November 19, 2021 Category: Fresh Air Fun Partnerships

Three Healthy Recipes to Share with Your Family and Friends this Season

We are sharing some of our campers’ favorite healthy and flavorful recipes from our Nutrition House at The Fresh Air Fund’s Sharpe Reservation! To ensure you are perfecting your fullest chef potential, we are also sharing some helpful cooking techniques and food safety tips to implement into your kitchen! 

A big Fresh Air thank you to the Blavatnik Foundation for generously donating a box of vegetables and other items from local Hudson Valley farms.

RECIPES:  

Potatoes Go Healthy 

Potatoes often have a bad reputation for being unhealthy; however, the cooking method in which they are prepared has a huge impact on their nutritional content. Here, we provide directions on how to create a healthy, colorful potato salad!  

INGREDIENTS:  

  • 1 ½ pounds potatoes, scrubbed (should be of similar size. If necessary cut big ones in half. ) 
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
  • 2-3 Tablespoons vinegar 
  • 1 garlic clove, minced 
  • ½ tsp salt 
  • ½ tsp pepper 
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped onion or 3 scallions, chopped 

DIRECTIONS:  

  • At least 2 of the following (depending on what is available: 2 ribs celery, chopped, 1 large carrot, shredded, ¼ cup chopped parsley or basil, ½ red pepper, chopped, ½ green pepper, chopped) 
  • Boil potatoes in lightly salted water until tender. Drain. (Potatoes can be cooked in advance, but if refrigerated, let stand at room temperature for an hour before making the salad.) 
  • Cut potatoes in ~1-in pieces and place in larger bowl. Add onion, herbs and other veggies to the same bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour dressing over potatoes and mix gently. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Zucchini Muffins  

Fresh Air kids love baked goods but baking cookies or cakes might not be the healthiest option when it comes to nutrition. On the other hand, when you make homemade muffins, the benefits are endless!  

INGREDIENTS:  

  • 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
  • ½ teaspoon each nutmeg &allspice 
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder 
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda 
  • 1/4teaspoon salt 
  • 1 cup zucchini 
  • 1/3 cup blueberries 
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil 
  • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla 
  • 2 tablespoons honey 
  • 1 large egg 

DIRECTIONS 

  • Directions – Preheat oven to 400 F.  
  • Line and spray muffin pan  
  • Combine all dry ingredients.  
  • Combine all liquid ingredients.  
  • Toss in zucchini and blueberry.  
  • Combine and mix dry and liquid mixtures.  
  • Bake 15- 30 minutes or until golden. 

Berry Smoothie 

INGREDIENTS:  

  • 1 1/2 cups lowfat milk 
  • 1 ½ cups lowfat plain yogurt 
  • 1 1/2 cups berries (strawberries, blueberries or raspberries), fresh or frozen 
  • 1 1/2 ripe bananas, peeled and cut into chunks (frozen if desired) 
  • 1 ½ tablespoon honey or sugar 
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 
  • 1 ½ cups crushed ice (if desired) 
     

DIRECTIONS: 

  • Place all ingredients in blender – use frozen fruit or add ice for a thicker smoothie. 
  • Cover and blend until smooth. 
  • Enjoy! 

COOKING TECHNIQUES

  • Liquid Ingredients in Spoons – Make sure that you don’t measure small amounts of liquid ingredients over the mixing bowl. It’s just too easy to spill, and you don’t want 2 teaspoons of almond extract when the recipe only calls for 1 teaspoon! 
  • Dry Ingredients in Spoons – Ingredients measured in these small amounts still have to be measured carefully. Overfill the measuring spoons and level off using the back of a knife for the most accurate amounts. When you bake cookies, cakes, breads, pie crusts, and candies, measuring accurately is really critical to the success of the recipe. When you are cooking casseroles, soups, stir fries, and meats, you can vary amounts more and the end result will still be good. 

FOOD SAFETY TIPS 

Always wash your hands with warm, soapy water both before and after handling food: Our hands naturally carry bacteria on them (from touching our mouths, noses and different surfaces) Bacteria can easily transfer from hands to food, where it can grow rapidly. Unless hands are washed thoroughly, bacteria remaining on our hands may transfer to one’s mouth or to the next meal.  

Don’t cross-contaminate: Cross-contamination occurs when bacteria and viruses are transferred from one contaminated person, work surface, piece of kitchen equipment, food, etc. to one that is not contaminated. All uncooked foods contain bacteria; proper cooking kills it. But if the cooked food comes into contact with the raw food or its juices, the cooked food can become contaminated. That’s why it’s essential to keep cooked and raw meats separate and to thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables. Chopping boards, plates, knives, etc. that have been in contact with any raw food (even produce), should be washed carefully with hot, soapy water, before being used for ready-to-eat foods.  

Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold: All foods that are cooked and put out to serve should be eaten right away. If food is going to be stored, make sure it is cooled quicker in a shallow container. Perishable fresh foods should not be kept at temperatures between 40°F and 140°F for more than 2 hours; after this time, they are not safe to eat, as bacteria grow well at these temperatures.  

Let us know if you try out our recipes or to share your own use our hashtag #FreshAirFund. 

For more Fresh Air at Home Activities visit our Resource page and our Fresh Air Everywhere Virtual Activity Library