Produce For Kids: Yummy Meal Ideas For Your Family + $100 GIVEAWAY!

May 18, 2011 By

I first discovered Produce For Kids Ideal Meals cards last spring when I was shopping in my local Kroger supermarket. The fun, colorful display caught my eye and before I knew it I had picked up nearly every recipe card there to take home and share with my kids. They were excited about the yummy looking snack and meal ideas and couldn’t wait to try them.

Since then I’ve become a big fan of Produce For Kids. I mean, who doesn’t need more ideas to help our children (and ourselves) eat more fruits and veggies? I know I do! Their philosophy is simple: promote healthy lifestyles for children by educating kids and parents about the benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables while also supporting worthy children’s causes.

This spring they kick off their annual Get Healthy, Give Hope campaign which will not only help your own family eat healthier this year, but it will also raise money for Children’s Miracle Network-affiliated hospitals.  Working with 16 supermarket grocery store chains across the United States, from May through July, participating fresh fruit and vegetable companies will make a donation to local children’s hospitals based on sales of their fresh produce items at participating grocery stores.

Starting this week and in the coming weeks, look for the Ideal Meals cards in your local grocery store. The free cards provide quick and easy healthy meal ideas to shoppers in the produce departments at participating grocery stores. The chef created and nutritionist approved cards include ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

New this year, Produce For Kids will feature cutting edge technology with new QR codes (the square bar codes) on the in-store point-of-sale display units and specially marked Ideal Meal cards. The Ideal Meal codes immediately link a shoppers’ Smartphone to cooking demos featuring PFK Chef Marshall O’Brien preparing each meal. Codes on point-of‐sale displays link shoppers to the Get Healthy, Give Hope Sweepstakes, to enter for a chance to win a full‐motion, interactive gaming systems, cookware sets and grocery store gift cards.

Since its creation in 2002 by Shuman Produce Inc., Produce For Kids has raised more than $3.1 million for local Children’s Miracle Network hospitals and PBS KIDS® to educate parents on healthy eating and raises funds for public broadcasting. To learn more, visit www.produceforkids.org or www.childrensmiraclenetwork.org.

I hope you’ll keep your eyes peeled (yes, pun intended!) for the Ideal Meal Cards. Then get into the kitchen with your family and whip up some delicious new ways to get your family eating more fruits and vegetables!

THE BEST PART- A $100 GROCERY STORE GIVEAWAY!

Produce for Kids is sponsoring a giveaway here at Meal Planning Magic. You can enter to win a $100 grocery store gift card from your local participating supermarket!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

PRIMARY (MANDATORY) ENTRY

1. Click on this link to visit Ideal Meals page then come back here to leave a comment with your favorite Ideal Meal.

 ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:

2. Share your own idea, tip or recipe for feeding your family more fruits and vegetables.

3. Vote for my blog at Babble’s Top 100 Food Mom Blogs (to find me, click on Alphabetical, then go to page 4 to find me and click to vote!)

Remember, leave a comment for each entry. Only one entry per person per method listed above. Good luck!

Giveaway Rules:

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! Congratulations to #4, Heather! She is the winner of this giveaway!

Supermarket partners participating in the Get Healthy, Give Hope campaign include: AcmeMarkets; Kroger’s Texas division, King Soopers and City Market stores; PriceChopper (New England area), GIANT and Martin’s Food Stores, Giant Landover, Stop & Shop; Meijer Stores; Publix Super Markets; Homeland and other Independent Grocers of Oklahoma.

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for this promotion and all the opinions expressed here are my own honest feelings about the product.

Filed Under: kid-friendly, snack ideas

Cake Pops & Last Minute Valentine’s Day Ideas

February 12, 2011 By 3 Comments
A few days ago I made my first attempt to make cake pops. I had received the book by the same title by Bakerella. Let me just say, they look way easier to make than they actually are! My son helped me with the shaping but when it came to dipping, things went downhill fast. I was able to make enough to put into a bouquet for a school event but still wished they looked a little better. Oh well, they still tasted good (although next time I’m going to try making them with ‘from scratch’ ingredients).

