Weelicious Helps Moms Get Kids in the Kitchen (VIDEO)

Catherine McCord — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 10:30:02 +0000

If you have kids, no doubt you know how hard it can be to get them to try new foods, particularly healthy ones. Getting them to help you make the food as a way to get them excited about eating it can be even more challenging. That’s where Weelicious comes in. Watch Weelicious founder Catherine McCord talk about teaching others how to cook quick and easy meals with their kids:

WATCH: Chef Tim Love’s Secret to Getting Kids to Try New Foods

McCord started Weelicious as just a blog years ago, with fresh and easy recipes for moms to make for kids of all ages. But she soon realized moms needed more help to make her suggested dishes. She began posting original videos to accompany the recipes as a tutorial, she says, “to show parents that you can get your kids in the kitchen with you.”

To make cooking with kids even easier, McCord is releasing her very own cookbook, Weelicious: 140 Fast, Fresh, and Easy Recipes, that will help parents turn their kids into great eaters who appreciate food and are open to exciting new flavors. The ultimate cooking guide comes out September 18, 2012. Click here to get your copy.

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Tired of the Same Ole’ PB&J? Get Creative With Kids’ Lunch

Catherine McCord — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 10:53:27 +0000

It’s back to school time, which means it’s also time to think of new ideas to pack your kids for school lunches and snacks. Try these quick and easy recipes from Weelicious.com’s Catherine McCord – kids will eat them up!

Back to school! Getting your kids back in the swing of things after a long summer break may be exciting, but for many it’s back to the dreaded, inevitable preparation of school lunch. That means close to 200 packed lunches over the next year.

WATCH: Weelicious Helps Moms Get Kids in the Kitchen

How do you make it tasty, nutritious and exciting for your kids as well as being easy to prepare for you? Here are a few tips that will help:

Focus on packing a fruit, vegetable, protein and carbohydrate in each meal. This may seem daunting at first, but it’s actually easier than you think. That could mean an apple, bagel with cream cheese and a handful of sugar snap peas.
Kids use all their senses when it comes to food, so shape and color can be just as important as taste and smell. Cutting foods into coins, sticks or other shapes can change a child’s perception of a food.
Switch it up! I know it’s easy to toss the same ole’ PB&J and banana in a brown bag, but in the long run if you want your kid to be good eater and enjoy a balance of different foods offering a variety nutrients, it’s a plus to offer a selection of different foods.
Freeze everything! Any time you make muffins, cookies or have leftover bread, pop it in the freezer so you can pull one or two out at a time when you need it.
Banana dog bites; Catherine McCord, Weelicious.com

WATCH: Chef Tim Love’s Secret to Getting Kids to Try New Foods

Pressed for time? Try these quick, go-to items:

Nut butters (almond, peanut and sunflower are great choices)
Cream cheese
Cheddar, mozzarella or your favorite cheese (sticks, bricks, shredded or slices)
Pesto (goes great with pasta, rice, quinoa, as a sandwich spread)
Pasta (a variety of shapes like ziti, macaroni, rotini or more)
Bananas (to eat on their own, sliced and added with honey and nut butter on a sandwich or added to Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies)
Baby carrots, sugar snap peas, cucumbers or any of your child’s favorite veggies
Dehydrated, freeze dried or dried fruit
Yogurt
Bread (bagels, english muffins, tortillas or your favorite sandwich bread)

Here are a few nutritious and kid-friendly lunch ideas from Weelicious.com:

Greek Israeli Couscous Salad/Catherine McCord, Weelicious.com

Banana Dog Bites, celery with Ranch Dip, cubed mango and Graham Crackers

Egg Pesto Melt (my son’s favorite), orange slices, edamame and Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Grilled Cheese and Pickle Panini, blueberries, Roasted Carrot Coins and Fruit and Seed Bars

Greek Israeli Couscous Salad, strawberries, sliced red bell peppers and a Carrot, Apple and Coconut Muffins

Like this story? Check out: Top Chef Susan Feniger and Ming Tsai on Healthy Back-to-School Foods

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Weelicious Helps Moms Get Kids in the Kitchen (VIDEO)

Tired of the Same Ole’ PB&J? Get Creative With Kids’ Lunch