Preparing Healthy Meals: Recipes and Tips

Below are several links and resources that can help you choose and prepare healthy meals for yourself and your family. Do you have a resource we should add to this list? Tell Us!

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Kidshealth

Kidshealth has a great online listing of simple, healthy recipes. Most recipes have no more than 4 ingredients and no more than four steps, so they are designed to be easy to make as well as good to eat. Their recipe box also has healthy recipe options for children with special health needs, as well as great parenting resources for a wide variety of family health needs.

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Children's Hospital of Philadelphia "Nutrition in the Kitchen" Cookbook

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has created a wonderful, child and family friendly "Nutrition in the Kitchen Cookbook" that provides a wide variety of healthy, tasty recipes, and also provides lots of information about what makes these meals healthy.

• Click here to see the entire "Nutrition in the Kitchen Cookbook. (6.8MB)
• Click here to choose from "Nutrition in the Kitchen" recipes by meal category (smaller, faster downloads)

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Fruits and Veggies More Matters

Fruits and Veggies More Matters, a website created by the Produce for Better Health Foundation, has many collections of healthy, vegetable-rich recipes, as well as many tips about food purchasing, preparation, and storage to help you serve healthy meals even when your budget is tight.

• Searchable Recipe Database: Allows you to search for dishes by meal type, featured fruit/veggie, and fruit/veggie color.
• 30 Minute Recipes: Tasty meals for when you don't have much time.
• Recipes from Moms Like You: Recipes submitted by visitors to the Fruits and Veggies - More Matters site.
• Top 10 Ways to prepare Fruits and Vegetables: ideas for preparing vegetables to make them great tasting and maintain their nutritional value.
• Tips on Cooking with Fruits and Vegetables
• Menu A Day: A month's worth of healthy dinner menus you can serve a family of 4 for under $10/meal.

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National Heart Lung and Blood Institute:

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institue offers a wide variety of recipe offerings, including:

• Stay Young At Heart 
• Heart Healthy Home Cooking:  Recipes from African-American Traditions
• Recipes from Latino Traditions:  Spanish / English language
• Keep the Beat:  Heart Healthy Recipes:
• Lower Calorie - Lower Fat Alternative Foods:

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Spend Smart Eat Smart

Iowa State University Extension's web site on healthy eating has a variety of recipes and tips for visitors.

• Recipes and Snacks: Some recipes include a recipe demo video so you can see the dish being made.
• Snacks for Healthy Kids: Healthy snack ideas, and information on how to help your kids develop lifelong healthy snacking habits.

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Portion Distortion

Portion Distortion, and Portion Distortion II:  Portion Distortion is an interactive online quiz that allows you to think effectively about the size of portions you serve.  Many prepared and take-out foods have grown tremendously in size and caloric content over the past forty years, and this tool can help you think about what this means for yourself and your family.

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Vermont Farm to School Education Every Day (VT FEED)

VT FEED has compiled its "Healthy Snacks: 15 Different Healthy Snack Ideas" from its work with children, teachers, parents, and food service staff at VT schools.