Fun with Fruit!

This summer, combine your creative side with fresh seasonal fruits!  Kids (for the most part) love fruit, but they love it even more when it’s served up in fun shapes or say, coming out of a shark’s mouth! 

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heart fruit kabobs with yogurt dip

Your sweethearts will love this snack!  Pull out a heart shaped cookie cutter and use it on apple slices, sandwiches and cheese slices… anything that can be cut. 

1 cantaloupe
1 honeydew melon

1/2 watermelon

1 6 ounce container plain yogurt

1 tablespoon frozen orange-juice concentrate, thawed

1 tablespoon honey

1. Cut fruit into 1-inch-thick slices. Using a small heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut hearts from melon slices. Poke a hole in each heart with a toothpick, going from top to bottom. Then thread fruit on ice-pop sticks.

2. Make dip: Stir together yogurt, orange juice concentrate, and honey until well combined. Serve with hearts.

recipe & photo courtesy of parents.com

apple chips

Feel like trying a fun, easy and yummy new snack?  These apple chips are the perfect thing!  My four year old can’t get enough of them!  Every time that we run out (which seems like every other day) he wants to make more.  They are so healthy and simple to make that it’s no problem… the hardest part is finding a three hour chunk of time for them to bake. 

This is a great recipe to make with your kids!  I do the mandoline cutting and I always let my son arrange the apples on the tray (and then I correctly arrange them afterwards :)    I let him help sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top and the chips taste just as good where he doused the cinnamon sugar as well as the ones that he completely missed.  This recipe is uncomplicated and hands-on.  It is great to make with children of all ages.

One thing to note, when slicing into the middle portion of the apple, I try to get the seeds out with a knife, but leave everything else in tact… I like the natural star shape in the center of the apple.

2-3 granny smith apples

2 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 200°.
2. Line two baking sheet pans with parchment paper.
3. With a mandoline (or very sharp knife and great cutting skills), thinly slice apples. 
4. Arrange slices in a single layer on the baking sheet pan.  Be sure not to overlap. 
5. Combine sugar and cinnamon.  Put in a fine sieve and sprinkle evenly over apples.
6. Bake in the top and bottom third of the oven for 1.5 hours.  Pull apples out and turn them upside down and rotate baking pans positions when putting back in the oven.
7. Bake for another hour and a half (if your apple slices were a little bit thicker, it may take them a teeny bit longer to crisp up.  After 3 hours, if you have a combination of completely crisp and some that are a little chewy/crisp, take the crisp ones off of the baking sheet and put the rest back in the middle of the oven for another 20+ minutes).
8. Remove from oven and cool chips before transferring to a sealed container.

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Recipe adapted & photo courtesy of Ontario Apples

trick or treat

Decorate oranges to look like little jack o lanterns! some kids may think it's a trick, but it's a healthy & fun treat for the lunch box or fruit bowl!

Use a fine point Sharpie to decorate (when you eat the fruit, just cut off the marker area with a knife).

It's frightfully fun!



image from pinterest

fruit kebabs w/ raspberry dip!

Dip fresh seasonal fruit into this sweet & creamy dip!  Even non-fruit loving kids devour these juicy bites!

1 ¼ cups organic raspberries
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 7-ounce jar of marshmallow crème
1 cup vanilla yogurt

Fruit of your choice (bananas, papaya, pineapple, strawberries, kiwi, blackberries, oranges, cantaloupe, watermelon, grapes, honeydew)

To make the dip:
1. Place the raspberries, cream cheese, marshmallow crème and yogurt in a food processor.2. Pulse until thoroughly combined and pureed. Transfer to a bowl.
 To make the fruit kebabs:
3. Cut the fruit into 1 ½-inch chunks. Alternate fruit on skewers. Arrange the fruit on a platter with the fruit dip in the center.4. The skewers (except for banana) can be made ahead. For a garnish, use fresh mint or toasted coconut.
 
 
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three cheers for CHERRIES!

Super great news for all of you cherry lovers… cherries are considered to be a super fruit… and for good reason! These little ruby beauties are super high in antioxidants, beta carotene, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, iron, fiber and folate.

Cherries are on the dirty dozen list, so purchase organic to avoid the pesticides!

Cherry season is brief so enjoy these little beauties before they’re gone!

raisins

Good news for raisin lovers! “Natures Candy” is a healthy choice! Raisins are high in fiber, phenols (plant compounds that prevent cell damage and have antioxidants), flavonoids and the mineral, Boron. It also contains oleanolic acid, which protects tooth enamel and gum tissue.

These little dried fruits pack a lot of punch! Go organic when purchasing [grapes are on the dirty dozen list, which notes produce with the highest levels of pesticides].

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photo courtesy of ifoodtv.com

concord grape juice

Go for the grape juice!  Concord grape juice is loaded with flavonoids (a strong antioxidant) that helps with heart health, maintains healthy blood pressure & may enhance cognitive function.  One cup of 100% concord grape juice contains 75% of the potassium of a banana and has more than twice the natural antioxidant power of orange juice. 



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*photo courtesy of MusclesProd.com

Getting kids to eat their colors!

Red apples, orange carrots, green kale, purple eggplant… eating our colors is good for us and growing little bodies!  A great way to get kids excited & interested in fruits and vegetables is to talk about it's connection to color!  Eating a rainbow-colored diet instills wholesome eating habits that are essential for a child’s health, growth and development.

Kids love colors. Have them a draw a rainbow {red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple} and then discuss what fruits & vegetables share the same colors.

Teach them the importance of nutrition by explaining that the different colors provide different nutrients! It’s a great way to get them involved in the foods they are eating {or hopefully about to eat!} and to help them understand that natural plant pigments signify certain health benefits:

Orange/yellow fruits & vegetables- are colored by a plant pigment called “carotenoids”. Carotenoids produce Vitamin A, which helps to make the eyes healthy. Eat your carotenoids with carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, mangos and winter squash.

Red fruits & vegetables- are colored by “lycopene”. Lycopene helps boost immunity so your body can fight off colds & viruses. Eat your lycopene with tomatoes, watermelon, red peppers and pink grapefruits.

Blue/purple fruits & vegetables- are colored by “anthocyanins”. Anthocyanins are a powerful antioxidant that help protect your bodies cells from damage. Eat your anthocyanins with blueberries, purple grapes, eggplant, figs and blackberries.

Green fruits & vegetables- are colored by “Lutein”. Lutein is loaded with antioxidants, essential vitamins, minerals and fiber that help protect our eyes and skin. Eat your folate with broccoli, spinach, kale, Brussels sprouts and asparagus.

Every color of fruits & vegetables contain different vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that help nourish little bodies and help them grow and stay healthy! 

For more fruit & vegetable fun, read "Eating the Alphabet" by Lois Ehlert
'Apple to zucchini, come take a look, start eating your way, through this alphabet book.'



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honey lemonade

pucker up, lil honey! here is a refreshing & healthy lemonade recipe for a hot summer day-


1 Tablespoon of honey
juice of one lemon
1 cup of water
ice


1.) in a mixing glass, dissolve the honey in the lemon juice.
2.) add the water and stir to thoroughly combine.
3.) fill a glass with ice and top with the lemonade. 
4.) garnish with a mint sprig and/or lemon slices


serves 1


image from Planet Green