Meals & Munchies for Munchkins

Sweet Potato Stix

I was astonished at how quickly these went today.  No sooner had I removed them from the oven and the kiddos were begging for more.  Maddy, my one year old, simply devoured them, I had trouble expressing to her that she needed to slow down and take smaller bites. These are so simple to make and a healthy snack option or a great side dish for a meal.

Ingredients:

• Four sweet potatoes rinsed off and sliced long way to resemble sticks, roughly ½ inch thick.
• 3 Tablespoons EVOO or Olive Oil
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Nutmeg

Directions:

Heat over to 400 degrees.  Place rinsed and sliced sweet potatoes stix in a large bowl.  Drizzle EVOO over stix and toss with clean hands till each stick is coated with oil.  Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg on stix and toss once again.  Place stix of sweet potatoes on a non-greased cookie sheet in a single layer.  Depending on the size of your cookie sheets you might require two.  Bake for 15 minutes, flip stix and cook for another 15 minutes.  Stix should be soft and slightly crispy.

Teaching Trails Mix 


My kiddos so enjoy making trail mix, it is fun, delicious, and they are learning (shhh, they have no idea).  I enjoy making snack time into a learning opportunity and trail mix is the perfect snack to learn various skills from and, bonus for mom, it requires minimal effort to prepare.  Simply place each of the ingredients in a bowl and allow the kiddos to measure out the designated amount for each ingredient.  Once they are finished place lids on each ingredient for a future snack.

Ingredients we enjoy:

Cereal- 1/3 Cup (this varies depending on the cereal – check nutritional facts)
Raisins- 2 Tablespoons
M&Ms- 1/4 cup 
Peanuts- 2 Tablespoons

Feel free to add to our list or come up with your own.

Thing to discuss as they prepare their mix:

Colors: How many different colors of M&Ms are there?

Math: Have them count out a specific amount of M&M’s. Add and subtract M&Ms or raisins.

Tactile: discuss the way each of the ingredients feels.  Are they smooth...Rough?

Shapes:  This is particularly fun with regard to the cereal you select.  Have then tell you the different shapes that can be found in each ingredient.

Letters: Again this can be a lot of fun when you have cereal with letters.  Have them identify the letters.

Nutrition: Discuss the nutritional content of each item. Express the importance of sometime foods, like M&Ms.

Art: Clean off the area that your child is sitting at, or, place a clean place mat down and allow them to make fun pictures with their trial mix.

The learning opportunities are endless.  Have fun with this Teaching Trials Mix





Turkey Sliders

My kiddos love these; they are the perfect size for their little hands.  No more becoming frustrated because their bun keeps falling off.  These are also great because each person can perfect their own slider.  For example, my super hero only likes ketchup but my hubby and I like to doctor up our sliders with pickles and onions or Swiss cheese and mushrooms. You can make these as simple or complicated as you wish. These are also great year round, you can grill them or broil, I prefer to broil since they are so tiny. 

 Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 egg
2 tablespoons spicy mustard
12 dinner rolls

Directions:
Mix everything together and roll into evenly divided balls.
Spray broil pan with cooking spray.  Take balls and smash down into patties.
Cook as desired.  If broiling, cook 5 minutes on one side and flip.  Cook 3 minutes then remove and add cheese.  Cook dinner rolls if necessary (depends on what kind you purchase). Place patties on dinner rolls and serve with yummy sides.