4 Fast and Easy Snacks For Kids

If you are a busy mom with small children, you know how tough it can be to find quick snacks to feed to your children. In our house, I avoid the easy choice of feeding potato chips, pretzels, candy bars and other store bought food to our daughter by preparing homemade snacks.

Yes, we should all be feeding our children healthy foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, but there is nothing wrong with letting them snack on crackers, cereal mixes and peanut butter fried tortillas. I believe foods such as these, should be given in moderation.

These 4 recipes have always been a favorite here in our house. You can easily prepare any of these recipes in just a few minutes.

Peanut Butter Banana Tortilla

1 flour tortilla

2-3 tablespoons peanut butter

1/2 banana, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons butter

Place butter in a frying pan and melt over low heat. Spread 2-3 tablespoons of peanut butter on one side of a tortilla, layer sliced banana on top. Fold tortilla in half, place in fry pan and lightly fry on each side for 1 minute or until lightly browned. Remove. Let cool and slice into wedges.

Cereal Snack Mix

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

12 oz. butterscotch chips

1 teaspoon butter

1 box of Chex cereal

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Place cereal in a large mixing bowl. Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips with butter in a large saucepan, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; pour mixture over cereal and mix well. Pour confectioner’s sugar over cereal. Cover bowl and shake until all ingredients are mixed.

Baked Mozzarella Bites

Mozzarella Cheese

crackers

Cut Mozzarella cheese to fit between 2 crackers and place on a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and put crackers with cheese in them into the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

Strawberry Cracker Sandwiches

1 teaspoon strawberry cream cheese

2 Ritz Crackers

1 teaspoon strawberry preserves

Spread cream cheese and strawberry preserves onto your cracker. Top with an additional cracker.



By: Shelly Hill

About the Author:

Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. Shelly enjoys cooking and baking for her family. You can visit Shelly online at: http://www.classybusinesswomen.com or her recipe blog at http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com

Why You Should Teach Your Child To Cook

Cooking with your child or children is a fun, no cost activity that will also teach your son or daughter very valuable life skills. Most, if not all kids love helping in the kitchen so you’ll want to encourage and take advantage of it. You’ll also be able to teach them about healthy eating habits.

Depending on the age of your child start with something simple, if they a very young let them make cinnamon toast. They can butter the toast and sprinkle on cinnamon and sugar. Another good first choice is making Saturday morning pancakes. Young children can help measure and mix and older children can bake them too.

There is a multitude of ways your children can help out in the kitchen. For example, even at a young age they can get ingredients out of the fridge or easy to reach cupboards, wash fruits and vegetables, tear salad greens, peel carrots with a safe vegetable peeler. As they get older they can try their hand at more difficult tasks.

Teach your budding gourmet some good basics recipes, cooking techniques and terms as well as kitchen safety. Additional life skills children can learn when cooking are fine motor skills like pouring, measuring and stirring, math skills like counting, adding and subtracting, reading, being organized, cleaning up, shopping, managing money, plus health and nutrition.

Once your child is old enough to read a recipe, manage a sharp knife and hot pots and pans he or she can make an entire meal all by themselves. This is a real bonus for working parents as meal times won’t be a such chore for you. Eventually your children can pitch in or even completely take over the daily task of making dinner!

We all learn best by example, by seeing how it’s done and by practicing doing things. Encourage your child to prepare their favorite meals and encourage them to make healthy choices. Just knowing how to cook means your child will be able to feed him or her self when they move out on their own. They won’t need to rely on fast food, take out, or unhealthy ready prepared food and they save money as well.

You might think it’s quicker or easier to do all the cooking and clean up yourself but you’ll be missing out on spending this special time with your child and the camaraderie that may develop between you. Not to mention the opportunity to teach them so many valuable life skills.



By: Melody Thacker

About the Author:

Melody Thacker is a Mother of four children who all learned to cook. She also creates informative web sites such as Just The Right Spice where you’ll find easy to follow how to cook articles and recipes. Love Homemaking has recipes and homemaking tips for busy Moms.

Great Information in Introducing Kids to Cooking

If you are considering cooking with children you need to make sure you have the proper ingredients on hand before beginning. You certainly do not want to be caught without that cup full of patience you will be requiring nor do you wish to need to leave in the middle of things for a run to the local grocery store to pick up the missing ingredients.

As if this wasn’t enough to absorb another very important rule when it comes to cooking with children is to clean as you go whenever possible. Trust me on this. While there is part of you who will want to put off the task of cleaning the messes that are made until later or wait till the end and only clean once, this allows the opportunity for messes to layer and compound themselves. Constantly clean throughout the process for the best possible results. For more details go to www.cajuns-recipes.com .You should enlist your children in the cleaning process as well. While it may be easier to do yourself, it is far more important to teach them the basics of cleaning as you go. Remember one day they will more than likely invade your kitchen while you’re not looking.

