Healthy Recipes for Kids

It's great for kids to discover the pleasure of consuming a delicious dish that they've made themselves. Younger children will need some help with cutting, blending and using the stove, but older ones will soon get the hang of basic cooking techniques – and these are skills that they'll use for life. Cakes are good to start with, but soups, pizzas, curries and other main courses are all very achievable, and oh, so satisfying. Give these healthy recipes a try, soon.

Do you have a healthy recipe for kids to share, or a tip to get children eating healthily?

Healthy recipes for kids: soup

ZESTY CARROT SOUP

650g (3 cups) carrots, peeled and sliced, 2 cloves garlic, crushed, grated zest of 1 orange, juice of 1 lemon, 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) orange juice

Bring 300ml (1 1/4 cups) water to the boil in a large pan and add the carrots, garlic, orange zest and juice. Simmer for 20 mins, or until the carrots are soft.Add the lemon juice. Allow to cool a little, then blend until smooth.Return to the pan and reheat, thinning with another 300ml (1 1/4 cups) water or milk, until just below boiling.

Healthy recipes for kids: pizza snack

MINI PIZZAS

These are a very user-friendly size, and fun to make. It's amazing how much topping you can pile on to one little pizza...

1 wholemeal muffin per person, tomato passata

Toppings
sliced mozzarella, or grated cheese
black olives, stoned and sliced into rings
red or yellow peppers, sliced into fine rings
chopped ham
canned tuna, drained and flaked
canned sweetcorn, drained
baby mushrooms, sliced
fresh pineapple, cut into thin chunks

Toast the whole muffins on both sides under the grill, the cut them in half. Spread tomato passata over the cut sides. Arrange your toppings on the tomato sauce, ending with cheese, then grill again until the cheese is melted.

Healthy recipes for kids: lunch box idea

PITTAS STUFFED WITH ROASTED VEG

You can use the vegetables cold to make a pitta filling for lunch boxes.

Selection of mixed vegetables, cut into thick slices or chunks. You can use aubergine, peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms or courgettes. Olive oil,sprigs of fresh herbs, such as thyme or rosemary,wholemeal pittas

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Put the prepared vegetables into a roasting tin, scatter over the herbs, and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for about 20 mins, turn the vegetables over, and roast for another 10-15 minutes until tender and browned.Allow to cool a little, before tucking the veg into pitta breads. You can add a spoonful of hummus to each pitta for a more substantial filling.

Healthy recipes for kids: simple curry

EASY-PEASY CURRY

2 tbsp sunflower oil, 2-4 tsp curry paste, 1 onion, peeled and chopped, 225g (2 cups) button mushrooms, halved, 175g (1 1/2 cups)frozen peas, defrosted,125g (1/3 cup) natural yogurt,small bunch fresh coriander, washed and chopped

Serves 4: Heat the oil in a pan, and stir in the curry paste. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, then add the peas.Stir in the yogurt and simmer gently until the vegetables are cooked through. If too thick, add a little water. Stir through the chopped coriander. Serve with rice.

Healthy recipes for kids: Chinese-style treat

EGGY PRAWN CHOW MEIN

225g (1 2/3 cups) medium egg noodles, 2 tbsp sunflower oil, 1 bunch spring onions (scallions), shredded,1 carrot, peeled and grated, 100g (1/2 cup) broccoli, broken into tiny florets, 225g (1 1/3 cup) cooked, peeled prawns, 1 garlic clove, crushed, 2.5cm piece root ginger, peeled and grated, 4 eggs, beaten, 2 tbsp soy sauce

Serves 4

1. Boil the noodles for 4-5 minutes until tender, drain.
2. Heat half oil in a wok, and stir fry the spring onions, carrot, broccoli, prawns, garlic and ginger for 5 minutes.
3. Heat the remaining oil in a separate pan, and scramble the eggs lightly, then stir through the noodles. Add the soy sauce, and serve.

Healthy recipes for kids: quick and easy dessert

FRUITY KEBABS

A simple and very healthy do-it-yourself dessert. Fruit tastes even better, somehow, which it's consumed in bite-size chunks

Mixed fruit, peeled if necessary and cut into cubes. Try fresh pineapple, melon, banana, whole strawberries, apple, kiwi

Make these just before you want to eat them, otherwise some of the fruits will turn brown. Thread chunks of fruit on to wooden skewers. That's all there is to it. You can thread them at random, or in a sequence. A fresh, stoned cherry on the end looks pretty.

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