4 Healthy Recipes for Kids

Show of hands: How many of you get groans and grimaces when you serve your family food that’s actually nutritious and good for them? (The nerve, right?!)

Sure, they’re all smiles when it’s pizza and ice cream night. But if you’re aiming to keep most meals on the healthy side, all the complaining and lack of enjoyment can be a real buzzkill at family mealtimes. Sometimes it just takes the right healthy recipes for kids to please picky palates and nourish their bodies, too.

Check out these four quick, healthy recipes for kids, courtesy of Slimming World, that get the family-friendly stamp of approval:

• French Toast with Strawberries
• Quick Tex-Mex Tacos
• Bacon and Beef Sliders
• Raspberry and Custard Ice Cream

Bon appetit!

French Toast with Strawberries

Serves: 4

Prep time: 5 minutes, plus soaking

Cook time: 6-8 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 pint skim milk
• sugar substitute, to taste
• a dash of vanilla extract
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 4 x 1oz slices white bread
• low-calorie cooking spray
• 1lb strawberries

To serve:

• grated orange zest
• 1 tsp icing sugar
• fat free plain yogurt

Directions

1. In a wide bowl, beat the eggs with the skim milk, sugar substitute, vanilla extract and orange zest.
2. Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture and place the slices in a shallow dish. Pour the remaining mixture over the top and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
3. Spray a large non-stick skillet with low calorie cooking spray and place over a high heat. Add the bread slices, reduce the heat to low and cook the bread until the slices are golden brown underneath. Flip the slices over and cook the other sides.
4. Transfer the French toast to four plates and divide the strawberries between them. Garnish with orange zest, dust with the icing sugar and serve each one with a dollop of yogurt.

Quick Tex-Mex Tacos

Serves: 4
Prep time: 6-8 minutes
Cook time: 6-8 minutes

Ingredients

• low-calorie cooking spray
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 red onion, peeled, halved and finely sliced
• ½ red bell pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp mild paprika
• 57g/2oz/¼ cup canned, chopped tomatoes
• 3 cooked chicken breasts, skinned and thinly sliced or shredded
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 taco shells
• a handful of shredded iceberg lettuce leaves

Directions

1. Heat a large, nonstick frying pan sprayed with low-calorie cooking spray.
2. When hot, add the garlic, red onion, bell pepper, cumin, paprika, tomatoes, and chicken, season well, and stir-fry for 5–6 minutes, stirring and shaking the pan constantly until the mixture is hot and the vegetables are just tender.
3. Place the taco shells on a large serving tray and line with the shredded iceberg lettuce.
4. Spoon over the chicken mixture and serve the tacos immediately.

Bacon and Beef Sliders

Serves: 20

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: Under 15 minutes

Ingredients

• low-calorie cooking spray
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 white onion, very finely chopped
• 4 slices Canadian bacon, very finely chopped
• 2lb 4oz extra lean ground beef
• A good splash of Worcestershire sauce
• A dash of Tabasco sauce
• A small handful of chopped fresh chives
• A small handful of finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Romaine or little gem lettuce leaves, 10 halved cherry tomatoes and 20 dill pickles, to serve

Directions

1. Spray a skillet with low-calorie cooking spray and cook the garlic, white onion and Canadian bacon over a medium-low heat for around 5 minutes until softened.
2. Cool slightly, then transfer to a large bowl with the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce. Add the chopped herbs, season to taste and mix well. Divide into 20 portions and shape into small burgers or ‘sliders’.
3. Broil the sliders under a preheated medium-hot broiler for 8-10 minutes
4. or until cooked to your liking.
5. Line a serving platter with lettuce leaves and put a slider on each one. Using a cocktail stick, skewer half a cherry tomato and a dill pickle on to each slider and serve.

Raspberry and Custard Ice Cream

Serves: 4

Prep time: 10 minutes, plus freezing

Ingredients

• 450g/1lb raspberries, plus a few to garnish
• 4 tbsp artificial sweetener
• 510g/1lb 2oz Jell-O Vanilla Pudding Snack Cups, Sugar Free
• 1cup/200g/7oz fat free plain yogurt
• mint leaves, to garnish

Directions

1. Place the raspberries and sweetener in a food processor and blend for a few seconds until roughly puréed.
2. Place the custard in a freezer-proof container, stir in the yogurt and raspberry mixture, and freeze for 2–3 hours, lightly beating every 30–40 minutes, until the ice cream is set.
3. Remove the ice cream from the freezer and leave at room temperature until soft enough to scoop.
4. Divide the ice cream between four serving bowls and serve garnished with raspberries and fresh mint leaves.

Tip: Suitable for home-freezing.