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Cooking With Your Children

Kid-Friendly Recipes

Here are a few recipes that your children should enjoy making - and eating.

Perfect Pita Pizza

Journal as: 2 slices of bread + 2 ounces of low-fat cheese (plus any toppings you use)
OR 1 light frozen dinner
OR 1 veggie burger without added fat.

This pizza can be assembled by children of any age, though the baking needs to be done by someone aged preteen to adult.

1 large pita bread (use whole-grain if available)
1/8 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1/8 cup bottled pizza sauce or marinara sauce
1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Favorite pizza toppings (sliced mushrooms, less-fat pepperoni or lite salami, chopped green pepper or green onions, chopped red onion, pineapple chunks, and lean ham, etc.)

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place pita, rounded side down, on a baking sheet.
• Spread ricotta cheese over the pita (leaving a crust-like edge around the pita). Spoon the pizza sauce over the cheese and add desired toppings. Sprinkle mozzarella over the top and bake for 6-8 minutes (watch carefully so it doesn't burn).

Yield: 1 serving

Per serving (using whole-wheat pita and not including extra toppings): 256 calories, 16 g protein, 29.5 g carbohydrate, 8.8 g fat, 4.7 g saturated fat, 24 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 492 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 30%.

Garden Stuffed Potatoes

Journal as: 1/2 cup "starchy food and legumes with fat" + 1/2 cup vegetables without added fat + 1 ounce low-fat cheese
OR 1 cup hearty stew.

This recipe can work for kids of all ages, though an older child or adult should work the microwave and an adult would need to handle the broiler. Younger kids could chop the green onions with a plastic knife, mix the potato and sour cream mixture together with a fork, and stuff the potato halves. Kids 5 and up could use the cheese grater, too.

2 large Russet baking potatoes
1 to 2 green onions (the white and part of the green), finely chopped
1/4 cup nonfat or light sour cream
1 tablespoon whipped butter or less-fat margarine
Black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon Italian herb blend
1/2 cup reduced-fat, shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder)
1 cup cooked, chopped broccoli florets

• Microwave or oven-bake (with adult supervision) potatoes until tender (don't forget to stab with a fork a few times before cooking). Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients (except broccoli) with a fork.
• Carefully, with adult supervision, cut potatoes in half and scoop out the center, leaving about 1/2 inch of potato around the skin. Add the scooped-out potato and the broccoli pieces to the mixture in the bowl. Mix with fork, then spoon into potato halves.
• Microwave each potato half on HIGH for about 1 minute or broil (with adult supervision) all the potato halves until lightly brown on top.

Yield: 4 side servings

Per serving: 205 calories, 10 g protein, 32 g carbohydrate, 5 g fat, 3 g saturated fat. 15 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 150 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 21%.

Quick Bruschetta

Journal as: 1 slice bread + 1/2 cup "vegetables with 1 tsp. fat."

This recipe is appropriate for children of all ages, if they use a plastic knife to cut the tomatoes and an adult helps them with the toaster.

3 fresh, ripe Roma tomatoes
4 fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano flakes)
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder)
4 slices sourdough, French or country-style bread, about 1/2-inch thick
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

• Wash the tomatoes, then cut down the middle with a plastic knife and remove most of the seeds and juice. Chop into small pieces, and add to small bowl.
• Tear or chop basil into small pieces, then add to tomatoes in bowl, along with the oregano and garlic.
• Toast bread slices to desired brownness. Spoon the tomato mixture evenly over the toasted bread slices, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the top of each tomato-topped bread slice.

Yield: 4 servings

Per serving: 146 calories, 3.5 g protein, 19.5 g carbohydrate, 6.4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1.5 g fiber, 181 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 39%.

Egg Mock-Muffin Sandwich

Journal as: 2 slices bread + 1 egg alone without added fat + 1 ounce low-fat cheese
OR 1 light frozen dinner
OR 1 sandwich and burger lean meat

This recipe is best for pre-teens and up (aged 10 and older), but younger kids could whisk the egg mixture and help toast the muffins in a toaster.

2 English muffins, toasted
1 large egg
1/4 cup egg substitute
2 slices Canadian bacon
2 empty tuna cans (or similar cans), washed and label removed
2 slices less-fat American or cheddar cheese slices
Freshly ground pepper
Canola cooking spray

• Coat half of a 9" or 10" nonstick frying pan with canola cooking spray and heat over medium heat (with adult supervision). In a small bowl, beat the egg with egg substitute with a fork or whisk and set aside.
• Place Canadian bacon in the pan, over the sprayed area. Spray the inside of the tuna cans with canola cooking spray, and set on the nonsprayed side of the frying pan to start heating. When bottom side of the bacon is light brown, flip over and cook other side until light brown. Remove bacon from pan and set aside.
• Pour 1/4 cup of the egg mixture into each tuna can. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper to taste. When the surface of the egg begins to firm, cut around the inside of the cans with a butter knife to free the edges. Turn the eggs over with a cake fork (with adult supervision), and cook for one minute more. Remove eggs from can.
• To assemble each sandwich, layer an English muffin bottom with a slice of cheese, then an egg patty, a piece of Canadian bacon, and the muffin top.

Yield: 2 sandwiches

Per sandwich: 283 calories, 22 g protein, 27 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat, 3.9 g saturated fat, 2 g fiber, 808 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 30%.

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SOURCES: Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 105, No. 5, 2005. Circulation, 111: 1999-2012, 2005. Family Matters: Substance Abuse and The American Family, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, March 2005. Overweight in Children and Adolescents, the American Heart Association. Ross B. Brower, MD, deputy medical director, Adolescent Development Program, Weill Cornell Medical Center. Susan Moores, MS, RD, spokeswoman, American Dietetic Association,

Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, is the author of 25 books, including Someone's in the Kitchen with Mommy.

Medically updated July 2006.

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