Fruit and Veggie Sheet Pan Pancake

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A lot of times we don’t think of serving vegetables at breakfast, but why not!  Serving veggies at breakfast helps to ensure we are getting our recommended servings of veggies each day.  You can try these at home or if your KES Club has access to a kitchen with stoves this a great option for baking a warm treat for your club.

Fruit & Veggie Sheet Pan Pancakes

Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup – butter, unsalted
  • 1/2 cup – zucchini
  • 1/2 cup grated – carrot
  • 2/3 cup – milk
  • 1/2 cup – applesauce, unsweetened
  • 2 large – egg
  • 1 teaspoon – vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cup – flour, whole wheat
  • 1 teaspoon – baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon – baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon – cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon – salt

Toppings:

  • 1/2 medium – banana
  • 1/2 cup – strawberries
  • 1/2 cup – blueberries

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425* F. Cover a 10×15 inch sheet pan in foil. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a microwave safe dish and brush half of it over the foil, coating evenly.
  2. In a medium bowl, pour the remaining half of the melted butter (2 tablespoons). Grate half a cup each of zucchini and carrot and add to the butter. Also add milk, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add this mixture to the wet mixture and mix just until combined.
  4. Pour the pancake batter into the prepared sheet pan and even the batter out. Top with half a banana, cut into thin slices, as well as 1 total cup of berries (we used half strawberry, cut into slices, and half blueberry).
  5. Bake for 13-14 minutes in the preheated oven, until slightly risen and cooked through.

Recipe sourced from: https://www.superhealthykids.com/fruit-veggie-sheet-pan-pancakes-recipe/

Kristin Hedges is a Registered Dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation NL.

English Muffin Breakfast Pizza

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This week we were grateful to receive a ton of egg coupons from our National Partner Breakfast Club of Canada! Breakfast Club of Canada have partnered with Egg Farmers of Canada to provide egg coupons to many Kids Eat Smart Clubs in our province.  Thanks to Breakfast Club of Canada and Egg Farmers of Canada – We are so appreciative of this gift each year!!

We encourage all of our schools to serve eggs as it is a great source of protein and can be counted as a serving from the Meat and Alternative group from Canada’s Food Guide.

If your school can avail of these egg coupons please contact your Kids Eat Smart Regional Coordinator to ensure you receive some egg coupons this year.

Try this fun recipe we are sure your students will love!

Mini Breakfast Pizza

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp. (15 mL) canola oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) 2% milk
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) pizza sauce
  • 2 whole-grain English muffins
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Whisk eggs with milk; pour into skillet.
  2. Cook for 1 minute or until starting to set on the bottom. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes or until small curds set, but are still tender.
  3. Arrange English muffins, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Spread 2 tbsp (30 mL) pizza sauce over each English muffin. Top with 1/3 cup (75 mL) scrambled eggs and sprinkle with 2 tbsp (30 mL) shredded mozzarella. Place under broiler for 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Notes

Add some colour by garnishing each pizza with finely chopped green pepper.

Recipe and image sourced from: https://www.eggs.ca/recipes/mini-breakfast-pizzas

Kristin is a Registered Dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation NL.

Serving Up A Variety of Healthy Foods!

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Some volunteers like to ensure they switch things up at their Kids Eat Smart Clubs on a regular basis. They find students enjoy the excitement of not knowing what the breakfast club will be serving that day.  Offering different cereals, fruits, and grain options on a regular basis is a great way to keep students interested and excited about the breakfast club.  See below for an example of a 2 week menu rotation for a club.  Be sure to always keep allergies in mind when creating your menu.

Day Week 1 Week 2
Monday · Cheerios

· Milk

· Orange

 · Waffle

· Yogurt tube

· Banana
Tuesday · Whole wheat toast

· Hard Cheese Cubes

· Apple slices

 · Shreddies

· Milk

· Canned fruit in juice
Wednesday · Oatmeal

· Milk

· Melon chunks

 · ½ whole wheat bagel

· Apple

· Milk
Thursday · Whole wheat english muffin

· Strawberries

· Boiled egg

 · Whole wheat english muffin

· Hard cheddar cheese

· Blueberries
Friday · Shreddies

· Milk

· Canned fruit packed in water

 · Fresh fruit cup

· Yogurt

· Corn bran squares

Kristin Hedges is a Registered Dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation NL.

Share With Your Volunteers!

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Kids Eat Smart Clubs would not exist without the generous support from volunteers.  Volunteers may be – parents, teachers, nans, pops, church groups, service clubs, businesses, and many of our volunteers are our very own students.  Many KES Clubs  have a designated area where info is posted to ensure volunteers are up to date with everything on going with their KES Clubs,.  Having this area allows KES Club Coordinators to share info with their volunteers on a regular basis.

Ideas for posting include:

  • Food Safety Training Sheets
  • KES Club Operating Standards
  • Monthly Tracking Sheets of Participants
  • Canada’s Food Guide
  • Volunteer Schedule
  • Menu

For any or all of these resources please contact your local Regional Coordinator or email our Manager of Program Development at khedges@kidseatsmart.ca

Kristin Hedges is a Registered Dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation NL.

 

 

Putting Your Best Menu Forward!

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As our KES Clubs are serving their breakfast clubs each morning we want to be sure they are putting their best menu forward to the students in our schools.  We want our menus to be well balanced and nutritious. By serving foods from 3 of the 4 food groups from Canada’s Food Guide we can be sure our menus are balanced. And by serving fruit, milk and a healthy whole grain each day we can ensure they are nutritious.