Cooking With the Little Ones in Mind

Cooking for toddlers and growing children presents some unique challenges along the way. While you want to provide them with those ever so important nutrients, it is often difficult to get them to eat those foods that are best for their growing bodies. We are all probably well aware of the food pyramid and the number of servings our children need of healthy grains, proteins, fruits, vegetables, and calcium products. Getting them to eat these nourishing products is another matter all together unfortunately.

Cooking healthier meals for kids is now easier than ever before. Fresh fruits and vegetables are best whenever possible. However, if you cannot manage fresh, you should avoid canned (fruits especially as they are often swimming in sugary sweetness) whenever possible. Frozen is far preferable to canned when it comes to both fruit and vegetables, as there are often fewer additives.

Perhaps the greatest gift you can give yourself (much greater than the help in the kitchen) by ‘forcing’ your little ones to help prepare dinner is that they will learn to better appreciate your culinary efforts and eat peacefully rather than sullenly. This tactic has met with great success in my household when cooking for little ones. I hope you will enjoy the same degree of success as well.

Quick plus Easy Lunches for the Cooking Challenged

First of all, not all great lunches require actual cooking in order to prepare. Some of them will require the use of the microwave and some of them will need to be cooked or at least prepared before hand and reheated. The choices are virtually limitless once you understand the creative concept that must be in place. You should also find that many of these ideas are so simple you will wonder why on earth you have never thought of them. I certainly hope that some of these ideas will become main features within your own home.

For more details go to www.apples-recipes.com .Try sandwiches with different breads. Believe it or not, my children love trying new things. It’s a rare trait for which I am extremely grateful. Believe me I understand all too well how fortunate I am. My youngest however, has a little difficulty with thick or crusty bread. Her favorite sandwich choice has become Hawaiian sweet rolls. We put the meat, cheese, mustard, and pickle in her roll as if it was a bun and she’s thrilled. Other great ideas include hollowing out crusty rolls and filling them with roast beef and cheddar. You can broil this in your oven for a few minutes for a rare sandwich treat. The cooking part is very minimal and you do not have to have in depth knowledge of anything to prepare or enjoy these simple treats. Other great bread ideas include croissants with ham and cheese or chicken salad, taco pitas (another great favorite in our household), and patinas (this works really well if you have a George Foreman grill or a panning press).

www.cooking-chinese-style.com

www.delicious-candy-recipes.com



By: gurujithree

About the Author:

The Authhor based in chandigarh

Kids Cooking – Safety in the Kitchen

Children love to play and help in the kitchen. Teaching your child to cook can be a terrific memory for both of you, as well as a valuable learning experience for him or her. But cooking can also be very hazardous. Kids need to know the rules right away. Here are some guidelines to help you keep your budding chef safe and healthy in the kitchen. Even the smallest helpers, aged 2 to 3, can learn safety rules if they are simple and repeated patiently as often as necessary.

Make sure long hair is tied back out of the way and sleeves are rolled up.

Children of any age can be taught to wash hands with warm water and soap before and after handling food. Teach them to avoid sneezing or coughing in the direction of the food.

Be clear about when it is okay to lick fingers and when it is not.

For younger children, let them know that stoves and ovens are absolutely OFF-LIMITS, as well as sharp objects such as knives, graters and food processors.

Have a step-stool in the kitchen for your child to stand on to reach counter height. Even very young children can wash fruits and vegetables, add ingredients to the bowl (that you have measured out for them), and stir.

Utensils should be large enough for a child to grip easily with their whole hand, but small enough for them to maneuver.

Do not let small kids help you cook anything on the stove or help while you use the mixer.

Teach kids to clean up messes and spills promptly when they cook. Spills on the floor become hazards for slipping. Counter messes are not only unattractive; they can make your work surface and utensils slippery, and they are a breeding ground for unwelcome bacteria. On the other hand, realize that cooking with kids is naturally a messy business. Keep your sense of humor.

As kids get older, they can take on more responsibility and can learn new skills in the kitchen. With these skills come new rules.

Do not ever stick anything in the bowl while the mixer is running, especially your fingers.

Once they are using the stove and oven, remind them to always use an oven mitt, and that microwaved containers may be quite hot.

When chopping, keep fingers of your holding hand tucked in to avoid the blade.

Always turn pot handles away from yourself on the stove.

Never plug in or use appliances with wet hands.

Cooking with kids should be fun. Use these safety guidelines to keep your little chefs safe.

Barbara O’Brien is an author, cook, and mother of two young chefs. She loves to help others discover the joy of having children in the kitchen. For more information, go to http://kids-cook.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Barbara_O’Brien