5210 > Fruits & Veggies

Stick it in a food processor:
Kids love spaghetti. Anything that includes pasta, children are bound to enjoy. Don’t worry, there is a way to make pasta healthy. Use your blender or food processor to add some veggies to your pasta sauce! For example, puree broccoli or peppers for a great source of vitamin C, or blend carrots and spinach for a blast of vitamin A. Mix that right into your tomato sauce, and your children won’t even know its’ in there.

Put it on a pizza:
Adding veggies to a pizza is a great way to get your kids to eat a serving a veggies, while eating a food they love. Get a hot-pizza to-go and add some onions, peppers, or even that tomato sauce from the pasta night before. If you really want to get creative, make your own pizza and puree some veggies together for the tomato sauce.

We found a Grilled Vegetable Pizza recipe on Food Network that would be great for you to cook with your children:

Dough:

• 3 1/2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
• 2 packages dry active yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water from the tap
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• Flour for the work surface
• A sprinkling of cornmeal
• Store-bought Pizza dough can be used instead

Topping:

• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
• Red peppers
• Zucchini
• Eggplant
• Asparagus
• Portobello mushrooms
• Onions
• Scallions
• Olive oil
• Salt, pepper

Directions:
Dough: Place flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a mixer fitted with a dough hook. While mixer is running, gradually add water, knead on low speed until dough is firm and smooth, about 10 minutes. Turn machine off. Pour oil down inside of bowl. Turn on low once more for 15 seconds to coat inside of bowl and all surfaces of dough with the oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm spot until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Sauce: Pour tomatoes into a strainer that has been fitted over a microwave proof bowl. Using your hands, crush the tomatoes. Press all juices into bowl. Set crushed tomatoes aside. Place bowl with tomato juices in microwave and cook on high until thickened to consistency of ketchup, about 20 to 25 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes to sauce. Cool to room temperature. Toppings: Slice some vegetables. Skewer onion slices to keep them together. Brush vegetable slices with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place vegetables on hot grill pan. When done, set aside. Assembly: Preheat your oven to highest setting, 500 or 550 degrees. If using a pizza stone, preheat oven 1 hour ahead. Punch dough down, cut in half. On generously floured work surface, place one half of dough. By hand, form dough loosely into a ball, stretch into a circle. Using a floured rolling pin, roll dough into large circle until very thin. Don’t worry if your circle isn’t perfect. If you get a hole, pinch edges back together. To prevent dough from sticking to counter, turn it over and add flour as needed. Transfer dough to pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal. Ladle tomato sauce on pizza dough. Add assorted vegetables. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.