We do know sometimes serving the healthiest options can be challenging.  We have picky eaters, we have items that we are think are healthy and sometimes are not, and often, we serve the same things because the children love it, and it may not be a healthy option.  Remember that small changes every day can lead to a recipe for success!

Here are some tips for Putting Your Best Menu Forward:

  • Serve milk more often than 100 % fruit juice
  • Serve Water, if you are able
  • Serve  fruit every day, and this can be canned in water or frozen in smoothies 😊
  • If you use Cheez Whiz please start replacing it with real cheese.  Purchase hard cheese and cut them into blocks and serve with your toast
  • Serve Chocolate milk no more than once a week
  • Although everything can be enjoyed in moderation, offering children nutritious items will help them develop healthy eating habits and make healthy choices.

Kristin Hedges is a Registered Dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation NL.

Shopping Locally In Your Community For Your KES Club!

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We have recently worked closely with some of our KES Clubs in rural parts of the Province to encourage them to shop at local stores within the communities in which they live.  Whether that be your local supermarket, local corner store, or any local food supplier, there is great importance in shopping locally.  When supporting local business, if you are the KES Club Coordinator or KES Shopper, it’s a good idea to meet with Store Managers and Store Owners in your area to see if you can work out a plan for the year with regards to your shopping list.  By working with local business you may get a set price on menu items throughout the year, they may be able to deliver direct to the school and they may help with fundraising and other events wherever possible. Getting set prices on milk, fruit, bread, cheese and yogurt might be a great place to start!

If you have questions or are seeking tips for shopping local within you community connect with your Kids Eat Smart Regional Coordinator in your area or call 1-877-722-1996.

Kristin Hedges is a Registered Dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation NL.

 

Happy Halloween!

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Happy Halloween to all of our ghosts and goblins! Be safe tonight as you trick or treat. Please find some safety links below.#halloweensafety

Links: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/seasonal-food-safety/halloween-food-safety.html

http://www.redcross.ca/training-and-certification/first-aid-tips-and-resources/first-aid-tips/halloween-safety

Kristin Hedges is a Registered Dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation NL.

 

More Halloween Fun!

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Serving up fruit and veggies in festive creative ways can allow students to have fun while enjoying healthy food. Sometimes it can be just as easy to place colorful fruits and veggies in creative shapes to match the occasion. Veggies aren’t always the go to breakfast item, so serving them in fun ways can be a great addition to the regular fruit servings on the breakfast menu. Increasing your servings of fruit and vegetables at each meal can ensure you get the recommended servings each day.

Try this fun way to serve veggies at your KES Club for Halloween:

Ingredients

  • Baby Carrots
  • Grapes
  • Cucumbers
  • Broccoli
  • Round Tray

Instructions

    1. Place the baby carrots onto the round tray in a pumpkin shape.
    2. Place the olives onto the tray to form the eyes and nose.
    3. Cut the cucumber into slices and arrange to form the mouth.
    4. Cut a few stems of broccoli to form the pumpkin stem.

Image source from: http://www.freefunhalloween.com/halloween-recipes/veggie-tray/

Kristin Hedges is a Registered Dietitian with Kids Eat Smart NL.

Easy Healthy Halloween!

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Many of our KES Clubs look to serve something fun and healthy on Halloween.  As Halloween is usually associated with lots of candies and goodies let’s start our kids’ day off right with a healthy breakfast from their KES Club.  Serve up your traditional fruit with an added Halloween twist that day.  Try these neat ideas to make healthy food fun:

Clementine Pumpkin: For smaller kids – peel clementine’s and use celery as a stalk. For older kids – draw pumpkin face directly on peel

Banana Ghost: For smaller kids – peel banana, cut in half, use cheerios as eyes and nose. For older kids – draw ghost eyes and nose directly on peel

Pretzel Brooks: Slice a cheese stick in half and cut several slices into one half of the stick. Shove end of pretzel stick into flat end of cheese stick to make a “broom”.

Recipes sourced from: https://snack-girl.com/snack/halloween-healthy-food/

Kristin Hedges is a Registered Dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation NL.

Trick-or-Treating – Keep it Fun and Make it Healthy!

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Halloween is just two weeks away and by now most of us have purchased, or will purchase in the coming days, treats for our little “trick-or-treaters.” Children love going door-to-door collecting bags of goodies.  As we are aware most of these treats that children receive on Halloween night are not nutritious and are high in calories, fats and sugars. No doubt, we all love a yummy treat or two, especially on Halloween, but there are some healthier options that you can pass out for your treaters and this will be special – they will love it, their parents will love it!

Healthier options can be more expensive. In the days leading up to Halloween try hunting for deals by checking flyers, shop your local dollar stores and other discount stores to see if you can find some creative treats.  It doesn’t have to be food; kids will love something a little different and unique!

Here are some things to look for when hunting for cool and fun Halloween treats this weekend:

– 100% fruit juice packs, fruit cups, fruit juice freezies, fruit snacks & fruit leathers

– Granola bars, popcorn & oatmeal packs

– Halloween stickers, pencils, erasers & stamps

– Glow sticks & mini play dough

– Hair buckles, lip gloss, plastic rings & key chains 

Happy Hunting!!

 

 

 

 

Janel Genge is a registered dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation Newfoundland and Labrador