Summer's freshest ideas to feed your kids well

(ARA) – Summertime brings out the best in family meals -- fresh vegetables and fruit, fresh-air dining and a fresh opportunity for parents to maintain their commitment to feeding their kids well.

According to a recent study by Ohio State University and published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, of children ages 2 to 5, less than 22 percent meet recommendations for their daily vegetable intake and for children ages 6 to 11, it’s less than 16 percent.

“With a little creative know-how, it’s easy to create summer meals that are full of veggies, value, variety and versatility,” says Sylvia Klinger, a registered dietitian, mother of two and member of the Ragu nutrition advisory panel.

Klinger offers some tips for adding more of the good stuff to your kids’ diets this summer.

* Eat out … side: Spend less time in the kitchen with quick and easy recipes like Chicken Margherita. Once the meal is ready to go, dine together on the patio, or spread a picnic blanket on your lawn for a special summer celebration.

* Nurture natural nutrition: Use the summer break to teach your kids about satisfying and nutritious meals. Bring them along to the farmers market, or take a special trip to a local farm. Let them select from among the fresh, brightly colored vegetables, then decide as family how to prepare them.

“One of the easiest ways to incorporate veggies into children’s diets is to use a great tasting tomato sauce like Ragu Old World Style pasta sauce, which provides more than a full serving of vegetables in every half-cup of sauce,” says Klinger. “It also contains vitamins A and C, anti-oxidants and lycopene. Add even more vegetables by combining with your farm-fresh suggestions for a delicious veggie pizza.”

* Skip the sweets, but delight in dessert: Keeping dinner healthy doesn’t have to mean sacrificing dessert. Take advantage of the abundance of fruits in the summer to make dessert as healthy as the main course. Slice up a juicy watermelon or freeze fruit juice in a cup with fresh fruit for your own homemade ice pops.

* Switch up summer snacking: Being out of school means kids have more free time to snack. While eating frequent, small meals is a good idea, it’s important to keep kids focused on the good stuff. Get in the habit of switching from junk food to healthy bites by preparing good-for-you snacks in advance.

For nutritious meal inspiration and delicious recipes visit www.Ragu.com.

Try these kid-friendly recipes the whole family is sure to love:

Chicken Margherita

Makes four servings. Prep time: 5 minutes. Cook time: 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups Ragu Old World Style Margherita Smooth Pasta Sauce
4 slices fresh or packaged mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Directions:

Season chicken, if desired, with salt and black pepper. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and brown chicken, turning once, about 5 minutes. Add sauce and simmer covered 5 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Top chicken with cheese, then let stand until cheese is melted, about 1 minute. Garnish with basil. Serve, if desired, with hot cooked penne pasta topped with additional sauce, heated.

Meatball Hero Sandwiches

Makes four servings. Prep Time: 10 minutes. Cook Time: 25 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 pound. lean ground beef
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
1 jar (1 pound,10 ounces.) Ragu Old World Style Sweet Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce
4 Italian rolls (about 6 inches long each), halved lengthwise
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)

Directions:

Combine ground beef, bread crumbs and egg in medium bowl; shape into 12 meatballs. Bring Pasta Sauce to a boil in 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Gently stir in uncooked meatballs. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes or until meatballs are done. Serve meatballs and sauce in rolls, topped with cheese.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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Because You're A W-O-M-A-N

(NAPSI)-You shuttle the kids to school, do the dishes, help with the homework, handle the company's high-profile accounts, pick up the dry cleaning, hit the supermarket, cook a hot supper and tuck everyone in at night. No, this isn't "Survivor Suburbia"...it's your life. Isn't it time you think about yourself, too?

Women have different nutritional requirements during life's various stages. In adolescence, extra calcium helps healthy bone growth. Childbearing years need iron and folic acid, while seniors need monounsaturated fats and soy foods that keep heart disease and certain cancers at bay.

Fortunately, there are delicious foods for every stage. In fact, if you eat wholesome natural foods rather than overly processed foods, you can justify just about anything. Craving a gooey wedge of Brie? Go ahead, it's great for your bones. Salivating over a juicy steak? Dig into that iron. Ogling another can of California Ripe Olives? Go for it. Just remember, all things in moderation.

