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Nowadays, unhealthy foods are easier to find. A big bag of chips are
always in stores, as well as high calorie beverages,candy bars and
street foods are everywhere. Recently, the government has mandated
school cafeterias to sell foods only with high nutritional value. This
is a good move by the government that needs to be supported by the
schools and parents.

But let us take a closer look, a lot of stores and ambulant vendors
are outside the school premises. And even before the kids enter the
school, they already bought food from these vendors. These vendors are
actually selling streetfoods like fish/squidballs, chicken nuggets,
pancakes, juices and many others. And we are not sure if they were
prepared properly. The government should at least do something with
this. Perhaps those vendors are earning a living from it but there
must be some standard they need to follow because the life of the
kid's are at stake.

The schools need to support the government's program by permanently
removing the junk foods and high calorie beverages, out of the school
cafeterias. They should promote healthier eating to students. And they
must encourage parents to provide healthier foods to kids.

If you are a parent concerned of  your child's well-being then healthy
meals and snacks should start at home. It's not really easy to feed
kids with vegetables and fruits. They would rather choose a bag of
chips, a bar of chocolates, a can of soda, or some candies. Now the
question is, how can we take their attention off these junkies?

Mothers has tried experimenting on their recipes already. Actually,
kid friendly vegetarian recipes are available online and on recipe
books. Root crops have been made to candies. Fruits have been
processed to jams. And there were many other ways of preparing
vegetables to attract the kids attention.

Here are some recipes that you can try. It's not only kid friendly but
is nutritious and delicious for everyone.

Filipino Banana Blossom Burger Recipe

1 banana blossom about a kilo (boiled and chopped)

2 medium sized bell pepper, chopped

1 medium sized onion, finely diced

2 extra large eggs

1/2 cup flour

salt, sugar and pepper to taste

Simply mix all the ingredients above in a bowl. Form patties, don't
worry of the consistency, the ingredients will hold together once you
cook it on a pan. And in just a minute your banana blossom patties are
ready to land the burger bun or bread or Pandesal (the Filipino
breakfast rolls). It can go with rice as well. And some kids just love
it with ketchup.


Carrot Fries

1/2 kilo carrots sliced into sticks (you may use a crinckle cutter)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

Toss the sticks of carrots in the oil, sprinkle the salt. Bake it for
10-15 minutes at 400 degrees F, or until soft. This is great for
toddlers 1year and up.


Sweet Potato (Camote) Dessert

5-6 medium sized sweet potato

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup condensed milk

1/2 cup sugar

grated cheese for topings

Boil the sweet potato until cooked. Peel the skin, mash it with fork
until soft. In a separate bowl, mix butter, milk and sugar. Add the
mashed sweet potato, mix well. Spoon in paper cups, top with grated
cheese. Chill for about an hour.

There are more vegetable recipes online that you can try. It is more
nutritious for the kids and affordable as well.