Making fruit fun! Guest Post by Debra Adams

Kids in the Kitchen — Making Fun Fruit with Super Sauce

Tasha the Clean Eating Mama has already set her child off on the good nutrition path, but not all of us had the foresight (or the know-how) to do that. If you came late to the healthy food game, as I did, you’re probably finding it nearly impossible to convince your children to give up those sugary snacks and processed foods in favor of healthier choices.

One of the easiest ways I’ve found to get kids to eat right is to get them involved in both choosing and preparing food. Since I’m a by-the-seat-of-my-pants cook, anything that happens in the kitchen has to be quick and easy. That’s also the best kind of recipe for kids to tackle, too.

Here’s a fun and versatile dessert or snack that is actually quite popular around my house.

Fun Fruit with Super Sauce

· Fruit of your choice, cut into bite-sized pieces

Of course, the healthiest fruits are the ones you grow in your own yard or that come from local farmers. (At our house we grow apples, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. ) If you prefer mangoes, bananas, and pineapple, then by all means, use those. The choice is entirely up to you and your kitchen assistant.

· Super Sauce

1 cup soy yogurt

1 Tbsp agave nectar

Mix the yogurt and nectar to make a pourable sauce.

Here’s the part that makes this recipe fun – you can layer the fruit and sauce in a parfait glass, you can dip the fruit into the sauce, you can skewer the fruit and drizzle sauce over it, or you can toss the fruit into the air, catch it in your mouth, and use the sauce as a chaser.

If yogurt isn’t your thing, substitute your favorite nut butter and adjust the agave nectar to get the consistency you want.

The most important part of this recipe is the child. Let him, her, or them make the choices and prepare the fruit and sauce. Let them add other ingredients if they want to do that. Let them rename it. Having control over what they eat tends to make young people pay closer attention to the very lessons about nutrition that you’ve been trying to teach.

Oh, and if you don’t have children in your house, it’s perfectly okay to make Fun Fruit with Super Sauce for yourself. I do.

Deborah Adams is a freelance writer. She is currently a resident writer for Online Schools, which researches areas of higher learning, how to pick an online school, and education. In her spare time,she enjoys gardening and yoga.