The Panda Berry Tea (shown left) is comprised of natural strawberry and cherry decaffeinated tea, seasoned with a hint of honey. It is packaged in a colorful tin containing 50 tea bags. A novelty to kids and adults alike, the value of this tea really comes through in the contribution Republic of Tea makes to abused and neglected children for each tin sold. They donate 75 cents of the $10.50 sale price of each tin to the Sunny Hills Children’s Garden (http://www.shcg.org) a school for abused and neglected children.

Purchase a tin of Panda Berry Tea today directly from The Republic of Tea.

Image property and courtesy of Republic of Tea.

Consider the joy of a child’s face when they are served a stack of pancakes, — now imagine the same expression when you feed them a healthy version of the same (which they don’t think of any less fondly). If you like the idea of this, perhaps it is time to enter the wonderful world of crepes. Crepes are a great, fun alternative for kids’ lunches, breakfasts, and even dinners. They are fun and easy to make, and as the maker you can control the nutrition levels within them. They are an incredible option for families with finicky eaters and allergies or families that are just looking for fun meal alternatives.

Mixing the batter is easier than most think. It is a simple combination of eggs, flour, butter, and optional sweeteners and flavorings that can be brought together in a blender or mixed in a bowl with the assistance of an electric hand blender. Unless I have a particular dessert in mind, I prefer to make a batter without sugar and use ingredients that are slightly sweet. I found my batter recipe in cookbook by Lou Seibert Pappas, Crepes: Sweet & savory Recipes for the Home Cook (recipe at the end of this article).

I utilize Lou Seibert Pappas’ Savory Crepes batter recipe most of the time, altering my preference on the flour, most often using Bob’s Red Hill Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour and occasionally Bob’s Red Hill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. I find that though the flour traditionally utilized in crepes is bleached all-purpose flour, I prefer pastry flour for the light and airy crepes it produces as well as the gluten-free flour when making crepes for those with food allergies and arthritis (such as visiting grandparents).

The filling of the crepe is what helps decide whether it should be for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Below are a few of my favorite ingredients, though crepes really can be filled with nearly anything. It is fun to experiment and find what kids and the rest of the family like best. Lou Seibert Pappas’ Crepes: Sweet & Savory Recipes for the Home Cook book provides some great inspiration.

For Breakfast: Start with a heaping teaspoon of cream cheese, creme fraiche, yogurt, or marscapone cheese; add slices of banana and strawberries, enough to fill the center of the crepe; drizzle with a bit of fruit puree if available, otherwise add a touch of fruit preserves.

For Lunch: Melt slices of Gruyere or provolone cheese on the crepe, add approximate two teaspoons of apricot jam, and accent it with a touch of sweet basil.

For Dinner: Coat the crepe with pesto sauce, add shredded chicken and shredded mozzarella.

Savory Crepe Batter Recipe
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour, preferably bleached
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix all ingredients in a blender or in a bowl with a hand-mixer, chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to twenty-four hours. When I want to sweeten the batter I add 1 to 2 tablespoons of organic brown sugar and substitute Adam and Eve’s organic apple juice in place of the water.

Cooking the crepes is also easy, it just takes a little practice to get the hang of how much batter to pour (about 1/4 cup for a 9-10 in. pan) and how to spread it out evenly (easiest to use the special crepe spreading tool). During a quiet moment, take some time to practice. It’s worth the effort. Kids just love crepes and parents enjoy the grateful smiles and grins they produce on their children’s faces.

Photo: copyright Kmit - www.fotolia.com

Meet Healthy Handfuls®, a company established by sisters (and mothers) Debbie Reynolds and Gwen G. Solberg focused on creating certified organic snacks made without any of the unhealthy elements often found in traditional prepackaged snacks: hydrogenated oils, GMOs, preservatives, and trans fats. Additionally, Healthy Handfuls® snacks are kosher, low in fat, and low in sodium.

Healthy Handfuls® offers four different snack items, including my daughter’s personal favorite, Cheddar Cheese Lucky Duckies. These little cheddar cheese crackers are reminiscent of Pepperidge Farms famous Goldfish crackers, though they stand apart with their unique and fun duck shape and organic ingredients. They are available in great little 1oz pouches, 1.5oz snack boxes and 6oz family size containers. Their taste is mild and portions plentiful. The snack packs are a convenient single-serve pouch perfect for carrying in diaper bags, purses and lunch boxes. The snack boxes are also labeled as single servings, though I find them suitable for two portions or more, the perfect package for moms traveling with two kids or more.

This line of pre-packaged snacks is available for purchase at special grocery stores such as Wild Oats and Whole Foods and online at Amazon.com. Flavors available include: Lemon Vanilla Koala Crackers, Oatmeal Raisin Crocodile Cookies, Peanut Butter Python Pretzel Bites, and the Cheddar Cheese Lucky Duckies already mentioned.

