MASHED (protein) POTATOES

Picky eaters are not ideal. It can be cute when they're babies and spit out the mashed spinach, but when they're toddlers refusing their plate its tiring and once they're over 10 and refuse to eat what's been prepared you feel the urge to smack them but settle for not letting them have dessert. When it's an adult (husband, wife, relative) that wrinkles their nose it's even worse. 

You should always offer new and healthy foods to your picky eaters but some studies have shown it takes more than 7 tries for your child to actually take a taste of the new food. It's frustrating when they won't eat but you've just got to breathe and try again next time. Eat the healthy food while they're watching and they're likely to try it sooner. 

I offer all sorts of foods to my little picky eater and he'll usually try it but very often it's not in his mouth for long. The biggest headache for me is that he isn't consistent: one night he'll eat his chicken, the next he'll eat his peas, the third night the only thing he wants for dinner is a banana. Most the time however he will eat mashed potatoes so today we're featuring a side dish, that I think most kids enjoy, with a little extra nutrition tucked in. 

This recipe does contain more calories than a boxed mashed potatoes but you're adding more than 3 grams of fiber, more than 4 grams of protein, losing more than 1 1/2 grams of fat as well as taking out more than 330 mg of sodium! I think the trade off is worth it. 

MASHED (protein) POTATOES

Serves: 6

Difficulty: Easy

Prep: overnight +10 min Cook: 15-20 min

1 cup white beans (canned, any variety)

1/2 cup barley (soaked overnight)

2 large potatoes

1 clove garlic

6 T sour cream

½ cup water

2 T salt-free seasoning blend (such as Italian, poultry, Mrs. Dash, ect.)

1.Soak the barley overnight in 1 cup of water.

2.In a small saucepan mix the barley and beans with 1 ½ cups of water. Bring to a boil then let simmer on a medium-low temperature for 15 min.

3.Cut the potatoes into half inch squares and place in a second saucepan, add the garlic, cover with water and bring to a boil. Keep potatoes at a medium boil for 15 to 20 min. The potatoes are ready when they can be poked with a fork. 

4.After 15 min remove your barley and beans from the heat and drain off all the liquid. To the beans and barley add the sour cream and water.  With an immersion blender (or food processor or stand blender) mix until creamy (2-3 minutes).

5.Drain the water from the potatoes and add to the bean and barley puree. With a fork or spoon smash the potatoes into the bean mixture. Add the seasoning mix and stir until completely combined.

Makes 6 half cup servings.

For the comparison recipe we’re going with packaged potatoes, the sort where you add milk and butter and water and whip it together.

This recipe:                                     Packaged Potatoes:

Serving size: ½ cup                         Serving size: ½ cup

Calories: 191                                  Calories: 119

Fat: 2.9 g                                         Fat: 4.4 g

Saturated Fat: 1.7 g                         Saturated Fat: 1.1 g

Cholesterol: 5.3 mg                        Cholesterol: 1 mg

Sodium: 19.9 mg                             Sodium: 350 mg

Carbs: 36.1 g                                   Carbs: 17.7 g

Fiber: 5.3 g                                      Fiber: 1.6 g

Sugar: 1.2 g                                      Sugar: 1.5 g

Protein: 6.5 g                                   Protein: 2.1 g

Potassium: 776.4 mg                        Potassium: 344.4 mg

(more than) CHICKEN NUGGETS

My son LOVES chicken nuggets. He's had them from all the major fast food chains and thinks they're all equally delicious. And I hate to admit it but I mostly agree with him: they are pretty good taste wise, but health wise I cringe and try to keep these outings to once or twice a month. He's a picky eater and because he eats these so well I wanted to incorporate them into our diet more often, but without all the fat and calories and maybe even with a little bit extra goodness snuck in. 

With this recipe you’re cutting out: 125 calories, 14 grams of fat, 301 mg of sodium, as well as adding fiber and a little more protein to your diet. Pair it with a salad or baked sweet potato fries and you have a meal that's as delicious as it is healthy. 

I'll admit: the texture is a little different and there's no breading, but I've yet to meet a child that cared about either. So when you have a little extra time this week try it out for yourself or on your little ones and let me know how it goes. 

(more than) CHICKEN NUGGETS

Difficulty: easy-medium

Serves: 6

Prep: 20-50 min, Cook: 20 min

½ c Quinoa (dried)

1 c Water

4 Egg whites

¼ c Black beans (cooked or from can)

¼ c Corn (fresh or from can)

4 Chicken thighs (boneless, skinless)

2 tsp Black pepper

2 tsp Onion powder

2 tsp Garlic powder

2 tsp Rosemary (dried)

2 tsp Mustard powder

1 pinch Salt

1    1.  Bring water to boil in a small saucepan. Once boiling stir in quinoa, lower temperature cover and let simmer for 15 min.

2   2. While the quinoa is simmering add the rest of the ingredients into your food processor and blend until the chicken resembles a paste.

3     3. Check the quinoa at 15 min, the water should be completely soaked up into the grain (like when you cook rice). Take out of the pan and let rest in a small mixing bowl for 5 min to cool down, add the chicken mixture and stir until combined.

You now have two options: continue on to step 4, or let the chicken and quinoa mixture set in the fridge for 30 min to firm up for easier shaping (if you make this ahead of time simply put it in the fridge until you’re ready to cook dinner). Letting the mixture cool down helps later when trying to shape your nuggets, if you don’t care that they aren’t the iconic nugget shape feel free to start cooking as soon as you’re done mixing.

       

      4.Heat a large non-stick fry pan on the stove with a small amount of oil. If your mix has been in the fridge dip your hands in cold water or flour and shape into walnut size balls, then flatten to ¼ of an inch thick and place in hot pan.

If your mix hasn’t set in the fridge take a generous spoonful (about 2 tablespoons) and place in hot frying pan, use the back of your spoon to pat the nugget into the general shape and so it’s ¼ of an inch thick.

       

      5. These nuggets need just 1-2 min per side. Once their browned flip them over to the second side when it’s nicely colored take them out and place on a paper towel. When cooking chicken always check to make sure that the product is being fully cooked.

You should get 30 chicken nuggets, 5 per serving.

So why should you go through this trouble? It all comes down to nutrition.

This recipe                                            National Brand (frozen)

5 pieces per serving                               5 pieces per serving

Calories: 145                                         Calories: 270

Total Fat: 3 g                                         Total Fat: 17 g

Saturated Fat: .5 g                                 Saturated Fat: 4 g

Cholesterol: 38 mg                                 Cholesterol: 40 mg

Sodium: 169 mg                                     Sodium: 470 mg

Potassium: 185 mg                                  Potassium: --

Carbs: 15 g                                            Carbs: 15 g

Fiber: 2.4 g                                             Fiber: --

Sugar: 1.5 g                                            Sugar: --

Protein: 15.4 g                                          Protein: 14 g


This recipe is also a good source* of niacin, phosphorus, riboflavin, b-6, and iron.


*has at least 10% of your daily nutritional value.