Blog

Miniature Brownies

What you need: 1/3 cup of brown sugar ¼ cup butter 3 oz semisweet chocolate ½ tsp. vanilla 1 egg, lightly beaten 1/3 cup flour 24 chocolate Rosebuds How to: In a saucepan, melt sugar, butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring, until chocolate is just melted.  Remove from heat and let cool for 1 minute. Blend in vanilla and egg; gently fold in flour until blended. Spoon into tiny baking cups. Bake at 350o F in oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Remove from oven; set a Rosebud on top of each. Let cool. Makes 24 brownies Source: The Canadian Living Christmas Book

Meatball and Spaghetti Squash Soup

What you need: For Meatballs 1 slice of whole grain bread, crusts removed and torn into pieces ¼ cup milk 2 lbs (1 kg) ground veal, pork or chicken 2 tsp. dry parsley 2 eggs 2 cloves garlic, crushed with a garlic press or ¼ tsp. dry garlic 2 tsp. paprika Salt and pepper For Soup 2 onions, chopped 1 tbsp. olive oil 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or ½ tsp. dry garlic 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste 5 cups low sodium chicken broth 24 veal meatballs, fresh or frozen 2 cups spaghetti squash cooked and shredded with a fork (about 1/2 squash) 2 cups lightly packed spinach Salt and pepper How to: With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven at 375 degrees. Line one baking sheet with parchment paper. With the rack in the highest position, preheat the oven’s broiler. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on its size, or until tender. Let cool. Shred the flesh with a fork. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix the bread with the milk and let soak for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients from the meatballs section and mix well with your hands. Season with salt and pepper. With a small ice cream scoop or with lightly oiled hands, shape each meatball with about 1 tbsp. of the meat mixture. Place on the baking sheet. Grill the meatballs in the oven, one sheet at a time, for about 10 minutes or until cooked and golden brown, stirring halfway through cooking. Set aside. In a large saucepan, brown the onions in the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and meatballs and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the squash and spinach. Bring to a boil and serve. Note: To freeze the remaining meatballs, place them (cooked) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and freeze for about 4 hours or until the meatballs are frozen. Then place the meatballs in sealable freezer plastic bags. Adapted from: http://www.ricardocuisine.com/recipes/5546-meatball-and-spaghetti-squash-soup

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

What you need: ½ cup sugar ½ tsp. vanilla 1 cup mashed pumpkin ½ cup margarine or canola oil 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cinnamon ¼ tsp. salt 1 cup chocolate chips, almonds and/or raisins How to: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix pumpkin, vanilla and margarine or oil. In a different bowl, mix dry ingredients (including chocolate chips/almonds/raisins). Mix dry ingredients with pumpkin mix. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until light brown and let cool.

Niçoise Salad

What you need: 1lb small potatoes , cooked and chopped 2 cups mesclun or spinach 1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped in half 3 green onions, chopped ¼ cup green olives 1 cup corn 3 eggs, boiled and chopped 1 can tuna Salt & pepper, to taste ¼ cup olive oil ¼ cup balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar 1 garlic clove, chopped 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard Herbs, to taste How to: In a large bowl, mix the potatoes, mesclun, tomatoes, green onions, olives, corn, eggs, and tuna. Season with salt and pepper to taste. In a separate bowl, add the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, Dijon mustard, and herbs. Mix well and add to the first bowl as a dressing. Serve immediately after preparing!

Dip for fruit

What you need: ¾ cup Vanilla yogurt ¼ cup Low-fat granola 2 tbsp. Unsweetened, shredded coconut How to: Mix yogurt, granola and coconut together in a bowl. Serves six children *Reference: LEAP Food Flair, Legacies Now, p. 127.

Playing in the rain

With Canada’s warmest season right on our doorsteps comes more rainy days to take advantage of. Young children can easily grow tired of being required to stay inside all day when it is raining outside. Why not try some activities outside in the rain?

Read more

Fruit Kebab

What you need: Choose a variety of ripe, fresh fruit to make into different bite-size shapes, such as: Apple half-circles Banana rounds Cantaloupe or honeydew melon cubes Grape halves Kiwi circles Orange moon shapes Watermelon triangles How to: Remove rinds and make fruit easy for children to cut. Arrange fruit on a small plate and sparkly with cinnamon. Children can spear fruit with a fork. (This is less dangerous than a wooden skewer or toothpick.) *Reference: LEAP Food Flair, Legacies Now, p. 126.