Image: Healthy Handfuls

It’s no secret that kids adore French fries. In the United States, French fries are heralded as one of the first, easiest and tastiest finger foods in a toddler’s diet. But not every parent looks upon them as fondly as their child does, especially given the numerous and sometimes conflicting studies that have hit news reports in the past few years. Many have caused concern that these delicious treats could be detrimental to a growing child’s health, not just by increasing the chance of obesity when included in a poorly balanced diet, but through possible connections to cancer, diabetes and other serious illnesses. These concerns are bringing parents to ban French fries at their tables. This begs the question… what can you feed to toddlers who would otherwise want a crispy French fry gripped between their index finger and thumb?

As a gourmet professional and parent interested in healthy eating, I began pondering the French fry question prior to my daughter being old enough for solid food. Always trying to avoid chemicals and unhealthy fats, I wondered what it was about the French fry that makes it so appealing, so special. My hypothesis is simple… it’s a finger food and the fun is in the playing and dipping. Sure, the taste is delicious too (I love a good French fry on occasion myself), but the motion of dipping it into ketchup, mustard, or mayonnaise is a party all its own. This, I think, is one of the reason kids just love them. After all, how many parents otherwise let their kids play with their food?

Keeping this hypothesis in mind, I continuously challenge myself to come up with “dip-able” foods to compete with the draw of French fries. It has worked well for my daughter, she has yet to experience a real French fry. What, might you ask, are the alternatives? My three-year old daughter’s personal favorite is grilled chicken strips. It is easy to cut a well cooked piece of grilled chicken into strips similar to the shape of French fries. Not to mention, grilled chicken is easy to make at home and find out at most restaurants. The chicken tends to hold up and a child can easily pick up the strips and dip them into a sauce. While ketchup is an obvious option, my daughter just loves to dip chicken strips into a ranch or creamy blue cheese dressing. Dipping strips of pita into spinach or avocado dip is another favorite, as is dipping bread strips into an herbed olive oil. But it doesn’t start and stop at just carbs and chicken, steamed broccoli and string beans are also healthy options. My daughter likes both when still slightly crisp and served plain with a side of curry, ranch, or an otherwise creamy dressing.

The first half is crammed full of valuable guidelines and incentives for switching diets from unhealthy to healthy in a heartbeat and for trimming off artificial additives from otherwise good plans. They offer up solid information, the result of years of research. Did you know that researchers have determined that food dyes and additives contribute to attention and behavior disorders? That hormones given to cows for the purpose of enhancing and increasing milk output also increase production of a growth factor widely regarded as a major cause of cancer? Or, that even half a can of tuna contains more than four and a half times the Environmental Protection Agency’s safe limit for mercury consumption for a 40-pound child?

Without lecturing and in a straight-forward manner, the authors offer critical information and thoughtful suggestions for avoiding the offending factors. The basics, such as nutritional guidelines by age and a breakdown of what makes a healthy meal are covered. So are historical topics and summaries of what can be done to encourage long-term, healthy programs.

The second half of the book focuses on the delicious recipes for breakfast, snacks, and lunch. Each recipes starts with a brief intro paragraph, is followed by a simple set of instructions, and finishes with serving size and nutrition facts.

A favorite recipe is sure to be the Broccoli Pesto. It is easy to make and an incredibly versatile way to feed kids something green. The sauce is very much like a basil pesto, with the exception that it is made with broccoli and flat leaf parsley. It comes together in literally minutes. The longest step is the time it takes to steam the broccoli. My three-year-old daughter has enjoyed it as a sauce on her pasta, as a dipping sauce for grilled chicken strips and as a dressing for a wrap sandwich. It is the perfect type of item to make ahead and transform multiple meals with. It is delicious.

With the cool months up ahead, the Butternut Squash Soup with Fried Sage Leaves is also a good option. It can be difficult to find a recipe that balances sweet and spice flavors as well as this Lunch Lessons recipe does. What I especially like is how this particular recipe is vegetable-broth based, rather than chicken, and it avoids cream altogether.

Lunch Lessons is a more than a simple guide to feeding your kids better. It is a valuable tool, equipping parents with the knowledge and knack needed for proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.

Broccoli Pesto:

2 cups steamed and chopped broccoli
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. In the bowl of a food processor combine the brocolli, parsley, garlic, and Parmesan and begin processing
2. While the processor is running, add the olive oil in a thin stream and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Nutritional Facts: Serving size: 1 serving ~ servings per recipe: 8 ~ Amount per serving ~ Calories: 182 ~ Calories from fat: 155 (85% of tot cal) ~ % Daily Value* ~ Total fat 17g 27% ~ Saturated fat 4g 21% ~ Cholesterol `0mg 3% ~ Sodium 234mg `0% ~ Total Carbo 2g 1% ~ Dietary fiber 1g 3% ~ Sugars 0g ~ Protein 6g ~ Vitamin A 51% ~ Vitamin C 50% ~ Calcium 20% ~ Iron 5%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending upon your caloric intake.