Eat Kid-Friendly Food, But Keep it Healthy

As you probably already know, there are studies that demonstrate the health benefits of whole grain consumption and the critical importance to your child’s health, including a reduction in cholesterol, a decrease in the risk for type 2 diabetes and a regulation of body weight. Creative play with Step2 toys along with a healthy diet will have your kids active for years and years to come.

The battle of wills often comes from kids wanting the “fun” foods like pizza and cookies – but parents not knowing how to make those favorites into healthy options. Here is a recipe from Barbara Beery that does just that, plus gets those little hands helping too:

Brown Rice Veggie Pizza

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup Instant Brown Rice

1 red, green, yellow or orange bell pepper chopped

½ cup onions chopped

1 cup carrot shredded

½ tsp. oregano

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 cups fresh baby spinach

1 cup celery diced

½ cup part-skim mozzarella cheese shredded (topping)

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

6 green olives sliced

2 egg whites beaten

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. garlic powder

1/3 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese shredded

1 cup prepared pizza or tomato sauce low sodium

1 tsp. ground black pepper

Instructions

Let’s Get Baking!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Pizza Crust:
Cook Instant Brown Rice according to package directions.
In a mixing bowl, combine 3 cups cooked rice with mozzarella cheese and egg whites. Divide mixture evenly between four 4-6 inch pie pans that have been liberally sprayed with cooking spray.
Press mixture down into pie pans to form a crust with your fingers or a small spatula.
Place filled pie pans on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Sauce & Assorted Toppings:
In a small mixing bowl combine pizza sauce, black pepper, salt, garlic powder and oregano. Spoon the sauce equally over each partially baked rice crust.
Top with assorted toppings and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Place pizzas back into the oven and bake 5-8 minutes longer. Remove from oven, cool for 2-3 minutes. Remove pizzas from pans with an offset metal spatula or small rubber spatula and serve immediately.

Kid-friendly Kitchen Tips

Take the kids to the grocery store and let them pick-out the veggies they want to use on their individual pizzas. Let the older kids chop or slice the bell peppers, onions and celery with a small paring knife. Have the younger kids break- apart the mushrooms and olives into various sized pieces with their fingers. Everyone can take turns shredding the carrots! Add pepperoni or soy pepperoni slices if desired.

Nutritional Information