Simple Sides: Firepit Fruit Sundae
Children in this country consume an estimated 12 percent of their calories from fast food and 20 percent of all American meals are consumed in a car! The consequences are predictably unhealthy. Competing schedules in the day-to-day lives of a busy modern family make it difficult to share a home-cooked meal together, but possible. In fact, with a little planning, cooking together can become a fun family event and learning opportunity. This feature will focus on providing a child or a group of children, working together under the supervision of an adult, with one uncomplicated, healthy, and delicious side dish recipe. The dishes, focus on seasonal fresh produce items and will always contain tasks that allow even the youngest kitchen helper to contribute to the family meal. Parents should always read each recipe carefully to judge the division of labor based on age and ability as well as to identify where adult attention might be especially needed.
Many of the recipes presented here will seem extremely basic, this is by design. These simple preparations will provide the culinary foundation and confidence to inspire kids to try more challenging recipes as their experience and confidence in the kitchen develops. Melissa’s encourages parents to find the time to gather as a family unit at least once a week for a dinner that everyone pitches in to prepare. It is a wonderful way to teach a child some basic culinary skills and, more importantly, cooking with your children will build memories in all your hearts forever. Enjoy your kids in the kitchen, they will be grown & gone before you know it! “No one is born a great cook; one learns by doing” – Julia Child.
The family BBQ dinner has been cleared from the backyard picnic table; the fire pit is crackling with glowing embers—it’s a peaceful summertime evening in the neighborhood. Option #1: let the kids build s’mores and brace for the inevitable sugar rush that will jar the evening’s quiet about twenty minutes after the last marshmallow is roasted. Unfortunately, the saturated fat content of that wonderfully messy, chocolatey campfire tradition will linger in the metabolism for much longer than a fleeting sugar high. There is certainly a place in every childhood for a multitude of s'mores. However, the sedentary social lifestyle of kids today, which often includes too many hours staring at a small screen with little calorie burn, should at least limit the number of times this dish is enjoyed.
Option #2: Change things up by starting with grilled slices of tropical fruit slathered in cinnamon-butter, as the base for building an all-fruit sundae! For demonstration purposes, this recipe uses pineapple, banana, mango and strawberries, though there are several fruit options that grill easily. For instance, July is the peak of summer soft fruit harvest; try grilling peaches, plums and nectarines. Grilling intensifies the sweet flavors of fruit without affecting the beneficial nutrients and fiber content. While the sugars in grilled fruit are still there, the fiber content slows ingestion into the metabolism and thus avoids blood-sugar spikes, a.k.a. “Smart Carbs.” Alert: There is no fiber content in a marshmallow.
A childhood should also include the occasional ice cream sundae treat! In moderation, of course. Ice cream is made with full-fat milk and double cream, so it has almost double the calories of a fruit sorbet, for instance, with significantly more fat. However, dairy ice creams also contain more nutrients, especially calcium, potassium, phosphorus and Vitamin A than sorbet. Then there is the ugly truth that commercial sorbet is not a monument to healthy eating either, as its two main ingredients are sugar and water. Fruit purées are added to this sugar syrup, then frozen. **Instead, simply purée fresh raspberries (or any fruit) with a bit of lemon juice, thin this mixture out with a little water, then freeze for an all-fruit sorbet without a firepit sugar rush.
Grilled Fruit Sundae
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 fresh Honeyglow® Pineapple rings, peeled, cored, about 3/4-inch thick
1 Mango, large cubes (skewered)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 bananas, cut in half crosswise
1 large piece foil, treated with cooking spray
4 large fresh strawberries, tops removed, cut in half
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4-6 cups raspberry sorbet (home-made**)
10-12 fresh blueberries (topping)
1 clamshell Clean Snax® Almond, crushed (topping)
What the supervising adult should do
Core the pineapple for rings & extract mango – both not kid-friendly tasks. Grilling: a child and an open flame MUST be closely supervised or simply have the kids skewer and brush the fruit in the cinnamon butter then hand off to an adult for grilling. Assembly of the sundae is child’s play!
What the kids can do
Mix together the melted butter and cinnamon in small bowl. Skewer mango cubes. Brush banana, mango and pineapple with butter mixture.
Grill banana and pineapple for 3 minutes on each side and rotate skewers until grill marks develop. Remove from grill; set aside and keep warm.
Soak the strawberry halves in the balsamic, place the foil on the hot grill, grill berries 2 minutes on each side or until slightly soft.
Remove peel from banana piece and slice in half crosswise. Arrange grilled fruit in tall sundae glasses along with the sorbet leaving a half-inch less than full. Then add a few blueberries and top with crushed Clean Snax® and a half strawberry.