Grilled Flank Steak With Avocado And Olive Salsa

1 cup finely diced red onion (⅛ inch)

¼ cup red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. chopped tarragon

1 Tbsp. chopped thyme

1½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

1 medium avocado, diced (½ inch)

1 cup California Black Ripe Olives, halved

1 cup sweet 100 tomatoes, halved

1½ lbs. flank steak

In a shallow baking dish, combine red onion, vinegar, oil, tarragon, thyme, 1 teaspoon of salt, and pepper. Set aside. Spoon ⅓ cup of the red onion mixture into a small mixing bowl. Gently toss in avocado, California Black Ripe Olives and tomatoes and set aside. Place flank steak in baking dish with remaining onion mixture and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes. Season flank steak with remaining salt and grill over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes on each side. Transfer to a clean cutting board and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes, then slice diagonally across the grain into thin strips. Place onto serving plates and top with avocado olive salsa just before serving. Serves 4.

Visit www.calolive.org for more recipes.

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Thumbs Down on Green Giant Pasta, Broccoli & Alfredo Sauce

I always look for new things to try at the grocery store as I wander up and down the aisles. So, when I spotted what looked like an interesting and tasty change-of-pace in the frozen veggie section the other day, I grabbed it.

"Green Giant Pasta, Broccoli & Alfredo Sauce" sounds good doesn't it? It's one of those open the bag, toss in a dish and nuke dishes that is great as a filler or when you're in a rush.

It looks good on the package photo, too. Big chunks of broccoli florets atop sauce covered noodles. Yum.

I glanced at the calories knowing anything with "Alfredo" in it is usually high in calories and fat. Not so with this one, only 220 calories per serving and 4 grams of fat. Not low-cal, but reasonable.

Tried it last night for the first time... and the last.

First, I missed the sodium content when looking at the "Nutrition Facts" but caught the high content immediately with my first bite. I like salt and like it more than I should, so for me to taste the salt it had to be high.

Took a look at the bag and yep, there's a whopping 710 mg in one serving. Wow.

However, that wasn't the worst. I counted three (3) broccoli florets in the entire dish. The rest of the pieces were stems. I know, picky, picky, but I don't like the stems. I don't mind a few, and I can live with 50-50, but there were way too many for my tastes.

I did like the fact that unlike many similar dishes, this one had a lot of broccoli. Usually they're pasta heavy.

The taste? Mediocre --- maybe because it was so low in calories compared to other Alfredos, maybe because of the high sodium content, or maybe it's just the recipe in general.

My husband and I both curled our lips when we tasted our first bite. It's not horrible, it's just not "good".

I was a bit surprised, and disappointed.

Keeping New Year's Resolutions Simple, Delicious And Heart Friendly

(NAPSI)-You've resolved to make this a healthier year. Now it's time to take those New Year's resolutions to heart. The American Heart Association reports cardiovascular diseases are the No. 1 killer in the United States. The AHA is working to change that statistic by raising awareness and encouraging healthy lifestyles during American Heart Month in February.

Start reducing your heart disease risk today by adopting a more nutritious diet and maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. You don't have to make monumental changes to improve health and nutrition; just begin with small steps, including:

Focus on making simple substitutions. Cutting a little fat here, a few calories there can really add up. Take a fresh look at the ingredients in some of your favorite recipes to see where you can cut the fat without cutting the flavor. There are healthier, affordable and tasty alternatives out there to replace pure butter, whole milk and cooking oil. For example, replace regular butter with Smart Balance® Butter Blend Stick, which is half butter and half Smart Balance® Buttery Spread. The Butter Blend Stick offers the same creamy taste and cooking qualities of butter but with less saturated fat and cholesterol. Just use it as you would butter in any recipe.

Remember, what is in the foods you eat is just as important as what is not. It's not just about what you're removing from your meals (saturated fat, calories, cholesterol), but also what you're adding in terms of nutrition. Make all your meals work better for you by ensuring the ingredients are fortified and bring added nutritional value. For example, Smart Balance® Omega Cooking and Salad Oil and Smart Balance® Omega Buttery Spread contain nutritious omega-3s.

The following salmon recipe is delicious and offers heart-friendly omega-3s. For more new recipes throughout the year, visit www.smartbalance.com.

