Recipes for Tackling Childhood Obesity - from the White House to Your House

From Dolley Madison's dedicated work on behalf of orphan girls to the two Mrs. Bushes' efforts to promote reading and education, first ladies have played an important role in building awareness and advocacy for children in the United States. With an initiative launching today, Michelle Obama continues the tradition with her aim to end child obesity in a generation, by focusing on access to nutritious foods, healthier school cafeteria fare, physical activity, and information for parents to help them make healthier choices for their children. That last item strikes especially close to Mrs. Obama's heart, according to blogger Tom Henderson:

Michelle Obama wants you to know she understands the lure of the pizza. "It wasn't that long ago that I was juggling a full-time job with the round-the-clock role of being a mom," she tells reporters. "And there were plenty of times when after a long day at work, when the fridge was empty and the kids were hungry, that I just ordered that pizza." Or maybe she took the kids out for burgers. "It was cheap and quick," she says. …[T]he first lady now says choosing expediency over nutrition is one reason why 32 percent of America's children and adolescents are overweight. … Parents "desperately want to do what's right," the first lady tells USA Today. But numerous forces are allied against them.

The reality for many families is often that what's affordable, what's reasonably fast, what kids will eat—in other words, what's doable at the end of a busy day—runs contrary to the pediatrician's advice. At Texans Care for Children, we work for policies that ensure Texas communities and schools make healthy choices for children, but we also know families play the most important role in kids' lives. Empowering moms and dads with an alternative to the burger joint is critical for turning Texans' health around.

To that end, we are gathering recipes from real Texans to help make meals at home both nutritious and doable with children. To get started, we collected a few ideas in-house. All the meals here are affordable, nutritious, quick (requiring 10 minutes of prep time or less) and have received favorable reviews from real Texas kids.

What meal ideas do you have that are kid-friendly, nutritious, fast, and affordable? Post to our blog or our Facebook discussion page, and we'll maintain both pages so they can be an ongoing resource for families.

Hasty, Tasty, Healthy Meals

Bean and veggie quesadillas - Heat up non-stick skillet and spray with cooking spray. Sauté your child(ren)'s favorite veggie (e.g., spinach, chopped bell peppers, & chopped mushrooms are classics). Layer onto a tortilla (1) some low-fat refried beans or cooked black beans (rinse canned cooked beans first), (2) your sautéed veggies, and (3) low-fat cheese. Place second tortilla on top. Cook on medium heat on each side until browned. Slice into wedges, and enjoy.

Stuffed tomatoes – Cut the tops off of fresh tomatoes, and use a melon baller or spoon to scoop out the inside of the tomatoes. In a bowl toss pesto sauce, rinsed cooked Northern white beans from a can, low-fat mozzarella cheese and whole-wheat bread crumbs to make the Italian version (tastes a bit like pizza). Or toss black beans, low-fat Monterey jack cheese, guacamole, chopped lettuce, and a few crushed tortilla chips for the Mexican version. Stuff your tomatoes with the filling, and serve, accompanied with a fast-cooking carbohydrate, like couscous, polenta, or microwaveable brown rice, on the side.

Noodles and peas: Cook any noodles on hand (e.g., mini shells, whole wheat noodles). Cook frozen peas separately. Mix cooked noodles and peas together with a little low-fat butter, margarine, or olive oil.

Pasta primavera: The next time you're making spaghetti with red sauce, see if your child(ren) will go for a whole wheat pasta, with their favorite veggie added to the sauce. Chop and sauté carrots, zucchini, green beans, or even more fresh tomatoes for added nutrition. If it's hard to get any veggies past your kids, try pureeing cooked frozen spinach or cooked carrots or sweet potatoes; sneak small quantities into the sauce.

Breakfast for dinner: This can be especially fun for cooking together… Make scrambled eggs special – add cheese, your child's favorite veggie, low-fat meat (e.g., lean ham), even food coloring to your usual scrambled egg recipe. Whole wheat pancakes with berries, apple sauce, nuts, or bananas (or some combination thereof) in the batter make a great, quick side dish.

Hors d'oeuvres for dinner: Lots of kids are adverse to hot food altogether. Wedges of pita bread with hummus, fresh veggies with low-fat dressing or dip, cheese or peanut butter with whole-grain crackers, mixed nuts, and olives and pickled okra can be served up for a hearty dinner in a jiffy.

Thai Rice with peanut sauce: Microwave brown or white rice or use a rice cooker ahead of time to prepare about 2 cups cooked. Chop and sauté a small onion and add a little bit of hot sauce (both of these ingredients are optional: leave either or both out if your child won't eat them), then add to the pan ½ cup of peanut butter, 2 T soy sauce, 1 t honey, and 1½ t minced garlic (3 cloves). Cook the sauce over medium heat and add water until it has a creamy consistency. Add your child's favorite veggie (a chopped fresh tomato or cooked green beans are classics). Toss the sauce and veggie together with the cooked rice and serve.

Spinach pie (Note: The prep time on this is 10 minutes, but cooking time is about 45 minutes, so save this for evenings when a later dinner will work.) If your child accepts onions, sauté a small chopped onion in a large pot with a little olive oil. Once the onion is translucent, add a full bag (e.g., 10 oz.) of fresh, pre-washed spinach or baby spinach. The spinach will cook in a couple of minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in the contents of a 5 oz. container of low-fat feta cheese, 1 C low-fat cottage cheese, and one egg. Bake in a frozen whole wheat pie crust for 45-minutes – 1 hour at 375 degrees (when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean, it's cooked).

Easy Tortilla Soup: Combine 2 cans chicken broth, 1 can mild rotel tomatoes, and 1 can mild green chiles in a soup pot. Squeeze in the juice of two limes, and bring contents to a boil. Meanwhile, thoroughly cook one package worth of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Cut up the chicken and add it the soup, along with salt and pepper to taste. Crush a few tortilla chips and put in the bottom of a serving bowl. Ladle the soup on top. Add grated cheese if you wish.