It is important that the whole family eats their veggies! Our friends at Cooking Light have created some delicious and versatile vegetable dishes that will fill your family with nutrients, won’t break the bank, and will leave your family asking for seconds!

Edamame Succotash

Edamame, with its sweet taste and crunch, is a surprising kid favorite. It makes a hearty addition to this summer staple. If you can’t find frozen, shelled edamame (green soybeans), substitute the more traditional lima beans. Let the kids pick and choose what goes in this dish. They don’t like onions? Leave them out. Teenager going vegetarian? Leave out the bacon. If they make some of the decisions they’re more likely to eat it.

Click here to the recipe!

Honey-Glazed Carrots

This simple side dish works well with many different main dishes, such as simply-roasted chicken or pork tenderloin. A honey glaze with a hint of orange makes sweet carrots even sweeter. If you’re kids will push it aside if there’s green stuff lurking, leave out the parsley. Or give them a dinner challenge: leave the parsley out of half and see which one they like in a blind taste test. Getting them to try new flavors may be easier if they’re a part of the challenge.

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Zucchini Oven Chips

Transform zucchini slices into oven-baked chips for a fun way to eat your veggies. Have the kids help dredge zucchini in breadcrumbs and watch them crisp up in a hot oven. Serve as a side dish or dip in marinara sauce for fun party food.

Click here for the recipe!

Grilled Asparagus Rafts

Pinning asparagus spears together with skewers makes them easier to flip and grill evenly on both sides—and it makes a fun activity for the kids to help out with. A sprinkling of sesame seeds adds crunch and a fun twist on a springtime staple.

Click here for the recipe!

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner.  Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children.  She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

Are your kids getting enough daily protein?! Not sure? Well here is any easy way to calculate from our friends at Cooking Light: Just take your child’s weight in pounds and multiply by the appropriate number above to get the grams of protein they need per day. So if your 3-year-old preschooler weighs 30 pounds, that means she needs about 12 grams of protein each day. So keep those muscles growing big and strong with these easy and nutrient packed tasty recipes. From recipes for breakfast to snacks to dinner we have you and your little body builders covered!

Let ‘Em Get Sloppy

Little ones like hand-held foods, and a sloppy joe is always popular. It’s also a great opportunity to add in vegetables, like carrots, as in this sloppy joe recipe, which is made with lean ground beef. Each serving provides 23 grams of protein, 111mg of calcium, and 4mg of iron.

Protein-Powered Snacks

Main dishes aren’t the only way for kids to get protein. After school snacks are a great opportunity too. Our edamame dip serves up 4 grams of protein per 3 tablespoons and encourages your child to eat their veggies. Offer up a colorful assortment of bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, sliced jicama, sugar snap peas, and carrots, and watch them disappear!

Fish Sticks the Healthy Way

Most kids are not fans of protein with fins, but they’re generally open to fish sticks, which are easy for even 1-year-olds to eat. Most adults know they should be getting more fish in their diets, but they forget it’s important for the whole family. Not only is seafood a lean source of protein that is great for heart health, the omega-3 fats found in fish are essential for a child’s developing brain. This recipe for fish sticks serves up about 18 grams of protein per 3 fish sticks, which is the perfect serving size for kids.

Don’t Forget About Breakfast

Not only is breakfast the most important meal of the day, it’s a great opportunity to get kid-friendly protein on the table. Mini frittatas are easy for parents to make and for kids to pick up and eat. Win-win! This recipe uses a mini muffin pan. The frittatas can be made in advance and reheated before serving. They are perfect for lunches too! Each bite-sized frittata has 4.4 grams of protein.

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner.  Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children.  She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.