Roasted Salmon with Dijon-Tarragon Dipping Sauce

Four 4-ounce salmon fillets, skin removed, rinsed and patted dry

1 medium garlic clove, halved crosswise

1 tablespoon Smart Balance® Omega Cooking and Salad Oil

Salt and pepper

Dipping Sauce:

¼ cup Smart Balance® Omega Plus Light Mayonnaise

3 tablespoons fat-free sour cream

1 tablespoon plain or coarse Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

1 medium garlic clove, minced

¾ teaspoon dried tarragon leaves, crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Rub the garlic halves evenly over both sides of the fillets. Brush both sides with the Smart Balance® Omega Cooking and Salad Oil, place on a foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Bake 20 minutes or until the fillets are opaque in center.

3. Meanwhile, combine the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir until well blended. Serve alongside the salmon.

Makes 12 ounces cooked salmon plus ½ cup sauce total.

Serves 4; 3 ounces cooked salmon plus 2 tablespoons sauce per serving.

Serve with four 6-ounce baked potatoes and ¼ cup Smart Balance® Butter Blend Stick.

Per serving: 245 calories, 26 grams protein, 5 grams carbohydrate, 12 grams fat, 1.1 grams saturated fat, 4.9 grams monounsaturated fat, 4.4 grams poly- unsaturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 2,100 mg omega-3 fatty acids, 2,500 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 72 mg cholesterol, 331 mg sodium, 0 grams fiber

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Holiday Planning Tips: Save Time and Calories - Add Fun - With Guacamole?

Happy 50th Anniversary Mr. Grinch via Wholly Guacamole. To make this tasty version of the classic Seuss character, cut your favorite sandwich into a triangle, then round the corners to make a pear shape. Top with Wholly Guacamole, smooth and etch Grinch brows and cheeks. For eyes use yellow pepper circles topped with pimento stuffed olives. Cut an olive for the nose and add a sprig of celery greens for hair. He's Mean, Green and Ever so Tasty. Enjoy. (PRNewsFoto/Wholly Guacamole) FORT WORTH, TX UNITED STATES 12/11/2007

/PRNewswire/ -- An estimated 30 percent of our calories come from outside traditional meals. This season, take a second look at your diet. Substituting the fatty dips and spreads with all-natural pre-made Wholly Guacamole can add always-ready nutrition to your table, and even create some healthy traditions in your home suggests top-ranked maker, Wholly Guacamole, www.whollyguac.com.

"Kids can make cookie-shaped sandwiches or a Grinch--literally--via a spread of fresh all-natural guacamole. Everyone will have fun decorating, but without all the sugar," states "Super-Mom," Nutritionist and Wholly Guacamole Food Scientist, Dr. Marcia Walker. No matter how you use it, guacamole is fun and a makes a healthy holiday addition to any meal.

1) Tight Budget? Pre-made Wholly Guacamole helps to create a restaurant experience at home. Shh... It's the same guac served in many restaurants, a true-time saver, and is priced cheaper than buying the ripe avocados and spices to make it yourself--if you had the time! (Get monthly guac party coupons at www.whollyguac.com to save even more.)

2) Sugar-less Decorating. Use all-natural guacamole as an edible decorating base for a fun and tasty activity. Cookie cutters can magically transform sandwiches into holiday masterpieces--try a tree or star decorated with sour cream garland and mini tomato ornaments--even a Guacamole Grinch.

Decorate using basics from your pantry including: hearty breads, diced fresh vegetables, olives, corn, nuts and even bacon bits. Anything edible can inspire creativity and healthy eating. Fat-free sour cream squeezed from the corner of a zip-close bag adds the finishing touches.

3) Leftover Helper / Flavor Enhancer. Substitute Guacamole on your leftover turkey or ham sandwich to avoid the butter (36 calories), mayo (45) or ranch dip (90). "You'll get good fats, nutrients and fewer calories--just 25 per serving," adds Walker.

4) Entertaining with Flair. Facelift that Veggie Tray! Replace boring ranch or spinach dips with guacamole and mini tomatoes. Your table gets a color boost and your guests get nutrition, fewer calories and a cholesterol-lowering fruit!

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Rice Helps Fortify Diets With Folic Acid

(NAPSI)-Research shows that people who eat rice--brown or white--tend to have healthier diets.

For optimal health, a diet should include hearty helpings of both. Brown rice is a nutritious whole grain, and enriched white rice also has a lot to offer. U.S.-grown white rice contains niacin, thiamin and iron and is fortified with folic acid, which can help everyone--from babies to boomers--protect their health.

