Growing up with whole foods

START THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH WHOLE FOODS EARLY!

 (Even if it's one pot of tomatoes or basil or carrots...they'll love to taste what you've been growing!)

Even before Owen turned 1, I would take him to the garden with me and let him crawl around and explore the dirt, grass, weeds, plants... He would get super dirty and have a ball! Once the plants started to grow and produce our greens and veggies, it gave me the perfect opportunity to teach him about smells, color and taste! He loved putting all the different foods in his mouth and rolling them around in his hands.

 

Tasting fresh garden tomatoes! YUM!

Include your kids in dinner preparation! This is Owen watching me cook up some kale from our garden. Whether it's food from the garden or from the grocery store, try to include them in your plans for each item. Chances are, your kiddos are doing the grocery shopping with you, so explaining how that yellow squash is going to turn into a yummy dinner will not only teach them how to cook healthy meals, it will get them involved. Let them pick out the perfect squash! If they are involved in the process, they'll be more inclined to taste the end result!
(summer squash is a great source of antioxidants and vitamin C!)

**tip to try: If your kiddos are not crazy about the simple roasted squash (squash rounds with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper roasted at 400* for 25-30 min) dish you made one night (although who could resist??!), talk to them about how you could prepare it next time...like breaded and baked with tomato sauce! The next squash night will be an event they'll look forward to! 

Squash breaded and baked with tomato sauce:

you'll need:

5-6 squash (yellow or zucchini both work great!)

1.5 cups whole wheat breadcrumbs (bonus points for using stale homemade bread buzzed in a food processor)

3/4 jar of your favorite tomato sauce (or make your own with recipe below)

1/4 cup nutritional yeast (mix some in with breadcrumbs and save some to sprinkle on top!
3T ground flax seed mixed with 6T water (to make flax egg mixture)

slice up squash into 1/4 inch rounds. dip in flax egg mixture and roll around in breadcrumb/nutritional yeast mixture. lay on parchment lined baking sheets and bake at 400* for about 20 min. flipping over half way through. we just want them to dry out and brown a bit. lower over temp to 350*

grease a baking dish (with veg oil spray or a tiny bit of olive oil). spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on bottom of dish, layer 1/3 squash, layer more sauce, then 1/3 squash, then sauce then last 1/3 of squash, then the rest of the sauce. SO SIMPLE!bake at 350 for another 20 min. sprinkle some nutritional yeast on top and eat!

MAKE YOUR OWN TOMATO SAUCE:

you'll need:

5-6 tomatoes diced (or 1 lg can diced tomato)

2T tomato paste

1t basil

1t parsley

1 clove garlic minced

pinch salt

pinch pepper

Throw it all in a sauce pan and simmer for at least 30 min.