Healthy Foods Your Kids Will Love – Great Fruit Ideas

Berries

Fresh Berries are low in calories, loaded with flavor and a good source of fiber. They are easy to prepare and a great addition to breakfast dishes (Cereals, pancakes, waffles, French toast), fruit salads, lunch, dessert, snacks or fruit smoothies on a hot summer day.

Makes 4 servings

1 cup strawberries
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blueberries

Wash and sort berries, removing any stems or debris. Serve with nonfat vanilla yogurt – a good source of protein and calcium.

In addition to fiber, berries contain many vitamins and minerals that help your child grow and stay healthy. They are rich in antioxidants (vitamins C, E, and beta carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the body) and phytochemicals (health-promoting plant chemicals) that enhance the body’s immune system. The amount of fruit your child needs to eat every day depends on their age, sex and level of physical activity.

Fresh Fruit Salad

Everyone enjoys a fresh fruit salad, especially on a hot summer day. This one is loaded with health promoting antioxidant, phytochemicals (plant chemicals) and fiber. For color and variety, you can combine rich varieties of fresh fruit, both home grown and exotic, such as peaches, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, bananas, pineapple and grapes. Don’t forget to add a refreshing dressing made of fresh lime and pineapple juice. What a treat!

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
3 peaches, peeled, pitted, chopped or sliced
1 basket strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 cup blueberries
1 kiwi, peeled and sliced
1 medium banana, peeled and sliced
2 slices pineapple, cubed
1 cup seedless green grapes
Juice from 1 lime (and from sliced pineapple)

Chop and slice fruits and combine in a large serving bowl. Toss gently. Add juice. Chill and serve.

Fruit Smoothie

Smoothies are nutrient-dense drinks, high in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber. But be careful. Use low fat vanilla yogurt and seasonal ripe blueberries and strawberries to avoid adding extra sugar. Fresh peaches, melon, banana and different fruit-flavored yogurts make delicious varieties of smoothies your kids will love. Have fun experimenting.

Makes 1 smoothie

Ingredients:
1/2 cup strawberries, washed and stemmed
1/2 cup blueberries, washed and stemmed
1/2 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
3 tbsp. orange juice
1/2 cup ice

Place the fruit into a blender. Add orange juice, yogurt and ice. Blend for about 30 seconds. Pulse to let all fruit pieces reach the blades of the blender until all of the fruit is ground up. Chill or serve at room temperature.

Fruit Kabobs

Colorful and flavorful, fruit kabobs are a big hit with kids. Start with a variety of different fruits (such as grapes, melon, cherries, strawberries and pineapple) and cut them into similar size chunks. Don’t be shy to get creative. Your kids will love to help you thread their favorite fruits onto bamboo skewers.

Ingredients:
Strawberries
Grapes, seedless
Cherries, pits removed
Cantaloupe, honeydew or seedless watermelon, cut into chunks
Pineapple, cut into chunks
Papaya, cut into chunks

Wash, peel and cut the fruit into similar size chunks and drizzle with lemon juice to prevent browning. Thread 6 or 7 pieces of fruit, alternating colors, shapes and textures onto bamboo skewers. Leave enough space at each end of the skewer for easy handling.

Fresh Fruit Cobbler

The traditional cobbler is a fruit dish topped with a crisp biscuit. Here is how you can reduce the calorie and fat content by making a better topping and using fresh ripe peaches (or other ripe seasonal fruit) to avoid extra sugar.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients for filling:
6 cups fresh peaches, sliced
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch

Ingredients for topping:
1-1/3 cup all-purpose, unbleached flour
2 tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
5 tbsp. butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 cup sour cream, nonfat
3 tbsp. milk, nonfat
1 tsp. raw sugar

Preheat oven to 350º. Combine peaches, sugar, and cornstarch. Place in a baking dish. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add butter and whisk in until coarse. Stir in sour cream to soften dough. Spoon the dough over the fruit to form 8 dumplings. Brush each dumpling with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

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