Summer 2015

Check out this month’s Healthy Start Sampler for a feature on active outdoor play, and to learn how to cook fabulous fruit recipes!

Sunrise Early Learning Centre in Weyburn: Working Together Towards Positive Changes

Sunrise Early Learning Centre in Weyburn, Saskatchewan have been very strong proponents of healthy eating since they opened up 9 years ago.  Recently moving into a new space, and opening to the general public, Sunrise ELC has grown and greatly increased the number of children they care for.  Since their expansion, they have had to revamp their menu to be more cost effective.  To do this, the centre utilized 7 or 8 recipes from LEAP Food Flair to use within their 6 week menu rotation.  “Squashy Muffins” (p. 160 in Food Flair) are a favourite of the centre’s children, being noted by staff as “very moist and delicious”.  The centre’s food is all created from scratch, including a variety of ethnic dishes so the children can experience different tastes, textures and flavours from around the world. The Healthy Start resources are well used and have especially come in handy over the winter months.  One educator stated “the (LEAP-HOP) binders are really great because even if you only have a few minutes, you can find a new activity and do it right away”.   Another stated “It (LEAP-HOP) brings your attention to how physical the children are on their own and how easy it is to get them moving…it expands the possibilities.  It gives other alternatives to tag and hide-and-go-seek.” The children are active outdoors, as well as in the school, using the hallways and stairwells to move around when it is cold outside.  Outdoor time is usually free play, but the children enjoy working on their gross motor skills; climbing on pallets donated by Canadian Tire and creating games using recycled tires.  A new favourite is a tunnel that had been taken apart.  The centre was going to get rid of  the long, hollow tunnel, as the children didn’t seem to be using it.   Once taken apart though, the children began using sections of the tunnel in new and creative ways, incorporating the pieces in their play; lifting, rolling and climbing on them. Sunrise Early Learning staff found Healthy Start resources very easy to follow and enjoy its simple and straightforward layout.  One staff commented that “it’s nice they are in point form!  If you don’t have a lot of time, it’s easy to get the information you need”.  The staff also found that even though they had been doing well with Healthy Eating and Physical activity prior to Healthy Start, the training and resources allow them to keep refreshed and focus on their main objective; raising healthy, active children.  They want to let other centres know how easy it is to use the resources and promote active, healthy living in what they do each day.  “You just have to be creative!  Everybody has their own style, but it’s how you work together to work towards the same goal.  Working together as a team, you can definitely make positive changes!”

Khichri

What you need: 1 cup basmati or long grain rice ½ cup small yellow lentils 1 potato, diced 1 carrot, diced 1 cup chopped cauliflower 1 cup peas 1 tsp. salt 1 ½ tbsp. non-hydrogenated margarine How to: Wash rice and lentils together a few times until the water is clear. Soak for at least an hour or overnight. Wash rice and lentil mixture one more time and place in a large pot to boil with three or four cups of water. Once the mixture boils, add vegetables and salt. Lower heat to medium and cook for about 25 minutes, until soft. Add more water if needed. Remove from heat and add margarine. Serves four to six children. *Reference: LEAP Food Flair, Legacies Now, p. 167.    

Making Meal Preparation a Family Affair!

Nutrition Month may be over but we are always thinking of how to incorporate new ideas into our daily routines. Looking back at March we thought we would highlight some of the great ideas we came across! This year’s theme was ‘Eating 9 to 5’ and was geared towards helping Canadians eat healthier while at work or school.

Read more

A warm welcome to our new Healthy Start Coordinator in Regina!

The Healthy Start/Départ Santé team is excited to announce a new Project Coordinator for Regina and Southern Saskatchewan – Tracy Sentes. Being based in Regina, the Project Coordinator will help expand Healthy Start/Départ Santé to reach more places and provide support in the Southern part of the province. Tracy will also help build and develop partnerships with the surrounding early learning and childcare community. She will also facilitate a regional train-the-trainer workshop and a policy development workshop in the coming months – more information to follow in the fall. We are looking forward to further implementing the project and reaching more children in Saskatchewan! Healthy Start/Départ Santé would like to thank the Community Initiatives Fund for their generous support by making the Regina Project Coordinator position possible. Another big thank you goes out to Saskatchewan in motion for providing an office space in Regina. If you would like more information on the project or would like to connect with Tracy, please email her at [email protected].

BE ACTIVE

EAT WELL

Join the Healthy Start Community

Learn online. Anytime, anywhere.
GET STARTED