Healthy Fast Food Both Moms and Kids Agree On

November 4, 2009 at 3:43 PM by Cafe Kim - Comments (1)

Photo by Plan9

The following is a guest post by Ideal Bite's Mama Bite contributor Jennifer Orr.

My girls love, crave, go nuts for junk food...basically anything with little or no nutritional value. To satisfy their cravings and my must-be-good-for-you standards, I've learned some tricks to turn their favorite fast food into a somewhat healthy dinner (and for healthier snacks, try these makeovers).

As an alt to chicken nuggets, I always have one or two organic, free-range birds in my fridge, already cooked by Whole Foods. I warm up some drumsticks, and the girls dip 'em in ranch or barbecue sauce, just like their nuggets. One of their favorite meals is chicken and cheese biscuits. They wrap shredded chicken and organic cheese in refrigerated crescent-roll dough. I cook them at 375 for 12 minutes, and voilà, they've made dinner themselves.

Another meal they like to make themselves is pizza. The kids "paint" some organic olive oil on pre-made whole wheat pizza crusts with a basting brush, then some tomato sauce (sometimes secretly infused with pureed veggies), then they pile on the cheese, and add ham, barbecue chicken, or salami. I cook at 425 for about 8 minutes (much quicker and healthier than take-out or frozen varieties), and dinner is served.

As for mac-‘n'-cheese, they eat Amy's organic kids meals. I cook them for a couple of minutes on high and then add frozen peas, green beans, broccoli, or carrots for the rest of the cooking time, usually about 6 to 8 minutes, tops (for more quick veggie meals, try these).

Now if I can only find a healthy version of my favorite junk food: double chocolate cupcakes with cream-cheese frosting...

Which "healthy fast foods" do you eat in your house?

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FILED UNDER: dinner, family meals, food, healthy choices, kid-friendly, suggestions