Cake balls are rolled and ready to be shaped.
Using a cookie cutter to shape the cake balls.

Candy coatings are melted and ready for dipping.

This is where it started going downhill. Despite freezing the cake pops like the instructions say, they still crumbled and fell apart with dipping.

The successful cake pops…drying in the Styrofoam block.

All done! They look ok but certainly not like the picture in the book. The edible writer pens didn’t work either so I couldn’t write the fun saying on them. Maybe next time!

If you’re still looking for a few last-minute Valentine’s Day treat ideas, keep reading.

Our Valentine’s Day tradition is to have Chinese food. It started way before our kids were born. “Our” restaurant was a local Chinese spot so we thought it only fitting to go there on this romantic day. Later, when kids were born, take-out was more the norm. This year, because of some conflicts on Monday, we’ll have to plan our dinner for a different night altogether. But I’m planning to make some homemade Chinese fortune cookies as a special treat!

Here are some other Valentine-inspired treats I’ve come across this week that I’m thinking of trying:

–From FixMeASnack, how about this Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie?

–Download and print these fun panini sandwich toppers at PaniniHappy and add them to a sandwich to let that special someone know how much you care!

–Save your $$ and make your own chocolate dipped strawberries. Food with Kid Appeal shows you how.

–A healthy Valentine? Sure! These cute message stickers added to a piece of fruit are sure to bring a smile to any sweetie. Download and print them for free!

Do you have anything special planned for Valentine’s Day?

Filed Under: meal planning blog, snack ideas, valentine's day

Make it a Super Super Bowl {Web Bytes}

February 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Super Bowl is this Sunday and no doubt many of you will be attending or hosting parties this weekend. Seems like every other blog I read is providing tons of food inspiration. For me, it’s not a party unless I make dip, so here’s a link to my favorite dip, Baked Potato Dip. The link is on AllRecipes but it’s actually my recipe there. It’s pretty much a given that when I’m attending or hosting a function, I’ll be bringing my famous dip. However, since I don’t create a whole lot of recipes myself, I thought I’d share some extra ideas that I’ve come across this week with you below!

–No matter which side you’re rooting for, Kathy at PaniniHappy serves up some delicious looking sandwiches for everyone. As has become tradition, she created two different paninis for both teams that are playing and highlight their regional food. Check out what she came up with this year for the Packers and Steeler fans out there!

–Add some healthy food options to the table with these recipe ideas from Food With Kid Appeal.

–Need some last minute tips to make your party fun AND tasty? Check out these ideas from BettyCrocker

–Lynn at Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures offers some yummy looking snack ideas including a homemade onion dip!

–And one of my favorite “go-to” sites for great recipes is Taste Of Home. Lots of great themed recipes, including some fun desserts.

–Lastly, don’t forget to plan for the leftovers that you may have. Jonathan at Wasted Food makes suggestions on how everyone can win and have less food waste at the end of the party.

And there’s no need to do all the work yourself! Whether you’re the host or the guest, everyone can work together. Check out my holiday post about potlucks to help make the big game a lot more fun!

Enjoy and go team! (nope, not saying who I’m rooting for because I’m still not sure…but I will say we watch the Super Bowl more for the commercials than the actual game!)

Filed Under: meal planning blog, party food, party planning, snack ideas, snack recipes

Last Minute Holiday Baking Ideas {Menu Idea Inspiration}

December 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I’ve been feeling a little under the weather these last couple of days. That and the craziness that this time of year brings for us and some other commitments I’ve had means I have been remiss in posting for you all this week much at all! We’re planning our big baking day for tomorrow. Cut-out sugar cookies are tops on the list and we’ll be trying these Gingerbread Cut-out Cookies.
And if you think there’s just not enough time for baking, check out my post from last year for some simple no-bake holiday treats. Enjoy!

Filed Under: baking, make ahead meals, meal planning, snack ideas

{Guest Post} Don’t Forget The Vegetables!

