I hope everyone is enjoying Memorial Day? I wanted to take time out of the holiday events for a quick moment to tell you about an important campaign called Get Healthy, Give Hope launched by Produce for Kids along with 16 major supermarket chains across the country, including Stop & Shop stores. The mission is to “improve family nutrition and give families resources to do so” as well as helping raise money for local children’s cancer research.
From May 4 to May 31, Stop & Shop, with the help of participating produce suppliers, will make a donation to local children’s cancer research programs. The more produce shoppers add to their shopping lists, the more hope they can give to children in the area! So load up your cart with those healthy veggies and fruits!
Produce for Kids is excited to kick off this year’s campaign with a new partnership with Sprout and LazyTown. During the campaign, Stop & Shop will offer consumers collectible Produce for Kids’ Ideal Meals cards containing quick and simple nutritious mealtime tips, which are absolutely free and can be obtained from displays featuring LazyTown characters within the produce department. Ideal Meals are recipes created by Produce For Kids’ very own Chef Marshall O’Brien and approved by their Registered Dietitian, Estela Schnelle which offer solutions for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, featuring fresh fruits and vegetables as the main ingredients. Ideal Meals are great for busy families who crave quick meal options and provide a much healthier alternative than stopping at a local drive-thru. For example, check out this Ideal Meals Scrambled Waffle-wich recipe! The wholesome breakfast recipe only takes 20 minutes to prepare and contains eggs, cauliflower, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese served between delicious whole wheat waffles.
Scrambled Waffle-wich
Ingredients:
- 4 eggs
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup cauliflower and broccoli, chopped
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes, diced
- ¼ cup feta cheese
- 4 premade whole wheat waffles
Directions:
1. Crack eggs in mixing bowl, scramble with fork.
2. Heat oil in skillet on medium-high heat, add broccoli, cauliflower and cherry tomatoes, cook 2 minutes.
3. Add eggs, stir and cook 2-3 minutes or until firm and not clear. Mix in cheese.
4. Toast waffles, top with egg/vegetable mixture. Fold waffle in half to make sandwich.
Healthy BBQ Recipes
I also have three Healthy BBQ Recipes to share including Turkey Burgers & Rainbow Salad, Garden Vegetable Pasta & Fresh Salad, and Chocolatey Fruit Tower.
Turkey Burgers & Rainbow Salad
Ingredients:
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp. fresh basil, (or ⅓ Tbsp. dried) chopped fine
• 1 cup mushrooms, washed/dried, sliced
• ½ medium sweet onion, sliced
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 4 slices, deli style mozzarella cheese (¾ oz. each)
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 4 whole grain burger buns
Directions:
1. In large bowl, mix breadcrumbs, egg, basil, and salt. Once mixed, add ground turkey and mix well. Make patties about the size of the bun.
2. In frying pan, on medium/high heat add butter, mushrooms and onions and cook about 10 minutes until tender and brown. Turn heat to low and keep warm.
3. Pan-fry or grill, on medium heat, burgers until firm (about 4-5 minutes a side).
4. Assemble bun with burger, cheese, tomato and onion/mushroom mixture.
Ingredients: (Rainbow Salad)
• 1 apple, cored, sliced
• 4 rainbow peppers, seeded, sliced
• ½ mango, skinned, diced
• ½ fresh lemon, juiced
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
Directions:
1. Thoroughly toss apples, peppers, mango, lemon juice and olive oil in a bowl.
2. Season with salt and pepper, as desired.
Serves 4.
Garden Vegetable Pasta & Fresh Salad
Ingredients:
• 8 oz. uncooked pasta (whole wheat or multi-grain)
• 1 medium sweet onion, peeled, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• 2 cups mushrooms, washed/dried, chopped
• ½ cup kalamata olives, sliced
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• Salt, as needed
Directions:
1. Preheat Heat oven to 400° F.
2. Cover cookie sheet pan with parchment paper or use a non-stick pan and lay onion pieces and mushrooms on pan. Season very lightly with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, set aside until easy to handle.
3. While vegetables are roasting, cook pasta according to package directions. Once cooked, drain and toss with tsp. olive or vegetable oil and set aside.
4. In large frying pan, melt butter on medium high heat, add roasted onions and mushrooms. Stir for 2 minutes. Turn heat to medium, add spinach and sliced olives and cook 2 minutes. Add pasta, stir and season with salt as needed. Turn off heat and cover if needed to keep warm.
Ingredients: (Fresh Salad)
• 1 bag of packaged salad
• 1 apple, cored, sliced
• 4 Tbsp. red wine vinaigrette
Directions:
1. In a bowl, add packaged salad and sliced apples.
2. Drizzle with vinaigrette.
Serves 4
Chocolatey Fruit Tower
Ingredients:
• 4 (6-inch) bamboo skewers
• 1 premade pound cake
• 8 strawberries, whole, leaves hulled
• 8 raspberries, whole
• 1 cup pineapple, cored, chunked
• 4 Tbsp. chocolate syrup
Directions:
1. Cut pound cake into 4 1×3-inch rectangles and 8 1×1-inch squares.
2. Place 1 1×3-inch piece cake on plate, stick skewer in middle.
3. Add strawberry, raspberry, pineapple and 1×1-inch piece of cake to skewer. Repeat with another strawberry, raspberry, pineapple and 1×1-inch piece of cake.
4. Drizzle with chocolate syrup.
Serves 4
2012 Super-Active Superhero Challenge Sweepstakes
Additionally, children can join in the fun by visiting the new Kids Only! section on www.produceforkids.com to partake in healthy eating games and activities, become a Super-Active Super Hero and enter to win awesome prizes in the 2012 Super-Active Superhero Challenge Sweepstakes including a Xbox gaming system with Kinect, Calphalon Cookware Set, SproutTV merchandise gift basket and more!
Disclosure: “Information, recipes, and photos provided by Produce For Kids”
