Kid-Friendly Archives - Nutritious Eats

Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip

February 20, 2013 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD9 Comments

Peanut Butter Fluff Dip | www.nutritiouseats.com

I had never been to a Pampered Chef party before living in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. I lived in the most awesome neighborhood and made several stay-at-home mom friends. To be quite honest, there wasn't much to do there so we had all sorts of fun get togethers. I got introduced to Pampered Chef through the girls there and remember one party my neighbor hosted that focused on kid friendly food. The rep of the party made this super simple dip which I call Peanut Butter Fluff (but for the sake of people finding the recipe it's official name will be Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip). This my friends, … [Read more...]

Filed under: Gluten Free, Kid-Friendly, Snacks Tagged with dairy, pampered chef, peanut butter dip, snack, yogurt

Healthy Snack Ideas and Frozen Banana Pops

January 23, 2013 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD21 Comments

We are in our second week of the four week DietBet weight loss challenge I am hosting and today I thought we'd talk about healthy snacks. I know personally I get into the routine of eating the same few things for my snacks so I thought it would be helpful to make a list of some healthy snacking options. I'll get to these easy and fun frozen pops in a minute. Snacks are an excellent way to curb your hunger until your next mealtime. Eating frequent small meals helps to keep your blood sugars steady which in turn prevents you from feeling sluggish or overly hungry. Snacks are also … [Read more...]

Filed under: Healthy Snacks, Kid-Friendly, Nutrition & Wellness, Snacks Tagged with banana, healthy snacks, kid snacks, whole grain cereal, yogurt

Flourless Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies ( Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)

December 19, 2012 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD15 Comments

Congratulations to Katie C. the winner of the Uncommon Goods Giveaway! I know you will enjoy the gifts as much as I did! Hi friends. It has been way too long. I am back from vacation in San Diego and totally behind schedule. I planned on blogging while I was there but I took my lap top which I don't usually blog from and it was so slow that I couldn't handle wasting precious vacation time trying to post. I didn't take many real photos but if you are on instagram you can see a few of the ones I did take while in San Diego (click on the IG button up top). We hit up Disneyland, California … [Read more...]

Filed under: Christmas, Cookies, Kid-Friendly Tagged with Christmas cookies, dairy-free, easy, flourless, gluten free, peanut butter

Easy Kids Birthday Cake: Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

October 21, 2012 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD9 Comments

As I mentioned last week,my oldest son turned 6 this past week and we had a low key yet wonderful birthday celebration. We have seemed to make it a tradition to go to the zoo to celebrate L's birthday in October. It is always a fun thing to do that can take place during the day of the birthday if you have the party scheduled on a different day. The thing is this year, there was no party. We did the zoo on his actual birthday and Chuck E Cheese (per request of my son) the following day when my husband could take off work. Instead of a party we just spent the evening opening … [Read more...]

Filed under: Cakes, Desserts, Kid-Friendly, Meal Planning, Splurge-worthy Tagged with birthdays, boys cake. meal planning, cake

Hot Beans & Cheese and Budget Meal Planning

October 14, 2012 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD29 Comments

My penny-pinching meal plan worked out well last week. I stayed within my budget and did not make any random trips to the grocery store. Yay me! I found that beans were the main staple of our diet this past week. This is what we ate several times this past week (between lunches and dinner)- sooooo good. I know, I know, it's not a creative new recipe but years ago my sister-in-law got me hooked on this and I thought you might need to know about it too. I have always opened a can of refried beans to make bean and cheese tacos but there is something about doing it this way that transforms the … [Read more...]

Filed under: Appetizers, Kid-Friendly, Vegetarian, Weeknight Favorites Tagged with kid friendly, mexican, quick and easy, vegetarian

Popcorn Balls Perfect for a Halloween Celebration!

October 3, 2012 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD8 Comments

Happy October everyone! I can't believe it is already time to get out my Halloween decorations. I absolutely LOVE this time of the year and am always shocked at how fast it flies by. When October hits, I immediately think of treats for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas! I love baking in the fall and winter. Speaking of treats, did you grow up eating popcorn balls this time of year? Or did you ever get them in your Halloween treat basket? They are something that I have always seen in magazines but have just never made. This differs from most traditional popcorn ball recipes in that it … [Read more...]

Filed under: Halloween, Kid-Friendly, Other Tagged with bake-sale, halloween, kids, popcorn, treats

Trick to Making the Creamiest Smoothie & a Tropical Smoothie Recipe

September 6, 2012 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD13 Comments

Congratulations to the two winners of the lunch kit giveaway- Aimee S. and Frances S. Thank you so much for entering! I know what you're thinking. A smoothie recipe? How original, right. Well the only reason I am posting this is because I learned a trick to making the creamiest smoothie possible. We're talking milkshake creamy. We got home from a family bike ride over the weekend and I was craving something refreshing. I make the same smoothie all the time and this isn't my typical "recipe". I had this humongous bag of frozen Tropical fruit from Costco that I am trying to make my … [Read more...]

Filed under: Breakfast, Brunch, Kid-Friendly, Nutritious Eats Original Tagged with fruit, kid friendly, smoothie, snack, soy

Back to School Lunches & a Giveaway!

August 30, 2012 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD51 Comments

My oldest starts kindergarten today! I am so excited and what's even better is that his school doesn't start until 9:05am! Dream!! The only bad thing is that the full day kindergarten filled up so quickly that he is in a half day kindergarden class which is only 3 hours. Boo. I was so excited for him to attend a regular school day but we will have to wait until 1st grade. Luckily the school is just a few minutes walk from our house so I will be able to utilize my time. We went for open house on Tuesday of this week and the school is beautiful. New, really nice and big. We are all so excited … [Read more...]

Filed under: Giveaway, Kid Lunches, Kid-Friendly Tagged with back to school, giveaway, healthy kid lunches, lunch kit, school lunches

Homemade Cheese Crackers & Meal Planning

August 12, 2012 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD19 Comments

My kids are constantly hungry. It would be odd if more than a couple hours go by that they don't ask for a snack. While fruit is one of their number one favorite snacks, they love almost anything crunchy or cheesy. Yes, I realize that these are made with butter and cheese and are not the most healthy snack ever...but they are homemade and don't have a lot of preservatives like other snack food and I am happy to feed them on occasion to my kiddos. Plus cheese is on my approved list and these have no sugar. The cereal adds a nice crunch factor. School is approaching soon- my oldest … [Read more...]

Filed under: Appetizers, Kid-Friendly, Snacks Tagged with appetizers, cheese, crackers, snacks

My New Obsession & Meal Planning

April 15, 2012 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD18 Comments

So I have a funny story. My mother-in-law is a member of the Blue Star Mother's Group, an organization for mothers of men and women serving or who have served in the Armed Forces. She is very active and it seems like a great organization. Several of the women in the group send my husband cards for no reason other than to say hi, thank-you, or to offer support. One of the moms sent a card about a week and a half ago. I was reading it aloud to Toby and she wrote a little note about how great military spouses are (which was very sweet) and also congratulating us on our upcoming anniversary. WHAT? … [Read more...]

Filed under: Kid-Friendly, Sides, Snacks, Vegan-adaptable, Vegetarian, Weeknight Favorites Tagged with