Cooking Up Resilience with Family Mealtimes

Hello!

Today we're focusing on the idea of RESILIENCE in children. Resilience is the ability to recover after experiencing a stressful event or trauma. One way to build resilience is through family mealtimes to keep communication and support open in your household. 

If you listen to our mini-podcast here, we give you a quick introduction to the idea of resilience and how you can start using family mealtimes to build resilience.

And to help you out, we've got a 5 fun and tasty meals for you to try for family dinners.

Brown Sugar Chicken Stir-Fry

TOTAL TIME: Prep/Total Time: 30 min. YIELD: 4 servings.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 3 teaspoons canola oil, divided
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 package (16 ounces) frozen broccoli stir-fry vegetable blend
• Hot cooked rice, optional

Directions

• 1. Mix cornstarch and water until smooth. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat; stir-fry chicken and garlic 1 minute. Add honey, soy sauce, salt and pepper; cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink, 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan.
• 2. In same pan, stir-fry vegetable blend in remaining oil just until tender, 4-5 minutes. Return chicken to pan. Stir cornstarch mixture and add to pan; bring to a boil. Cook and stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Serve with rice if desired.

Nutrition Facts

1 cup stir-fry: 249 calories, 6g fat (1g saturated fat), 63mg cholesterol, 455mg sodium, 21g carbohydrate (15g sugars, 3g fiber), 25g protein. 

How Kids Can Help:

·       Measuring and adding ingredients to pan

Lentil Burritos

TOTAL TIME: Prep/Total Time: 30 min. YIELD: 8 burritos.

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup dried brown lentils
• ½ c diced onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 small zucchini, chopped
• 1 cup taco sauce
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 8 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed

Directions

• 1. Place first six ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, 15-20 minutes. Drain if necessary.
• 2. Stir zucchini, taco sauce and cheese into lentils. To serve, place about 1/2 cup lentil mixture on each tortilla and roll up.

Nutrition Facts

1 burrito: 313 calories, 7g fat (3g saturated fat), 9mg cholesterol, 452mg sodium, 47g carbohydrate (4g sugars, 5g fiber), 14g protein. 

How Kids Can Help:

·       Measuring and adding ingredients to saucepan

·       Put lentil mixture in burritos and roll up for serving

Sunshine Chicken

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 15 min. Cook: 40 min. YIELD: 4 servings.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1-1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain brown rice
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• Chopped fresh parsley

Directions

• 1. Combine curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper; rub over both sides of chicken. In a skillet, combine orange juice, rice, water, brown sugar, mustard and remaining salt. Mix well. Top rice mixture with chicken pieces; bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 40-45 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, until all liquid has absorbed, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

Nutrition Facts

1 serving: 322 calories, 5g fat (1g saturated fat), 78mg cholesterol, 566mg sodium, 36g carbohydrate (8g sugars, 3g fiber), 32g protein. 

How Kids Can Help:

·       Measuring and adding ingredients to pan

·       Seasoning chicken (wash hands thoroughly before and after handling raw poultry)

Zucchini Pasta

TOTAL TIME: Prep/Total Time: 15 min. YIELD: 3 servings.

Ingredients

• 1 package (7 ounces) angel hair pasta or thin spaghetti
• 2 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Mexican diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

• 1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute zucchini and garlic in oil until zucchini is crisp-tender.
• 2. Add the tomatoes, parsley, oregano and pepper flakes; heat through. Drain pasta; serve with zucchini mixture.

Nutrition Facts

1 cup: 412 calories, 15g fat (2g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 299mg sodium, 59g carbohydrate (8g sugars, 5g fiber), 11g protein.

How Kids Can Help:

·       Measuring and adding ingredients to pan

Chicken Tacos with Avocado Salsa

TOTAL TIME: Prep/Total Time: 30 min. YIELD: 4 servings.

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 c diced onion
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn, thawed
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 8 corn tortillas, warmed

Directions

• 1. Place a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Saute onion until translucent, remove from pan. Use the same pan to brown chicken. Add cooked onion, water, sugar, and seasonings. Cook 4-5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring occasionally.
• 2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, gently mix avocado, corn, tomatoes and lime juice. Spoon chicken mixture into taco shells; top with avocado salsa.
  Freeze option: Freeze cooled meat mixture in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and adding a little water if necessary.

Nutrition Facts

2 tacos: 354 calories, 15g fat (3g saturated fat), 63mg cholesterol, 474mg sodium, 30g carbohydrate (4g sugars, 6g fiber), 27g protein. 

How Kids Can Help:

·       Measuring and adding ingredients to pan

·       Squeezing lime for juice

·       Spooning chicken mixture and salsa into tortillas for serving

Resilient Resources

Check out our podcast here

Find more resources for family mealtimes here: https://www.eatright.org/food/nutrition/eating-as-a-family