Hi everyone! Today I'm posting my entry for the 37th #steemitculinarychallenge hosted by @woman-onthe-wing. This week's theme is Healthy Yet Tempting Food for Children.
I am the mom of 2 very picky eaters, and I know the struggle of making sure that the little food they will eat is actually good for their little growing bodies. Something every parent or kid caretaker knows is that if you want to get something done with kids, turning any situation into a game will get it done with less fussing and more laughing. Win win!
So today I turned a healthy meal into a tempting dinner for any kid by bringing out the fun.
On the menu, we've got "tofu kids", which are crusted in a combination of almond flour and parmesan cheese and ready to dip into some bright green pesto.
We've also got broccoli "trees" and crispy cheddar chips standing in an avocado "swamp".
Finally, there's the purple berry "pool", applesauce with juicy and sweet purple berries.
While it looks like there's a lot going on here, I know this meal can be made by even the busiest of you. To make sure of that, I decided to put this entire meal together for dinner on a Saturday afternoon and had it all assembled and served up while I had kids hanging on my legs, running in and out of the house, and all other forms of distractions going on. This meal can be done a little at a time, and there's not much 'tending' needed. Perfect for a busy house filled with nearly constant interruptions from the littles! :)
For the Purple Berry Pool
- Roughly chop 3 small apples and put into a saucepan over medium heat.
- Add about 1 cup of fresh or frozen purple berries (I used fresh blueberries) to the pan.
- Add the juice of half a lemon to the pan.
- Bring to a simmer, and use the back of a spoon to mash up the apples as much as you can.
- After the apples have cooked down, add the entire contents of your saucepan to your blender or food processor and pulse until you've got purple applesauce!
- Stick the applesauce into the fridge to let it cool while you make the other food.
For the Tofu Kids
- Slice a block of firm or extra firm tofu into 7-8 even pieces.
- Use a dish towel or paper towels to press out as much moisture as possible from the tofu.
- Use a small gingerbread man cookie cutter to make little 'kids' out of the tofu.
- Combine equal parts almond flour and parmesan cheese in one dish, and 2 eggs in a separate dish.
- Coat the Tofu Kids in the egg first, then coat with the almond flour/parmesan mixture.
- Gently place the Tofu Kids on a baking sheet that has been prepared with oil and a sprinkling of salt. (The salt will prevent the Kids from sticking to the pan!)
- Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes, then flip the Tofu Kids and finish baking until they are golden brown.
(Also, don't waste anything! Combine all of the tofu scraps and remaining egg wash and almond flour/parmesan and toss it all into a frying pan. Bring it outside to the kids and other family members for a sneak peak into dinner!)
For the Broccoli Forest and Crispy Cheddar Chips in the Avocado Swamp
- Cut your broccoli into florets and steam over simmering water until bright green and not overdone. (about 4-5 minutes).
A trick to keep your broccoli green (and not yucky yellow) is to add a pinch of sugar to the water before you start steaming.
- Mash up an avocado with some lemon juice to make the avocado swamp
- In a frying pan, heat little piles of shredded cheddar cheese until they melt.
- Then remove the cheese puddles from the heat and they will quickly crisp up.
- Break up the cheese crisps into whatever size you like.
Assembly
- With the Tofu Kids, set a little dish of pesto, barbeque sauce, or ketchup for dipping.
- Plop some purple berries on top of the Purple Berry Pool
- Stand broccoli and cheese crisps into the avocado swamp.
Everybody eat up!
Even the parents enjoyed this meal, but we didn't use kitty cat utensils. (This time).
Thanks to @woman-onthe-wing for hosting this challenge, and to @gringalicious, @sirwinchester, and @englishtchrivy for sponsoring! Also thanks to @patelincho for this great challenge theme and for being our guest judge!
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please do check out my blog.
All content and photos by @jaymorebeet, taken on August 5, 2017 with a Canon 7D Mark II.
Love it! Fresh, healthy, fun, delicious! When I was growing up it was always overcooked boiled broccoli - a mushy mess - but steamed only for a few minutes makes it perfect and also much more appealing to children I think! I adore how you named the different areas... forest, pool, swamp, and the tofu kids will have all kinds of adventures I'm sure! Ha ha. I think seeing a plate of food like this can really inspire parents who sometimes struggle to get the good stuff into their children. Excellent entry, good luck!
