I love sliders, but I’ve never thought about making them for breakfast – what a great treat for an early morning arrival to school.  I understand not all of our KES Clubs have the means to do this, but it’s certainly a great option if you have access to a stove and oven.  This would be a hit with junior high and high school students.  Add a glass of milk with a side of fruit and you have a very filling, nutritious and satisfying warm breakfast – give it a try, coordinators and volunteers!

Ingredients (serves 10)

• 10 whole wheat rolls
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 2 cups spinach
• 3 green onions (optional depending on student preference)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 8 eggs
• Sliced or shredded hard cheese (low sodium)
• 3 Tbsp honey mustard (optional)
• Low sodium thinly sliced ham (optional)

Directions

Chop bell pepper, spinach, and green onions into small pieces. Saute in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat for 5 minutes, until soft.  Meanwhile, whisk eggs together. Pour into vegetable mixture after veggies are cooked and continue to stir until eggs are fully cooked.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut rolls in half horizontally so that the bottoms are separate from tops. Place the bottom half of the rolls in a 9×13 baking dish. Spread a layer of honey mustard on the roll bottoms, if desired. Layer on cooked eggs with veggies, ham, and then cheese. Cover with the top half of the rolls.  Bake for 25 minutes at 350* F, until cheese is melted and rolls are browned.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.superhealthykids.com/healthy-breakfast-sliders-recipe/

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

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians love to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day – green clothes, green food, green everything!  In your KES Clubs, as part of this week’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations you can be festive too.  Decorate your Club, serve healthy “Irish” breakfast foods or simply “go green”!  Try this Very Green St. Patrick’s Day Fruit Salad at your KES Club this week, they’ll love it!

Ingredients

• Kiwis
• Green pear
• Green grapes
• Green Apples

Instructions

Wash all fruit. Peel the kiwis and slice into small pieces. Remove all grapes from stem.  Cut the pears and apples into chunks.  To prevent the apples from browning, you may want to soak the apples in apple juice or lemon juice before adding to the fruit salad.  Mix all fruit in a large bowl and divide fruit salad in clear plastic cups so that green is visible to the children. 

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

Happy Nutrition Month, everyone!  As we celebrate Nutrition Month at KES, we will continue to share with you some great nutrition tips and healthy recipes.  Below is an easy recipe that you can try at your KES Clubs or even at home for the whole family.  I found this recipe on Dietitians of Canada’s “Cookspiration” webpage…you can even download the app for daily recipe ideas and suggestions. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbsp Strawberry Jam (no added sugars)
• 1 small whole wheat tortilla
• 1 small banana

Directions

In a small bowl, stir together yogurt and jam. Spread evenly over tortilla and place banana along edge and roll up. Cut in half to serve. This is quick to prepare and kids can have fun mixing the jam and yogurt and rolling up the wrap.  Adjust the recipe depending on how many children you are serving and the desired serving size for each.

Recipe retrieved from: http://www.cookspiration.com/recipe.aspx?perma=3710CA60418&d=5&i=1&s=1

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

At KES we often get questions from our volunteers regarding food storage, how long foods can be in the fridge and how long foods can be frozen.  Food safety is a priority of all our KES Clubs and we try our best to ensure that all volunteers are educated on this, but as with anything there are always things that we are unsure of.  Refrigerating and freezing foods is a very common topic of uncertainty with our volunteers and that is why they often reach out to us and ask.

Here are some guidelines when refrigerating and freezing foods that you may be serving in your KES Clubs:

• Refrigerate fresh fruits and vegetables that need refrigeration when you get home. This includes all pre-cut and ready-to-eat produce.
• Make sure your refrigerator is set at 4 °C (40 °F) or lower and your freezer at -18 °C (0 °F) or lower. This will keep your food out of the temperature danger zone between 4 °C (40 °F) to 60 °C (140 °F) where bacteria can grow quickly.

Information retrieved from: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/general-food-safety-tips/safe-food-storage.html#a5

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

February 9 – the day the world celebrates pizza, it’s “National Pizza Day!” What better way to celebrate than making a homemade delicious pizza.  Since most of our KES Clubs are Breakfast Clubs, try celebrating by making delicious breakfast pizza!  Since the actual day is today, you may be a little late – but better late than never.  This recipe is a recipe that you can serve all year around at your KES Club.  Make it fun and set up a buffet style table where the students can add their own toppings!

Ingredients

• Small whole grain tortilla wraps
• Scrambled eggs
• Bell peppers, chopped
• Mushrooms, chopped
• Grated low-fat cheese
• Salsa or tomato sauce (low sodium)
• Other additional toppings of choice (i.e. onions, pineapple, etc)

Directions

Scramble eggs, chop peppers and mushrooms and grate the cheese. Warm tortilla shells in oven or microwave.  Place all toppings in bowls.  Allow students to take a tortilla shell and add their own toppings.  If desired, can reheat with all toppings in microwave or oven (this may only be practical for a small amount of students).  You can always prep these ahead of time too and have them ready to go when the students arrive at Breakfast Club.  Enjoy!

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