Nutrition Tips as Kids Go Back to School
Most caregivers of school aged children have many items on their to-do list to get their students ready for a meaningful school year. With the cost of school supplies, adequate clothes and shoes, transportation, and after school child care, it can be very difficult to stretch time and money to include healthy foods for growth and learning.
Here are some simple, yummy, and cost-effective tips for getting those nutrient dense foods into the bellies of those school children you care for!
- Shred carrots or zucchini and add a handful to your muffin mix, cake mix, ground meat, or spaghetti sauces. This adds a boost of nutrients and fiber without any added flavors.
- Use overripe, smashed bananas or applesauce to baking mixes in place of half the sugar. The natural sweetness will still be appealing and save food waste.
- Add a handful of spinach and plain Greek yogurt to fruit smoothies.
- To save time during the week, blend up smoothies and freeze them in Ziploc bags that you can thaw overnight for a quick breakfast.
- Don’t hesitate to use fruit that is canned in fruit juice with no sugar added as a quick and healthy snack.
- Open a few cans ahead of time and store them in a sealed container in the fridge, an accessible way to help avoid grabbing candy or fruit snacks.
- Make some homemade nachos with whole grain corn chips and a mindful serving of cheese with some salsa and black beans or olives.
- Purchase block cheese and shred at home as this is typically cheaper per ounce than the pre-shredded.
Cooking Matters has cost-effective recipes that our Nutrition Education Specialists use often to teach our neighbors how to nourish themselves and their families. Here is one recipe that packs a nutrient punch and is a big hit in our Cooking Matters for Kids classes.
Pineapple Carrot Muffins
Prep time: 45
Servings: 12
Ingredients
· 1 medium carrot
· 1 cup canned crushed pineapple with juice
· 5 Tbsp canola oil
· 1 Tbsp white distilled vinegar
· 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
· ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
· 1 tsp baking soda
· 1 tsp ground cinnamon
· ¼ tsp salt
· Pinch of ground nutmeg
Optional ingredients
· ½ cup chopped walnuts, pecans, raisins, or dried cranberries
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Rinse and peel carrot. Shred with a grater. Measure out ¾ cup shredded carrot.
3. In a medium bowl, add pineapple with juice, oil, water, vinegar, and shredded carrot. Mix with a fork to combine.
4. In a large bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Blend well with a fork to break up any lumps.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
6. If using optional ingredients, gently stir in now.
7. Coat muffins pan with non-stick cooking spray. Fill each muffin cup about ¾ full with batter.
8. Bake on middle rack of oven until muffin tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted come out clean, about 20-25 minutes.
Dietitian tips
Use shredded zucchini in place of shredded carrot. Rinse but do not peel and be sure to pat the shredded zucchini dry with a towel prior to adding to the batter.
If you don’t have crushed pineapple, you can use pineapple tidbits or applesauce.
Cut the sugar down to ½ cup, this decreases the added sugar, and they still taste delicious!