Healthy "Summer" Dinners & Snacks

Also wanted to mention that the tortilla roll-up is all of the sudden very popular here. PB and J or cheese and turkey- really whatever you want on the tortilla and roll it up- the kids can carry it easily and it dosnt squish like a sandwich.

OP- One thing that helps me match meals to our activities ( like knowing your Dh will be umping that night or whatever) is to do a meal plan. I use a calendar and just jot in the recipe name and where it is ( ie: what cook book pg etc) That way DH and I both know what we are having and it helps with the grocery shopping as well.
 
I agree MHM - I often make my dd's sandwiches on hot dog rolls but that PB bananna is a great one :) I rollup with chicken or turkey breast and cheese to place in the hot dog roll or fill with tuna or chicken salads, they are a great size for kids. They also hold up very well in a lunchbox.

I also do my own "uncrustables" with whole wheat bread pj and jam or honey and cut them with a cookie cutter. Pampered chef also has a round press that makes them come out just like an uncrustable.

TJ

That is a great idea. I never thought about using a hot dog roll. I will definately have to do that...:banana:
 
I love the hot dog bun idea with other stuff. They are definitely easier for DD to handle. I do need to do a meal plan - and I need to make sure I always have a list when I go to the store. It not only will help me save money...but it will also keep me from going to the store and spending $100 on a ton of food where nothing goes together :rotfl:
 
I love the hot dog bun idea with other stuff. They are definitely easier for DD to handle. I do need to do a meal plan - and I need to make sure I always have a list when I go to the store. It not only will help me save money...but it will also keep me from going to the store and spending $100 on a ton of food where nothing goes together :rotfl:

I still haven't figured out how to do that!:rolleyes1
 

I love this thread and the great ideas I got. I love the hot dog bun with the banana and pb and the frozen Gogurt. I haven't tried those yet. Right now I buy the SF popsicles and they think those are great on a very hot day. It's nice to give them variety.

The only things they can get on their own is the fruit on the counter (apples-green/red and bananas). I keep grapes, oranges, nectarines, cucumber slices, and carrots in the bottom drawer and they grab when I approve. They can't take those when they want, but they do get a choice when I tell them it's o.k.

All the other snacks like, goldfish, baked Lays chips, graham crackers, 100 cal snack pack cookies and Wheat Thins are kept way on the top shelf of the pantry, so I have control on when they eat those.

I'm still working on some things, like keeping ice cream out of the house and other high fat desserts. The only reason is because I'll eat them and I want my kids to learn that those should be eaten on birthdays and during a special occasion or trip to the ice cream shop. Not an all the time thing. We even skip dessert at the restaurants and come home and have some fruit when our tummies settle.

I think the OP has hopes that her children can lead a healthy lifestyle growing up. Don't we all want that? It's hard to change the way I eat to fit the way I want my kids to eat. I want it to be a monkey see, monkey do type thing. If they see me eating right, I would hope that would impact them to make the right choices.

Good luck to all the parents out there that try to make healthy choices for our kids!
 
lots of great suggestions already!

if you belong to costco (or know someone that has a membership), you may want to check out some of their snack food...they've got plenty of organic or healthy "junk" options (veggie chips, pita chips, organic and all fruit "fruit rollups", etc). we, too, try to limit the amount of junk food that comes in the house, but costco makes it too easy to justify it!!

costco also has some reasonably healthy (all natural and preservative free or organic) prepared meal options, too. we get frozen spinach ravioli, thin crust pizza, apple and gouda chicken sausages (low fat and calories with no nitrates or nitrites to replace hot dogs) and veggie burgers.

one of our favorite snacks these days is "green bean french fries": we take fresh green beans and mix them with parmesan cheese and a bit of salt and pepper. we spray a pan with Pam, put the beans on it, then put a light spray of Pam over the beans. in the oven for about 20-25 mins at 425. my 3 4 y.o.s will eat an entire plate of them in minutes.

another snack that we make once every few weeks is peanut butter play dough...i think the recipe is 1 c. peanut butter, 1/2 c. (or is it 3/4 c?) dry milk, and 1/4 c. honey. i don't know the recipe because my kids and i just mix it all together until it feels right. they made it today, played with it for about 1/2 hr (with some snacking), then i gave them apple slices to put their playdough decorations on and eat. it is A LOT of peanut butter in the mix, but we divide the mix into 3 and then i monitor how much they eat, and it turns out to be no more than a few tablespoons, usually (about a serving size).

other fun healthy snacks here are soybeans still in the pod (great fun to pop out) and fruit juice freezer pops.

i have also found that my 3 will be more interested in the "usual"fresh veggies if cut differently once in a while. i have a julienne slicer, one of those vidalia onion choppers (LOVE this for fruit salad!), and i just tonight bought a mandolin slicer.

fruit smoothies are popular at our house this week, too...whatever fresh and/or frozen fruits we have around plus a big drizzle of honey and some ice cubes in the blender.

we also do a lot of veggie bread here (carrot, zucchini, pumpkin). i make 2-3 batches at a time and freeze loads of it. to make it (and pretty much most other baked goods), we use 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat flour (and i throw wheat germ and flax seeds into the food proccessor with some of the wheat flour and measure that in with the wheat flour, too). i also substitute egg whites for eggs, applesauce or plain yogurt (or a mix of both) for oil or butter, and i use less sugar than called for....this changes the texture and taste of the breads/cookies/pancakes, but we've gotten used to it and it makes for guilt free snacking for us.

as for meals, we do as P.P.s and grill 2 nights' worth of chicken at a time- the first night for a grilled chicken meal, the 2nd night i slice up the chicken and mix with peppers and onions for fajitas.

looking forward to other ideas!

happy summer!
 
I think the OP has hopes that her children can lead a healthy lifestyle growing up. Don't we all want that? It's hard to change the way I eat to fit the way I want my kids to eat. I want it to be a monkey see, monkey do type thing. If they see me eating right, I would hope that would impact them to make the right choices.

Good luck to all the parents out there that try to make healthy choices for our kids!

This is exactly it....and I'm working on my own eating to try and make it a "do as I do" not "do as I say". I need to lose weight and I think that being in that situation makes me even more inclined to try and teach healthy habits so dd never has to struggle with that.

I have loved the ideas mentioned on here. Thanks everyone. Hopefully will have more input with some really good ideas.
 
Here is a website you might want to try. This is actually a subscription service, but she offers free trial versions on this page that you can try and it's a neat concept.

You get 4-6 recipes each week along with a ready-to-go shopping list. I did a free one and then signed up for a 3 month trial of the crock pot one and the recipes have all been good so far. It's nice to have stuff on hand for rainy nights. I am trying to heat up the kitchen as little as possible this summer! ;)

http://www.savingdinner.com/menu_mailer/free_dinner_menu.html
 














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