I'll admit it, I pass off some fairly child "unfriendly" meals from time to time. I have my reasons: I like to experiment; I believe in exposing kids to lots of tastes and textures and I don't believe in the standard "child friendly" fare of high salt and high fat processed foods (though we eat them occasionally---I'm not a complete ogre, just half); I believe children who grow up with healthy food will return to their roots as adults; and I can pass off some of my more healthy or gourmet dinners with a few tricks.
Dinner Tricks. Shhhhh, don't tell my kids but I have a few tricks when it comes to sneaking in healthy meals. I'll also add here that I don't play short-order cook at meals. We all eat the same meal together----yes, I'll pick off this or that from their plates (tomatoes for my son, red peppers for my daughter).
When putting dinner together, I look at our meal not only from a dietary standpoint but also with an eye for what I know my kids will like and eat. If they receive one dish they really like, they'll often eat the other stuff that they might not necessarily like as much. For instance, this meal in the photograph. Yes, we had tofu steaks again and they do love them but we also had a salad, which they don't always enjoy, especially when it includes arugula. I reviewed this meal and knew it needed that little something that would pass their acceptability test-----one of my stand-byes is applesauce. They love applesauce and it balances out almost the worst offender.
Back to that salad. Unfortunately, my kids don't enjoy salad much. But we have salad often, especially in the summer months. I've found one trick to make salad more palatable: homemade croutons. They are easy to make and are useful in a "whole kitchen" philosophy of using every little bit, transforming it into something else, if needed. Here's what I do:
Homemade Croutons
- half loaf of stale bread, cut into 1/2" cubes
- 1/4 C. olive oil
- seasoning blend of your choice. Ideas:
- This homemade garlic salt
- finely chopped rosemary & salt
- a blend of garlic salt, dried basil, oregano, thyme
- salt & fresh ground pepper
- Fresh Garlic Oil: my favorite seasoning. Coarsely chop three cloves garlic and heat in saute pan in the 1/4 C. olive oil until the garlic just begins to sizzle (do not allow it to brown). Pour the oil through a fine sieve over a bowl. Discard garlic bits but use the oil to season your croutons. You can also toss Parmesan with the croutons, too.
- Pizza seasoning: 3 T. finely grated Parmesan, dried thyme,basil, oregano, and fennel.
- salt to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss croutons with the oil and the seasoning of your choice. Spread out on a quarter sheet pan and sprinkle with salt. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, stirring every ten minutes or so. Let cool. For extra crispy croutons, leave them in the oven to cool with the door ajar. They become crisp upon cooling.
What are your dinner tricks?
