Even when the weather is colder outside, these tips make it fun for families to learn about where their food comes from and help encourage kids to eat healthy for a lifetime.
1. Grocery shop together, or go to a farmers market. Many cities now have year-round indoor markets where you can select fruits and veggies to try. Often the farmers are there, so you can learn about produce and get ideas for how to prepare unfamiliar items at home.
2. Cook with your kids. Find fun recipes that let them explore fresh foods where they can be creative. Find age-appropriate ways to involve them, like stirring or measuring, and encourage them to get hands-on with recipes, such as this fun Flower Salad recipe from registered dietitian Ellie Krieger.
3. Explore the story of where some of their favorite foods come from. Kids
learn and remember information when it comes in the form of a story. Cuties is giving families the chance to uncover those stories by encouraging them to submit questions using #AskAGrower on Facebook. Actual growers will answer with stories about how this sweet, seedless and easy-to-peel fruit is grown with care by their family of growers. A video series at cutiescitrus.com/our-story also helps bring the stories to life.
Flower Salad – Recipe courtesy of Ellie Krieger
Flower:
1 Cuties clementine
9-10 thinly sliced strips red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces 1/2 grape tomato
1 celery stick, cut to 3 inches
2 small leaves romaine lettuce
1 English cucumber, unpeeled, seeded and
cut to 1 1/2 inches then thinly slice.
Dip:
2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt 1/2 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Peel clementine and separate sections almost all the way, leaving attached at the base. Place on plate with base down. Place piece of red bell pepper between each citrus section, and half tomato in center to form a ower.
Place celery and lettuce leaves underneath as stem and leaves. Arrange cucumber slices below to represent grass.
In small bowl, stir together yogurt, honey and lemon juice.
Serve dip in dish alongside flower, or in a mound underneath cucumber slices.
Nutritional information per serving: 76 calories; 0.5 g total fat; (0.3 g saturated fat, 0.2 g poly fat); 4 g protein; 15 g carbohydrates; 2 g
ber; 2 mg cholesterol; 21 mg sodium.
