Kids Cuisine

We just moved into a new house, but the refrigerator wasn’t included when we bought it. In the simple act of shopping for a new refrigerator, I encountered a dilemma I frequently face as a busy mom. What do I really want to do more, serve fresh or frozen foods to my family?

Of course, in my heart it’s always fresh. It’s healthier, and it tastes better. There are many places to find wonderful locally grown produce where I live.

But I often succumb to serving frozen food, certainly much more often then I would like. I work full-time and I have three kids, and many evenings they are just screaming for food, fast, and attention. The lure of the pizza box or the chicken nugget is all too tempting.

But there I was at the local Lowe’s staring down two refrigerators, both with the exact same capacity. One was a side-by-side with a huge freezer and less cool space. One was a French door style Samsung with an enormous refrigerated area, and a smaller freezer.

My heart said it will be hard to stash many frozen food items for those nights when feeding five is rushed. But my heart won out. In the end, I certainly want to have more fresh foods available for meals than frozen ones. I figure if the option of a frozen meal is less convenient, then serving fresh meals will become more automatic.

So I’ve searched for some fresh ideas for quick fresh meals kids will actually eat, and here are a few I plan to try:

• Maple-Glazed Chicken and Vegetables
• Stir-Fried Broccoli and Carrots (20 minutes start to finish!)
• Turkey Avocado Wrap
• Oven-Baked Carrot Fries

Photo of asparagus, © David Lat