Folic acid helps prevent birth defects and may reduce the risk of heart disease, certain cancers and Alzheimer's disease.

Since most people don't consume enough of this important B vitamin, adding a few servings of rice can help. Just 1 cup of cooked enriched rice delivers over 80 of the daily recommended 400 micrograms.

Low in calories and fat-free, enriched white rice is also economical. It costs only 10 cents per half-cup cooked serving, with a pound of uncooked rice making more than 2 pounds of cooked rice.

To stretch the food dollar and make hamburgers, meat loaf or meatballs more nutritious and affordable, replace a quarter of the meat with cooked white rice.

Here's a tasty recipe for Rice Tabbouleh. For more rice recipes and information, visit www.usarice.com. For information on folic acid, visit www.folicacidinfo.org.

Rice Tabbouleh

Yield: Makes 6 servings

3 cups cooked enriched white rice

1 cup chopped, Italian flat-leaf parsley

¾ cup chopped cucumber

¾ cup chopped tomato

¼ cup minced mint leaves

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a large bowl, combine rice, parsley, cucumber, tomato, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss well.

Nutrition Facts: 190 Calories, 10g total fat, 400mg sodium, 24g total carbohydrate, 1g dietary fiber, 3g protein

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Rice Recipes Rich In Nutritious Flavor

(NAPSI)-Preparing meals that are budget and family friendly, healthy, fast and delicious is much easier when you start with a nutritious ingredient, such as rice, that can be used in a variety of recipes.

Rice absorbs the flavor of other ingredients and certain types of rice are easy to make and cook quickly. To save time, rice can be prepared in advance and later used in quick recipes like the ones below.

Take Minute Rice, for example. Minute Brown Rice was recently named one of the best packaged foods by Women's Health magazine because it takes only 10 minutes to cook yet it has the same nutritional value as long-cooking brown rice.

Brown and white rice are both complex carbohydrates that are trans fat-free, sodium-free and gluten-free, which makes rice healthy for the whole family. Additionally, brown rice is a 100 percent whole grain product, and research has shown that a diet rich in whole grains reduces the risk of heart disease, certain cancers and type 2 diabetes. Here are a variety of quick, easy, healthy and delicious tips the whole family will love:

Breakfast Tips

• Sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar over hot cooked rice. You can also add dried fruit, milk and nuts to make breakfast even better.

• Fold cooked white or brown rice into your favorite fruit yogurt. Add granola and fresh fruit. Top with honey.

• Enhance the nuttiness of brown rice by adding cashews, peanuts or sunflower seeds. Stir in dried cranberries, cherries or blueberries for a nutritious snack.

Quick Meals

• For a delicious farmer's scramble, add scrambled eggs, cooked sausage, cheese and green onions to hot cooked rice. Salsa makes a great topping.

• For an easy Waldorf salad, add chopped apples, celery, raisins, pecans and vanilla yogurt to cooked and cooled brown rice.

• For an easy pilaf, add sautéed onions, mushrooms and green peppers to rice cooked with chicken broth. Top with toasted pine nuts.

Sweet Treats

• Make a quick raspberry rice pudding by mixing cooled rice, fresh raspberries, honey and vanilla yogurt. Top with lemon zest.

• For an easy apple cobbler, add sliced apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, chopped nuts and vanilla yogurt to hot cooked white or brown rice.

To reheat leftover rice, add two tablespoons of water for each cup of cooked rice and microwave on HIGH about 1 minute per cup or cover and heat in a pan about 5 minutes. Leftover cooked Minute Rice may be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator up to three days.

For more information, including nutritional tips, recipes and recipe videos, visit www.MinuteRice.com.

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100-Calorie Quick Picks

CC Note: Special to the Fayette Front Page

(NAPSI)-Take one look down the snack aisle or at a vending machine and you’ll notice that 100-calorie choices are a popular weight-management trend. And you’re likely to eat less when the package is small than when it’s large, according to research conducted at Cornell University.

To give you plenty of snack options, we’ve put together some of our favorite 100-calorie snacks that you can try at home:

• Frozen banana--Peel a small banana, place on a popsicle stick, roll in 2 tablespoons yogurt and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon crushed Total Cranberry Crunch or low-fat granola. Freeze until yogurt is firm.

