you plan meals, whether it is the day before or a few days out, and make an effort to plan meals with variation. Try basing dinner on a different main component every night of the week. For example, Monday: chicken, Tuesday: pork, Wednesday: vegetarian, Thursday: fish, Friday: beef, etc. You could also choose a different cuisine every evening. For example, Monday: Italian, Tuesday: Mexican (hello Taco Tuesday!), Wednesday: Thai, Thursday: Greek, etc. The same also works for breakfast; Monday: toast with eggs, Tuesday: yogurt parfait, Wednesday: cereal with fruit, Thursday: smoothie, Friday: pancakes, etc.

4. Try A New Recipe

Commit yourself to trying a new recipe on a regular basis. This may be once a week, twice a month or whatever your schedule and bandwidth allows for. Get inspiration from cookbooks, food magazines, and online food blogs. Experiment with recipes from different sources and adapt them to suit your taste preferences and cooking style. Recruit your children to help browse for recipes. When they are invested in the selection and cooking process, they are often more interested in trying it. Better yet, let the kids select and prepare the meal as much as their age and ability allows.

5. Keep Track of Favorites

Keep a running list of fan favorites from those new dishes. It is hard to please everyone, but once in a while you will come across a meal that everyone digs into happily, and you are going to want to remember that one! I keep a simple list in the notes section on my phone, and I will put that meal on the menu regularly though not often enough for everyone to get tired of it.

Adding variety to your meals takes some effort, but once you are in that mindset, even these steps become routine. To summarize, make sure you are regularly rotating through each food group instead of relying on the same few items, experiment with different ways of preparing or serving familiar foods, add variety by serving something different every day of the week, and make a commitment to regularly try new recipes. Happy cooking!