Sneaky recipe tips that boost nutrition

[lisle]

Hi,
this isn't sneaky but it's yummy and provides protein.
You can top pancakes or waffles (homemade is better because no additives)with peanut butter and a bit of honey if you wish.
lisle

[eaccae]

Another snack idea is to keep tortilla wraps in the fridge - as a snack - making quesedillas with cheese and other veggies/meats is quick and easy - and the kids seem to love it. (And its fast).

[EllenR]

My 7yo ds will usually take at least one bite of a vegetable (if you can call crumb-size a bite! . The green potatoes sound good. What's the recipe? I'd also like to get my husband to eat more vegetables so this would be good for him as well. He likes them but mainly in casseroles and ds doesn't care for casseroles that much.

I love the idea of hamburger for breakfast. DS isn't much of a breakfast eater (like me but I try to emphasize protein. If he eats a cereal, it has to pass my sugar inspection which is around 12-13 grams. I took it from a cereal that I considered more on the healthy (adult cereal) side.

He is on meds (adderall) and doesn't eat much, if any, lunch. Any suggestions?

[lllex]

Catatonic,

You say you make hamburger patties for breakfast. I just started the Feingold diet and I'm confused about buying hamburger. The foodlist says any fresh or frozen uncured meat is ok, but then under miscellaneous meats it has a couple types of ground beef. Is regular hamburger considered fresh uncured meat, or do I need to buy one of the brands listed?

I like the orange mashed potatoes using carrots, I usually make it with sweet potatoes.

[AustinsMom]

EllenR: The recipe for green potatoes is
1 pkg chopped frozen spinach, halfway thawed
one half carton sour cream
minced onions and chives
Mashed potatoes (cook potatoes, then mash)
salt, pepper, butter to taste

Mix all together and bake for one half hour at 325.

I started with just one half pkg spinach to not overwhelm my family. I sometimes add cheese too. This and artichoke spinach pasta is the only spinach my family will eat.

[catatonic]

lllex, hamburger meat - like chicken - is fine as long as it is just meat. If they list things like "15% solution added" then you need to be very cautious. What is in this mystery solution? According to the Feingold Association guidelines, don't ever buy these unless they've been researched. Any ground beef that is ONLY ground beef is fine to purchase, even if it is not included specifically by brand on your food list. I buy the 5-pound Wal-Mart chubs of ground beef because they list only the beef as an ingredient.

With pre-made patties, you have to be more careful and always read the ingredients. The low-cost patties always seem to list unacceptable ingredients or mystery ingredients, both of which I avoid. However, the premium, high-priced patties list only beef and those are fine to buy even if they aren't on your food list.

I like the sweet potato idea for orange mashed potatoes. I'll have to try it next time.

EllenR, for picky kids who don't eat much, my philosophy is make sure you're getting the biggest nutrient-load into them in the most efficient way possible. I'd do this by giving ham or turkey rollups at lunch (spread a slice of ham or turkey with cream cheese and roll it up) or rolled meat slices and cheese slices. Skip the bread and get the protein in him. Also, cram as much nutrition as possible into snacks. Roasted cashews are great for this, as is trail mix made from cashews (or other nuts) raisins (or dried pineapple bits) and carob chips (chocolate, if you're not allergic). Peanut butter power bars are a huge favorite with my kids and contain tons of nutrition since they're made with protein powder and use honey instead of sugar. If you're going to give him a sandwich, make it chicken salad or tuna, something dense in nutrition, rather than peanut butter and jelly.

One of my boys is definitely NOT a veggie eater either. He seems to think green food will be fatal to him if he lets a single bite pass his lips. He will eat green salad, however, so I make lots of green salad and try not to wince when he smothers it with enough dressing to completely obscure the fact that there is lettuce hiding underneath.

[EllenR]

AustinsMom, Thanks for the recipe. It sounds really good. I'll probably give it a try on St. Paddy's Day

Catatonic, Thanks for the suggestions on lunches and snacks. We'd actually tried sending a ham roll-up and he didn't eat that either. Part of it with David is the medication and part is just him. When he's on a growth spurt, he eats everything you put in front of him (almost and otherwise, he just doesn't eat much and has always been that way. I'll keep an eye out for the peanut butter power bars. We tried one kind of bar the psychologist recommended and he ate a few of them but then stopped.

The main thing I look out for is sugar. In some things, it doesn't seem to affect him but others, oh boy. My husband once let him have a candy bar and a whole bottle of Hawaiian Punch David told DH that he was too hyper. I think it was primarily the HP since DH also drank a whole one and it had him wired as well!