During the holidays many of our KES Club volunteers enjoy doing something a little special for their students. Sometimes it’s a big pancake breakfast, a special smoothie day, or delicious muffins and other times it’s simply making the food you always serve, festive.  Halloween is just around the corner, and what better way to get into the spirit then by making a “spooktacular breakfast” for your students…they’ll love it!  Try some of these ideas over the next few days in your KES Club.

Healthy Halloween Mummy Tray: For little ones, you can cook the carrots until they are to the desired softness then add the cheese for a yummy but not-too-scary mummy encounter.

Halloween Pumpkin Oranges: For our Halloween-themed party, we used these Halloween pumpkin oranges to make a pumpkin patch on a tray.

Banana Ghosts: These ghouls take mere minutes to scare up, have only two ingredients, and require no cooking.

School Approved Frankenstein: A monster made of grapes adds whimsy to your fruit snack.

Recipes retrieved from: http://www.superhealthykids.com/30-healthy-festive-halloween-treats/

Janel Genge is a Registered Dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation Newfoundland and Labrador

Many of our KES Clubs are unable to serve eggs due to severe egg allergies within their schools, but we do have some Clubs that have the ability to serve eggs. Our Clubs that are fortunate to serve eggs are always looking for new and healthy ways to serve them to their children.  If you don’t already have eggs on your menu at your KES Club, but can be served, you should start!  Eggs help to develop children’s brains and are a great source of protein which helps them grow.  An egg recipe I thought would work well at our KES Clubs is “breakfast burrito bites.”  They look delicious, are fun, and can be a finger food or side dish to go along with other breakfast foods.  Most children are more likely to take foods that are cut up and can be eaten with their fingers as opposed to whole foods or foods that require more work to eat.  Try these in your KES Club, the children will love you for it!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoon chopped bell peppers
• 1 tsp. olive oil, or spray pan with non stick cooking spray
• 3 eggs (whipped slightly in a bowl)
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 (8 inch) Whole wheat tortillas

Directions

Cook peppers with oil or cooking spray. Remove peppers from pan. Whisk eggs and water together. Cook egg/water mixture over hot skillet, without scrambling them. Move egg inward to cook although through, and flip, so you have a large “fried egg”. Cut in half. Place one egg on each tortilla. Add peppers to the center of your tortilla and roll up.

Recipe retrieved from: http://www.superhealthykids.com/finger-food-breakfast-burrito-bites/

Janel Genge is a Registered Dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation Newfoundland and Labrador

This is Kids Eat Smart Week.   Children participating in our KES Clubs are learning about nutrition and the value of making healthy food choices.   As a part of the celebration, tomorrow, October 5, is Smoothie Day and many of our KES Clubs will be partaking in this province wide event.  It’s always a fun day for students and they love the special healthy treat!  If you haven’t planned a smoothie day for tomorrow, in your KES Club, you can do it on another day.  Berry smoothies are always a hit, and because many of our Clubs don’t always have access to fresh fruits or berries this time of year, frozen berries are always a great addition to any smoothie.  As well, bananas are usually an affordable fruit that most Clubs can access year around and for that reason we like to add bananas to our smoothies too.  Tomorrow during my Smoothie Day we will be making “Frozen Berries and Banana Smoothie” for all the students….you should give it a try too!

Ingredients (approx 2 servings)

• 1 cup frozen berries of choice (mixed berries, strawberry, blueberry or raspberry)
• 1 frozen ripe banana
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup water
• Honey (to taste)

Directions

Firstly, adjust ingredients appropriately depending on how many students you will be serving. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until a smooth consistency.  Pour up and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/mixed-berries-and-banana-smoothie-recipe.html

Janel Genge is a Registered Dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation Newfoundland and Labrador

We often hear many of our KES Club Coordinators, school principals and volunteers complain about students not wanting to eat fruit. Then we go to another KES Club and the students absolutely love fruit….why are they so different?   Yes, it could simply be that the children at one KES Club do not like fruit as well as children at another KES Club, but most times it may just be the way it’s served and offered to the children.   Whole fruits are less likely to be eaten by younger children, while older students and youth prefer to grab a whole banana or an apple.  To encourage all students to enjoy fruits at their KES Clubs try making a simple fruit salad – it’s great for all ages, it’s different, colorful and of course delicious.  Fruit salad can be used as a side to another breakfast item, add to cereal, make into a yogurt parfait or just simply eat by itself.  Take some time and try serving a delicious fruit salad at your KES Club. You can even try this at home!

Ingredients

• 4 to 5 of your KEs Club’s favorite fruit (in season fruits or berries)
• 100% orange juice to prevent browning of some fruits

Directions

• Finely chop all fruit. Add together in a large bowl.  Pour a small amount of orange juice to prevent browning of the fruits.  Stir.  Eat alone, serve as a side or add toppings such as yogurt and granola.  Enjoy!

Janel Genge is a Registered Dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation Newfoundland and Labrador

Making a quick delicious breakfast can sometimes be a challenge whether at home or at your KES Club. Finding ways to incorporate vegetables and fruits can also be a challenge.  The recipe below is a great way to serve one or two servings of fruit in one small wrap.  Fruit wraps are great for a morning breakfast at home, an afterschool snack or even at your KES Club, if you have the facilities to do so, if not serve them cold, they will still be delicious that way too.  As always, get the kids involved…they can help roll the wraps!  To save time during busy mornings, prep these the day/night before.

Fruit Wrap

Ingredients:

4 whole wheat tortillas

1/4 cup cream cheese or plain greek yogurt

1/2 cup pineapple, chopped

1 cup strawberries, sliced

1 nectarine, pitted, sliced

1/2 cup grapes, sliced

1 cup granola

Drizzle of honey, or to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place tortillas on baking sheet and warm in oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Spread cream cheese or greek yogurt on each tortilla and top with pineapple, strawberries, nectarine, grapes, or any fruit of your choice. Top with granola. Drizzle with honey, if desired. Roll up and cut in half. These can also be served cold.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.produceforkids.com/meal-planning/cosmic-fruit-wrap

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