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PIZZA, ANYONE? GET YOUR KIDS OFF THE SOFA AND INTO THE KITCHEN!
There is nothing more important that we can
do
for our children than give them the gift of
appreciating food and understanding that food fuels our bodies and minds. Not only does what they eat affect their ability to perform in school, play sports and be able to function in social situations, but what they put in their bodies today has a direct effect on their health as an adult!
So get them into the kitchen with you and make pizza with them! What? Make pizza? Yes! I do a popular program with children in schools and private homes called Kids in the Kitch, in which we make healthy pizza while talking about nutrition. It dawned on me how easy it would be to communicate this formula to my readers. Not only will they learn about nutrition and have fun in the kitchen, but they will adore having this special time with you!
So, here goes…I am divulging my super-secret, healthy pizza recipe:
Recipe for Whole-Wheat Pizza
1 to 2 cups whole-wheat flour (can also use rye and/or add flaxseed meal)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 squirt flaxseed oil
1 teaspoon yeast
Grated mozzarella cheese (or soy cheese for you vegans!)
Marinara sauce
To make the dough, combine the flour, olive oil, flaxseed oil and 1 cup of hot water in a mixing bowl and mix together with a spoon and then your hand. It is very sticky at this point and tons of fun to get all ooey and gooey with. Add more flour or water as necessary to get a very doughy consistency.
Knead the dough directly in the mixing bowl with flour so that the dough does not stick to your hands. My daughter, Caroline, loves kneading and pounding on the dough and will do this forever! Knead into a ball and put aside for an hour and let the dough rise. (Note to parents with more than one child: Break the dough up into separate balls so each child will have his own pizza to decorate to avoid argument and to make the experience more enjoyable for all!)
Prepare any vegetables that you will use as a topping. We use broccoli, green beans, peas, corn, carrots and peppers, but any vegetable in your fridge can be used for hair, eyes and a mouth. Get creative and it is fun!
Have your child roll out or push the dough out with their hands onto the pizza tray. Add tomato sauce and lots of cheese, then decorate with vegetables and put it into the oven. Obviously, it goes without saying that the grown-up always puts the pizza in the oven! Cook at 350 degrees. Take out and let cool, then enjoy!
Now, here are the keys to really making this time worthwhile:
Talk with your children about what you are making. Children are smarter than we give them credit for. The earlier we begin talking to them about what makes their body strong, what makes their brains smart and what makes them feel good, the better choices they will make.
Don’t dumb down the information. Explain to them why you are using whole-wheat flour instead of white, that the marinara sauce is bursting with vitamin C, that the broccoli they are decorating their pizza with is full of iron that will give them a lot of energy for sports, and that the carrots have beta-carotene in them that makes their eyes strong.
Pick a food the children will like. This could be anything from mac and cheese to chocolate chip cookies! Just be sure to make healthy substitutes—whole wheat or rye flour for white flour; agave nectar or honey for white sugar. It is always nice to add a squirt of flax or another healthy ingredient for an added nutritional boost.
Experiment, don’t be worried about getting messy, talk to your kids and have fun!
Katherine Pennington is a holistic health counselor and founder of Be in Balance, which helps women and men lose weight, reduce stress and achieve more balance in their lives. Additionally, Katherine runs a cooking program for kids and their moms called Kids in the Kitch, in which she helps mothers and fathers cook healthier meals for their families as well as works one-on-one with children. Katherine is also an avid runner and marathoner and advises athletes on how to fuel for maximum performance and health.
Katherine graduated from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition/Columbia Teachers College and is a member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. Additionally, Katherine is a founding member of Women for Family Nutrition (www.wffn.org).
Katherine resides in New York City and is the mother to two beautiful children.
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