Make it pretty, please!

Filed in archive People Who Cook , Recipes , Trends on February 21, 2006

I keep talking about healthy eating as if it was effortless. In reality, it takes a lot of deliberation - from grocery shopping to planning meals and even snacks. The upside is, it becomes second nature with time.

There are fun ways to healthy eating. Doubly fun if children are involved. I'm no mother but a battalion of nephews, nieces and little cousins makes me a veteran of the eat or die, er, starve battles. Snacks can become a major issue. With their smaller stomachs, children get hungry more easily. Indulging them however may spoil their appetite for meals.

The solution? Healthy snacking.

Janice Newell Bissex, a dietitian and coauthor of "The Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers: Improving the Way Your Family Eats, One Meal at a Time!" agrees. She recommends dried fruits instead of the sugary fruit roll-ups. A fruit smoothie instead of an ice cream.

Ms. Newell Bissex also knows the importance of presentation. Even healthy food can be presented with a sense of fun and whimsy for children to ask for again and again, she says. Among these are "ants on a log" (peanut butter and raisins layered onto celery sticks) and open-faced peanut-butter sandwiches with M&M's or raisins to form a smiley face.

Read the article At snack time, think 'outside the bag' from the Christian Science Monitor. It has two fun recipes, one for Mini pizzas and another for a Berry-yogurt smoothie.

Also check out MEAL MAKEOVER MOMS.com, which is chockful of ideas like 'camouflage cooking' (adding healthy ingredients to family recipes). Join the discussion, subscribe to their newsletter, and most of all, have fun!