Dr. K’s Prescription for Happy Healthy Children:
One Week Menu for a Family of Four
This menu is for families with school age children who will be eating lunch at school. Please consider packing your child’s lunch to provide healthier food choices.
Hard-boiled eggs can be cooked the night before and be ready for breakfast on the go. One whole-wheat toast and a glass of milk add calcium and fiber.
The afternoon snack is quick and light, in preparation for a heavier dinner.
The vegetable and cheese soup provides an easy way to introduce children to vegetables without noticing. Most small children are sensitive to textures and avoid any food that feels different in the mouth. Increasing the palatability of the vegetables and mixing them with other foods is the ideal way to get children accustomed to greens.
I name the soup “ The Hulk” at a time when I was trying to convince my toddler to try it. Back them my youngest son was a big fun of The Hulk, and I decided to make up a story where The Hulk liked this soup so much that his skin turned green, giving him big strength and power. I can still see my son’s big eyes open in disbelieve, while I spooned in the soup without complaints. Today The Hulk soup is one of his favorites.
Eliminating the cheese and making it just with vegetables can make a variation of this soup. You can add carrots to it, if you prefer to give it an orange color, rather than green.
The pork cutlets are a good complement because they add protein, needed for young and old. Toddlers and small children may have enough with just a bowl of soup for dinner. You can add a piece of fruit and dinner is complete for a young child. Adolescents and adults may enjoy and need the pork cutlets after. Since we already added vegetables to the soup, we don’t need to prepare any side dishes with the pork, in order to avoid overeating.
BREAKFAST:
1 hardboiled egg
1 whole-wheat toast
1 glass of milk
AFTERNOON SNACK:
banana and apples cut up
DINNER:Vegetable soup (Hulk soup) & Breaded Pork Cutlets
Ingredients: Hulk Soup
3 medium size zucchini
1 medium size onion
3 medium size potatoes
1 celery stick
2 garlic cloves
1 container of cream cheese- 8 oz.
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Ingredients: Pork Cutlets
6 pork cutlets
bread crumbs
garlic powder
2 beaten eggs
olive oil
salt, pepper
Preparation: Hulk Soup
Cut the zucchini, onion, potatoes, celery and garlic into small pieces. Place them in a pot and barely cover with water. Add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil .We don’t want to add too much water because it will make the soup too thin, as we are not draining it after cooking the vegetables. Bring to a boil and cook until all the ingredients are soft.
Without draining the water from the pot, remove from the stove and use a hand mixer to blend all the ingredients to form a thin puree. Add the cream cheese and continue cooking again until it melts well with the vegetables. You may have to use the hand blender again to obtain a more uniform consistency, after adding the cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Preparation: Pork Cutlets
Add salt and pepper to the pork. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Dip them first into the beaten egg and second into the breadcrumbs until they are evenly covered.
Heat olive oil in a skillet and add the pork cutlets, allowing them to cook on both sides until brown.
