Home Organization Skills by Jan Ferrante

Trying to make healthy kid's meals at our house is always a challenge.

Spaghetti is an issue in our house. My kids like to eat it. 2 out of 3 of them like it with sauce.

That's a good thing.

The bad thing is that they like nothing in it. They like it straight from the can.

While it is still nutritious and tastes ok, it is nothing like the spaghetti I used to make, and they even used to like back in the dark ages when they where young and impressionable.

I miss my spaghetti! And I miss the added nutrition of a few extra veggies in the sauce.

So I decided to get sneaky today. It's something I've done before with mixed success.

HEALTHY MEALS FOR KID'S - A LA MY TRUSTY BLENDER

Honestly, I don't have any idea how I would live without my blender. It is my friend when everyone else says "I'm not eating that!".

I decided to put it to good use.

I chopped up some celery, threw in a handful of onion sprouts (wow! try a bit plain, if you like hot onions that is) and a big handful of baby spinach. Added in a little water so that it would blend and voila - green stew to add to the spaghetti sauce.

But I didn't stop there.

PACK A DOUBLE HEALTH WHAMMY WITH GROUND SEEDS 

Pumpkin seeds are extremely nutritious and will help to thicken a stew.

I got out my trusty coffee grinder, my other best kitchen helper and ground up a handful.

NOTE: Be sure to grind well or pick out the big pieces. They won't know they are there unless they spy a partial seed - then it's game over.

I tossed it in, mixed well.

It does make the colour a little brown when it's mixed. So be aware if you try this at home.

It helps to sprinkle a generous amount of Parmesan cheese on and have them ready to eat it right away. It tastes better hot and that way the cheese doesn't sink in before they see it. Or you can just say you have a new brand of spaghetti sauce, in a way, it's true.

I was taking a chance on taste, but I liked it so much that I had two plates with extra sauce.

My kids ate it without complaint. Believe me, that is a milestone in this house. They can spot an minced vegetable at a thousand paces. It's been that way ever since I shredded the cabbage and baked it in a spice cake. It wasn't half bad - really!

All in all, I'd call it a success.

If you are looking at ways to pack a nutritious power punch to your children's snacks and meals - don't forget your blender and your coffee grinder.

HEALTHY KID'S MEALS TIPS:

• If you are adding blended veggies, add them at the last possible moment to preserve nutrition.
• And rinse the blender ASAP and put away. Nothing will tip them off faster than a green blender. This way you can avoid the question "What did you add this time?". If they don't ask, you don't have to lie.
• Check out these websites - In Lisa's Kitchen for some great tips for kids and Really Raw Food for recipes that really pack a nutritional punch.
• Nothing will increase your healthy meals for kid's success factor better than making meal planning and preparing ahead a habit. Our meal planning guide -  Meal Time On Time will help you do that. Grab your free meal planning ecourse while your there.

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