Ugh the mushy broccoli kills me! Thanks for your support and kind words! It's a tough job getting kids to eat healthy foods, but I am determined!! Thanks @woman-onthe-wing!!
This is amazing @jaymorebeet ... i would enjoy that as well. Lucky kiddies you got there!! I agree with the exposing the kids to all types of foods when they're little. Thats why adults like brussel sprouts, they ate them as kids!
So true!! Exposure is key! Thanks for dropping over @lrich! Now go eat your sprouts!
Simply wonderful @jaymorebeet! You made it so tempting for the kids and for the adults too!
Love it!
Cheers
@progressivechef
Thanks @progressivechef!! They did clamor over each other for the little tofu kids! I want to try it with chicken to do diy chicken nugget kids!
They were indeed very tempting! With chicken it will be even more wonderful!
I'm thinking chicken or even cod or some other firm fish....
Well done. Kids will freak out when they see meals like this. This is worth the effort.👍
I know- I didn't post the pics of my kids trying to get to it while I was photographing, but trust me, they exist! Thanks @jamjamfood!
hahaha!!...I can relate to this :D
For sure they do. :-)
I would also not post pictures of my kids. They have their privacy too.
Amazing job!!!
I think no kid can resist this dish ;)))
Good luck to You @jaymorebeet!!!
The combo of almond flour and Parmesan is good on chicken too! Thanks @awesome-seven!! :)
Love tofu very much! Not only kids, but adults will love it also :-)
Thanks girl! I know- you can do so much with it right??
Too cute @jamorebeet - I used to have tofu almost everyday while living in Japan with my auntie. Wish I grew up in your household (LOL) ... But, on a more serious note, I admire your effort to make sure your kids are exposed to vegetable. Thanks to my auntie who exposed me to different type of colourful vegetables and it is now a habit for me to consume tons of vegetable as an adult... Your kids will thank you later on - Good job!!!
I know - we gotta start them young! Now I feel shriveled up if I don't have veggies in my system! It's like a different kind of being thirsty, but for green food! Thanks!!
Oh my goodness, this is super creative and I bet our twins would like it more than they did my pizzas ..........except the broccoli lol But I love broccoli so that's okay. UPV & RSD 🍇🍍🍑🌸🍑🍍🍉
Hahahah! I eat so many kid scraps it's not even funny! I think I could live just off of kid scraps and I wouldn't get even close to starvation! Thanks @lenasveganliving!
Alternative headline: Veggies and Tofu continues to disappoint children around the world!
Haha I hope not! Golly Gee!
My daughter might like this, but I think I would LOVE it! 😅
I bet you would - just because it's in fun shapes doesn't mean grown-ups can't have a little fun too!!
Amazing job
Thanks so much @padmakshi!
Nice recipe for kids!!! Great ideas I like it!!! Thank you very much.
I appreciate it @creativewoman! I hope you try it out, and let me know what you think!
you know how to cook, looks so delicious
@sylejmanbajgora, thanks so much for your thoughtful comment :)
What a great post @jaymorebeet, and a cool idea to expose kids to so much healthy, varied, and interesting food choices. Much better than the typical chicken McSluggos and soggy french fries.
Thanks @cognoscere- I don't always end up with something they will eat but the trick, so I'm told by the pediatrician, is repeated exposure to new things while simultaneously having something familiar on the plate. They have never had mcsluggos and I don't think they miss them! :)
que delicia y no solo eso, se ve saludable.
Congratulations @jaymorebeet!
Wow! Thanks so much @woman-onthe-wing! This challenge was certainly fun!!
Glad to hear it @jaymorebeet! It's fun for me to see everyone's delicious food too!
Congrats on 4th place in the challenge! Beautiful food post, top notch!!
Thanks so much @gringalicious!!
What a lovely creative recipe for kids! Hahaha I like the avocado swamp and berry pool :)
Such a cute meal. My kids would gobble this up, and the cookie cutter to shape the tofu was smart!
What fabulous ideas for healthy options for kids.
What an interesting option for the tofu.