Healthy Halloween
Published October 3, 2024
This is no trick! Treats for Halloween do not have to be limited to candy! While it tends to get top billing for the holiday, there are so many other fun ways to get into the spooky spirit without a focus on sugar.
Savory snacks: Incorporating savory foods to create better bites can help with hunger heading into long nights of trick or treating and they’re perfect for Halloween parties.
- Craft slices of fresh mozzarella into ghostly shapes for a “Boo-schetta” layered with sliced tomatoes and basil and drizzled with balsamic glaze.
- Wrap the chicken sausage in thin strips of crescent dough for “Mummy Dogs”.
- Use nutrient-dense dips like brownie hummus or cottage cheese mixed with spinach dip and serve with Halloween-shaped chips and crackers.
- Spread pesto on a premade flatbread and use olives for eyes making a Frankenstein flatbread.
- Mini bagels with strategically placed string cheese and sauce for choice make for some yummy mummies.
- Twice-baked potatoes are the perfect palette for creative Jack O Lantern pizza “skins”.
- Carve orange bell peppers into different “jackolantern” faces and making some spooky stuffed peppers.
- Chop tiny spears of celery from a stalk and then peel some clementines. Stick the celery in the top for tiny “pumpkins”.
- Build a Kids Char-BOO-terie Board with classic candies but also include a smattering of easy-to-grab veggies and fruits like baby carrots and grapes. Making the choice available can help encourage balance among party guests and ghouls!
Quick & Easy Family Meals
Published September 13, 2024
The hardest ingredient to find when it comes to family meals is time. Fortunately this Family Meals Month--we are simplifying family dinners with quick classics, semi-homemade shortcuts, and make-ahead recipes so gathering around the table for a meal is something you’ll have time for.
Quick Classics
When you are running out of ideas for dinner stick to the basics, classic recipes exist for a reason and can be simplified into theme nights. For example, if you know once a week you will have a pasta night, a taco night, and a pizza night, that is 3 dinners you’ve got figured out! Swapping out sauces and different kinds of pasta, proteins, and salsas for tacos and toppings for pizzas can make those ideas different every week without much effort.Semi-homemade shortcuts
Cooking does not always need to be an elaborate recipe. Sometimes it can be about the assembly. With a bag of frozen mixed veggies, a marinated protein, and a microwaveable grain you can have dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes with minimal clean-up. Relying on frozen entrees and then padding them out with missing food groups also counts. Heating up a frozen pizza or picking up a rotisserie chicken and then pairing it with a bagged salad count as meal prep especially when the weeknight calendar starts filling up.Make-ahead and Freezer-friendly
If you do find yourself with the time and energy to spend a little more time in the kitchen, make something that is freezer-friendly so you can enjoy it on a night when you are busier. Nobody said the dinner has to be cooked that day. Making meals ahead of time is a great habit to get into and leads to more stress-free evenings together.Build Balanced Lunch Boxes for School
Published August 5, 2024
School Lunch Recipe Ideas
Building a balanced lunch box is as simple as one, two, three: protein, whole grains, and produce. A 2-3oz serving of protein will help keep your kids full and fueled all day long. Whole grains provide sustained energy from fiber and B vitamins helping prevent an afternoon slump. And fruits and veggies are a snacking opportunity full of vitamins and nutrients that taste as delicious as they look. First things first: get your kids involved! Have them pick 3-5 things they like from each of the following lists:Protein-Packed: Chicken, hard-boiled eggs, turkey, ham, tuna, tofu, nut or seed butter, cheese sticks, turkey pepperoni, Greek yogurt, hummus.
Wholesome Grains: Crackers, bread, pretzel sticks, tortillas, tortilla chips, bagels
Fun Fruits and Veggies: Mini cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, mini peppers, clementines, apples, blueberries, cotton candy or gum drop grapes, baby carrots, salsa.
Based on the choices they picked from each category you can create ideas—or keep it easy with bento- box style lunches by mixing and matching an item from each category. Including a protein, grain and produce item will guarantee a balanced lunch, and then you can have some fun with dips like guacamole or yogurt-based ranch and pair some simple ingredient snacks that you can search for at shoprite.com/welleveryday!
Once you’ve mastered this 3-step box (or bag) building you will find the possible combinations never end. You also may decide you’re ready to step out of your 1,2,3 comfort zone making some photo-worthy lunches every now and then. Feel free to get crafty and creative with the recipes below!
Guide to Balancing Your Meals
Published May 27, 2024
Creating a balanced meal can be simple as 1-2-3! Incorporating lean proteins, filling carbohydrates and a variety of fruits and vegetables is all it takes to build a bowlful of benefits.