November 14, 2010 By 2 Comments

I’m not sure what has sparked my recent interest in adding fruits and veggies to our menu this week but maybe it is my subconscious voice speaking to me. You see, there have been a lot more sweets creeping into our diets and they seem to be pushing out the healthy foods. With the holidays upon us it will be even more challenging to keep offering the healthy options. So when Amy of SuperHealthyKids contacted me about doing a guest post, I happily agreed! I know I sure can use all the help I can get on this front. Amy offers some great (and easy!) tips that will hopefully help you too. And to wrap things up, she provides some terrific suggestions on how to handle the holidays and continue healthy family eating habits.

Welcome Amy!

As you know, planning our meals is the best way to save money, time, and help our family eat better. However, how often are we forgetting to plan for the most important part of the meal, the fruits and vegetables? It’s easy to forget to plan for the fruits and veggies. When meal time is eminent, we see what’s in the fruit basket, or check our vegetable crisper to see if there is anything that hasn’t turned brown yet. This last minute approach to planning for the fruits and vegetables is a dangerous habit, as sometimes it leaves us without a vegetable at all!

The best way to ensure your family is eating enough fruits and vegetables for every meal are to add it to your meal plan. This is how we do it:

Check What Is In Season. Use your store ads to find what is seasonal and what is on sale. If you see there are great prices on cabbage, add coleslaw to your meal plan. If watermelon is down to 10 cents a pound, you can be pretty sure it is in season, and you can have watermelon salsa with your chicken.

Incorporate Vegetables Into Already Planned Dishes. If spaghetti is on your meal plan, make sure you buy some carrots and mushrooms to add to the sauce. If you are having tacos, don’t forget to add tomatoes, lettuce, and avocado to your shopping list.

Prep Your Vegetables In the Morning! When you know what vegetables you are going to serve for dinner, you can get them ready in the morning. This practice alone has helped me put vegetables on the table at night more than any other tip. If we are going to be having salad, I will wash and chop the lettuce in the morning. If I know we’ll have stir fry, I get the broccoli, onions, and carrots all chopped and put in a bowl, ready to throw on the skillet.

Stock Up On Frozen Vegetable Kits. We always have bags of frozen vegetables. As we plan our meals, I consider what vegetable kits are already put together for me. The corn and peas frozen bag is great for chicken pot pie. The stir fry kits are great for exactly that–stir fry. Even the frozen bags of chopped potatoes are a great meal extender for a quiche.

Healthy Holidays. As the holidays are approaching, making sure your family gets at least five fruits and vegetables a day will be vital. With all the goodie plates, classroom parties, and holiday get-togethers, the sugar consumption goes way up the next two months. If you are getting the produce in at least 80% of the time, then it’s okay for you and the kids to indulge on special occasions. Before going to parties, have a plate of salad at home. Before you send your kids to school on party days, fill them up with a fruit and vegetable smoothie for breakfast. And make sure those goodie plates from the neighbors are reserved for after you all fill up on a healthy meal. As you are planning meals for your family, don’t forget the most important aspect of their meal. Fruits and vegetables are meant to be the star of dinner, not the forgotten side!

Filed Under: fruits, healthy food ideas, healthy meals, kid-friendly, meal planning, seasonal eating, snack ideas, vegetables

Web Bytes-Halloween Edition

October 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

This week’s Web Bytes update is all about Halloween! First off are some thoughts on candy and how to deal with all the candy our kids might be getting on Sunday while trick-or-treating:

The New York Times takes on candy with it’s feature on Studying Candy as a Guilty Indulgence.

Real Mom Nutrition has a unique approach to getting rid of the candy in her post Oh Candy Corn, I Hate You! (Don’t Leave Me)

And then there are these super creative ideas with some really fun and healthy Halloween snack ideas!

Snack Girl offers her Top Ten Healthy Halloween Tips

Or check out this week’s Muffin Tin Monday’s Halloween Edition snack ideas.

And lastly, one of my favorites this week! Another Lunch’s contribution to the Halloween themed Muffin Tin Monday (I love the Frankenstein–you gotta check it out!)

