Trick and treat
You've heard that every little bit counts. And it's absolutely true when it comes to nutrition for kids. Look for opportunities to sneak heart healthy ingredients and foods such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains into their meals and snacks. Try these delectable treats.
- Add fresh berries, diced apples or a mashed banana to pancake batter.
- Grate zucchini or carrot, and add it to baked loaves and breads.
- Spread toast, sandwiches and vegetables with Becel Omega3 plus non-hydrogenated margarine for three important types of omega-3 fats - DHA, EPA and ALA - to help maintain good health.
- Purée cauliflower and add it to mashed potatoes or soups. It's a fat-free way to add extra fibre to the recipe.
- Add finely diced onions, mushrooms and tomatoes to spaghetti sauce.
- Serve lean meat tacos on romaine lettuce leaves instead of taco shells. This will boost the number of vegetable servings, and cut down on fat and sodium too.
- Mix whole-wheat pasta with regular pasta. Once you add the spaghetti sauce, it's hard to see the difference.
- Add bran or ground flax to boost the fibre content of homemade meatballs.
- Substitute whole-wheat flour for half of the white flour in a recipe. Whole-wheat flour has about three times more fibre than white flour.
- Add a small handful of fibre-rich barley into your favourite soup or stew.
- Make fruity smoothies and "shakes" with low-fat yogurt instead of ice cream.
- Cook and bake with omega-3 enriched eggs, specially produced to contain about eight times more omega-3 polyunsaturated fats than regular eggs. And they taste just as good!
- Purée canned beans (rinse and drain them first), and use them to make a dip for fresh vegetables or whole-grain crackers.
- Coat fish fillets with unsalted, chopped nuts to give a crunchy, heart healthy crust.