I am thrilled to have Zesty of www.zestycook.com as a guest blogger on Southern Plate today! I know  you’ll enjoy his post! Thank you, Zesty!

I am quite honored to be writing for Southern Plate’s audience today and at the same time rather nervous.

I have been a fan of Christy’s blog for sometime now and have been thinking about what to post for a few weeks.

Within this post, I would like to cover two topics. First, I will discuss ways to deal with kids who are picky eaters. This is taken from experience as my oldest child is very picky so I have been pulling out all the stops to sneak in a veggie here or there.

Secondly, I would like to share an old classic recipe that utilize some of the techniques of sneaking in vegetables as well as using leftovers to the fullest.

10 Tips for Picky Eaters

It is really common for kids to be picky about what they eat and to turn their nose up at healthy foods. These 10 tips will help even the pickiest eater enjoy healthy meals.

1. Get them excited about healthy food:

Let them smell, touch, taste, ask questions and try fruits, veggies, yogurts along with other healthy foods in the kitchen. Ask them what they think of the foods and let them know their opinions count.

2. Get them involved in the kitchen:

Let them help you with jobs in the kitchen such as mixing ingredients, putting away plastic dishes, turning on the blender etc. Be sure to thank them for their help.

3. Give them a say in what they eat:

Help your kids make the right food and drink choices from an early age. If they have a say in decisions they will be more excited about what they eat. It’s a great way to get them to take charge of their health.

4. Take them grocery shopping with you:

Get your kids involved in shopping decisions. It may take a little more time in the supermarket but it will help them understand the food groups and the value of eating healthy.

5. Remove the junk food your house:

Your kids can’t eat unhealthy snacks if you don’t buy them. Kids will moan at first but soon they will get hungry and reach for the apple instead of the chips.

6. Add healthy food when you can:

Find ways to add healthy foods into foods your child already likes. You can put blueberries in pancakes, chopped fruit on cereal, or small pieces of broccoli in macaroni and cheese. Or add leftover veggies from the night before into your next meal.

7. Help them learn:

Encourage your kids to draw or doodle pictures of healthy foods or write a poem. Post it on the fridge and make sure they know you are proud.

8. Sit down together:

Try to set aside your meals as family time. Turn off the TV and enjoy eating together.

9. Keep healthy snacks on hand:

Bring healthy snacks where ever you go, and at other times when you know their stomachs will be grumbling.

10. Make healthy food and meals fun:

Try cutting up food into fun shapes or making faces out of fruit and vegetables (One I have tried in the past is cauliflower popcorn – It was a hit). Putting healthy snacks such as oatmeal cookies or dried fruit into a fun bag can turn healthy foods into a cool snack for your child.

Next time you are in the kitchen thinking about meal time or even simply talking to you children – try and incorporate some of the tips listed above. They have helped me along the way and hopefully they can help you deal with picky eaters at your table.

Homemade Turkey Pot Pie

On Christmas day, for as long as I can remember, we’ve always had a large turkey dinner. With that comes a lot of leftovers in the form of vegetables, gravy, turkey etc. Sometimes I have a craving for an old fashion turkey pot pie to utilize some of those ingredients.

Below is a simple little recipe that tastes great on its own or with a quick and simple garden salad on the side.

Ingredients

FLAKY TENDER PIE CRUST (makes enough for two pies 9″ diameter)

• 2 – 4 tablespoons ice water
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
• 1/2 cup Crisco shortening
• Egg wash of 1 yolk whisked with 1 tablespoon water

PIE FILLING

• 1 cup of gravy
• 1/2 cup cooked carrots (chopped or sliced)
• 1/2 cup corn
• 1/2 cup peas
• 3/4 cup chopped turkey meat (cooked)

Method

1. In a large bowl, stir together one cup of flour, sugar and salt. With a hand-held pastry blender, cut butter into flour until butter is dime-sized.
2. Add shortening, cut into mixture til dime-sized. Lightly stir in remaining flour. Sprinkle with half the water. With a full palm, squeeze flour together against side of bowl.
3. Rub hands together to drop damp flour into mixture. Add just enough water to hold together; the less water the better, dry crumbs on the bottom are good.
4. Refrigerate. Preheat oven to 375F.
5. Sprinkle work surface with flour. Cut dough in half, return second piece to frig. Sprinkle dough with flour. Working in just one direction, roll dough into an oval the diameter of the pie plate plus its sides. Slip a bench knife beneath dough to loosen, turn 90 degrees. Roll again to form a circle. Brush off excess flour. Brush off excess flour.
6. Bake bottom crust until golden brown.
7. Prepare filling in a bowl by adding gravy, corn, peas, carrots and turkey. Mix together and season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Roll out top crust. Fill bottom crust with your filling. Gently flip top crust over filling, brush off excess flour. Trim excess pastry, then turn under and press to form and seal the edge. Crimp decoratively. Slice top to vent. Brush top (but not edges) with egg wash.
9. Bake 35 minutes or until top crust is golden brown and juices inside are bubbling.
10. Let cool for 5 minutes prior to slicing.



11. ENJOY!

I really hope you enjoyed today’s guest post. I had a lot of fun creating it. If you do like what you see, by all means come over to zestycook and browse around and get in touch with me through comments, email or by subscribing. I look forward to seeing everyone.

Take care

zesty

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