So hurry up, quick! Get to the store so you can make up some of these healthy Halloween snacks before the weekend is over!

Filed Under: halloween treats, kid-friendly, snack ideas

{Guest Post} Healthy Lunchbox Building Blocks

August 13, 2010 By 5 Comments
I’m still on my blogging vacation just a bit longer but our thoughts are turning to school that will be starting soon. I know that for some of you, your kids have already started school so maybe you’re scrambling for ideas of what to put into their lunchboxes each day. And even if you don’t have children, you’ll find lots of great ideas with my Back-To-School series.
I’m kicking things off with a great guest post from Cindy at Fix Me A Snack. Her blog is all about offering her kids and family healthy snacks–that they actually like to eat too! And she also provides some fun presentation ideas everyone is sure to love (be on the look out for a related giveaway from me in the next week–or less!). Welcome Cindy!

I’m new to the world of lunch packing as my oldest was at school all day for the first time last year. This year I’m going to try to hit the ground running and have my pantry fully stocked with tasty and healthy bits to round out her lunchbox.

The week before school starts, here are the things that I’ll be stocking up on as a last line of defense against that sinking “I’ve-got-nothing-to-go-along-with-this-sandwich” feeling.

Dried Fruits
Sweeten things up naturally with dried fruits such as (clockwise from top) unsulfured apricots, cherries, dates, and golden raisins. The larger fruits can be chopped up and mixed with nut butter or cream cheese to make a quick pinwheel sandwich. Or you can throw together a quick trail mix with some cereal and some candy coated sunflower seeds for color and a hint of chocolate.


String Cheese
This fun little snack packs an awesome protein to calorie ratio.

Unsweetened applesauce
I usually top a small container of applesauce with rainbow sprinkles just to give my kid’s lunch a fighting chance against all the slick, highly processed foods that some of her classmates are nibbling on.


Pickles
We are fans of dill pickles and even bigger fans of Trader Joe’s little cornichons.


Plain Yogurt
There are a bazillion quick ways to turn a cup of plain yogurt into a healthy snack (see Yogurt 101).


Cottage Cheese
Jazz it up with fresh fruit or some fresh herbs.

Ranch Dressing
An instant companion for lonely carrot sticks.

Trader Joe’s Marinated Bean Salad
This is probably a reach for most kids, but my oldest loves these. I’ll probably save them for the second month of school because last year she got all kinds of comments from her classmates about the salads and other non-typical fare they spied in her lunchbox.


And here’s some hardware that make my girl’s lunchbox more convenient and fun.

Snack container with dip well
I picked this up at Target last week for $1.00. We already had one, but it was such a hit that I decided I needed one in reserve.


Lollipop sticks or bamboo skewers with the tip cut off
There are lots of healthy foods that are instantly made exciting once they are on a stick. It seems ridiculous, but if your kids are anything like mine, they will flip for this simple tweak in presentation. Think sandwich-on-a-stick, rainbow-on-a-stick, pizza-on-a stick…and so on.


Bento cutters
Cut up some melon, carrots, or a myriad of other fresh foods with these and they are instantly delectable.


I hope I’ve been able to provide you with a few good ideas/reminders and your lunch packing is stress-free this year. Feel free to chime in with a comment about any secret weapons you have planned for your kids’ lunchbox(es).

Good luck!

Cindy

Filed Under: family meals, kid-friendly, kids nutrition, meal organizing, meal planning, snack ideas, snack recipes

Eating the Alphabet: The Letter P

January 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

We’re back on our Eating the Alphabet and this week we come to the letter P.  The kids have been asking and asking for me to get some Pomegranates.   I really learned to love these healthy, sweet fruits about a year ago when my mother-in-law had at her house for the holidays.  They’re nearing the end of their season but you can often find them at your local grocery store on sale.  We slice them open, scoop out the seeds and eat them with a spoon (yes, seeds and pulp and all!) and just have them for a tasty snack.  Best of all pomegranates are full of antioxidants and vitamins like vitamin C and potassium and is a good source of fiber as well as being low in calories.  You can also sprinkle them on salads.