• Total trail mix--Toss ¼ cup Whole Grain Total with 1 tablespoon raisins and 2 teaspoons peanuts.

• Salsa dunk--Enjoy ½ cup baby carrots, ½ cup broccoli florets, and 20 pretzel sticks with ¼ cup of your favorite salsa.

• Yogurt parfait--Layer ½ of a 6-ounce container of light yogurt with blueberries in a tall glass. Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons Total cereal.

• Open-face quesadilla--Sprinkle a 6-inch corn tortilla with 2 tablespoons reduced-fat shredded cheese and microwave about 15-20 seconds, or until bubbly. Cut into wedges and top with salsa.

• Minibowl--Enjoy 1/3 cup Total Honey Clusters served with 1/3 cup skim milk.

• Souper snack--Heat a cup of tomato soup; sprinkle ¼ cup oyster crackers over top.

• Cheesy corn--Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese onto 4 cups of freshly popped 94 percent fat-free microwave popcorn.

• Strawberry smoothie--In a blender, blend together 1 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries with ½ cup skim milk.

• Ants on a log--Spread 2 teaspoons peanut butter on 2 celery sticks; top each with 3 or 4 raisins.

• Minipizza--Top half an English muffin with 1 tablespoon pasta sauce and 2 tablespoons reduced-fat mozzarella cheese. Heat in microwave or toaster oven until cheese bubbles.

• Roast beef roll-ups--Wrap thin slices of lean roast beef around 4 asparagus spears, carrot or celery sticks.

• Grilled pineapple--Place 3 slices canned pineapple (canned in juice or water) on a small baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon brown sugar and broil until sugar bubbles.

• Middle Eastern snack--Dip 10 cherry tomatoes into 2 tablespoons hummus.

• Sweet potato treat--Microwave a medium sweet potato until soft, about 7 or 8 minutes. Let cool a couple of minutes, cut in half and sprinkle with ground cinnamon or nutmeg.

by Mindy Hermann

Mindy Hermann, M.B.A., R.D., is a nutrition writer for women’s, health and fitness magazines. She is the co-author of “Change One” and the American Medical Association’s “Family Health Cookbook.”

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Nutritious, Easy And Affordable Meals

(NAPSI)-To help keep rising food prices from taking a bigger bite out of your grocery budget, consider stocking up on inexpensive and nutritious staples. Foods like canned tomatoes, pasta sauces, paste, juice and salsa are not only versatile but offer important nutrients like vitamins A and C, potassium and fiber.

In addition to being a vegetable that even the pickiest of eaters like, tomato products are good partners with other healthy foods because they offer great flavor and texture. Right after being picked from the vine at peak ripeness, the tomatoes are cooked and sealed in containers. This heat processing seals in their full sun-ripened flavor and keeps them safe from salmonella and other food-borne pathogens. Plus the heating process provides an enhanced value of lycopene, an antioxidant that helps fight disease.

For families looking to get the most from their food dollars, the Tomato Products Wellness Council offers some recipes for quick-and-easy family favorites. Each recipe can be prepared in three easy steps and costs less than $1.00 per serving.

Penny-Pinching Gazpacho

(serves 4)

This recipe uses canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh ones, which can cost more. Per serving, this recipe costs only $0.97, is just 132 calories and has more than 100 percent of your daily vitamin C needs.

Ingredients

1 14-oz. can of diced tomatoes

2 cups of tomato juice, low sodium

½ medium cucumber, diced

½ medium green pepper, diced

½ cup medium onion, finely diced

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil Black pepper or hot sauce to taste

3-Step Prep

1. Combine all ingredients; mix thoroughly.

2. Refrigerate; serve cold.

3. If desired, top with croutons.

Cost-Conscious Chili Con Carne

(serves 8)

Using turkey instead of beef gives you a great, meaty taste for less cost. Per serving, this recipe costs only $0.95, is just 308 calories and has 45 percent of your daily dietary fiber needs.

Ingredients

1½ lbs. 93 percent lean ground turkey

1 40½-oz. can of kidney beans (1 large can)

1 18-oz. can of tomato paste

1 chopped onion

2 teaspoons chili powder

¾ cup water

3-Step Prep

1. Brown turkey in pot over medium heat until meat is no longer pink.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.

3. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, then serve.

For more information and recipes, visit www.tomatowellness.com.