The letter P yields many other tasty fruits and vegetables like peaches, plums, papaya, pineapple, peas, peppers, potatoes and pumpkin.  Wow!  We may have to spend an extra week on the letter P for our adventures of Eating the Alphabet!  A close second runner-up for us this week was Potato.  My daughter was asking me to make one of her favorite side dishes, Roasted Rosemary Potatoes.  They are SO easy, I thought I could easily add them to our weekly menu.  Gotta love a healthy recipe like that when the kids love it too!

What are your favorite fruits and veggies with the letter “P”?

Filed Under: Eating The Alphabet, fruits, snack ideas, vegetables

Sneaky New Snack

January 8, 2010 By 1 Comment

So, earlier this week we stopped by our local wholesale club and the kids talked me into buying a big container of kiwi.  I thought “what am I going to do with all this kiwi?”  But knowing that my kids like kiwi and they are packed with vitamin C I decided to go along with it and figured I would find a way to use them.  Then I remembered the yogurt parfait idea I’d seen recently in a magazine.  I had vanilla yogurt in the fridge already so the next day I picked up some granola to add to it. (I actually thought about making some myself but since my oven is STILL not working that was not an option). 

So that day my kids came home from school asking for a snack.  “How about a kiwi parfait?” I asked.  “Ooh!  Parfait! That sounds fancy,” they said!  I spooned in the yogurt, sprinkled on the granola and added the chopped kiwi and in a few minutes I had these fancy looking after-school snacks.  They gobbled them up and don’t you know they had the THREE days in a row!  One day they even wanted seconds!  At one point I mentioned how it was almost like ice cream, huh? And they were all for that!  I think next time I may try strawberry yogurt–yum! 

Parfaits are not a new idea but I think I’ve it upon a great way to get a little fruit (you can use just about any kind of fruit), dairy and grains into the kids’ diet and little do they know the snack they love is also good for them.  Gotta feel good about that!

Filed Under: breakfast ideas, healthy food ideas, kid-friendly, kiwi, snack ideas, snack recipes

The Healthy Lunchbox {Cookbook Review}

May 20, 2009 By 2 Comments


I’m not really sure how I originally came across this book but what a gem it is! If you’re stumped for lunch or snack ideas for your family (kids AND adults), then this is a great guide to help you kick-start into some new options that will be sure to please. It’s primarily geared towards readers with children but I think it would be benefical to anyone in discovering new favorites and how to keep track of them too!

Part One: Get Ready deals with the basics: Discovering Your Child’s Favorite Foods, A Crash Course in Nutrition and Tips & Tricks for Turning Nutrition Knowledge into Healthy Reality. Each chapter provides hints and tools for healthier options (including a “quiz” to help you get started with a favorites list) as well as how to combat Junkfood Jealousy. Who knows the familiar “but Mom, Sarah has them in her lunch every day!”.

Part Two: Get Set addresses how to set up your kitchen to make meal prep a cinch. How many times do you have great intentions in the store only to forget about what you bought and go back to the old standbys? What I especially love is the section on creating a Kid Friendly Kitchen. I did this a few years ago by setting up my pantry so that the bottom shelf of my pantry has the snacks that my kids can choose from…granola bars, raisins, popcorn, etc. There are still limits but it helps create a little independence. Who knows, maybe they’ll start making their own school lunches too! The author also touches briefly on Breakfasts on the Run and give some great tips.

Part Three is all about recipes. Included are some fun things like California Rolls (my kids LOVE these!), Fruit Leather, or Good Anytime Granola Bars. Lastly, in Part Four, the author includes additional resources like story books for children on creating healthy eating habits, books for parents (with additional suggestions for food allergies titles) , cookbooks for kids and adults , and websites for more info. both on nutritional needs as well as mail-order sources for hard to find ingredients.

Overall this little book packs a lot of great info. that is easy to understand and follow right away–no matter what stage you’re in! Check it out and happy eating!

Filed Under: Cookbook Reviews, healthy food ideas, healthy meals, kid-friendly, lunch ideas, organization, school lunches, snack ideas

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