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Summer Offers Options For Creativity In Meals

Merri Lou Dobler Correspondent

Last week was a big one for kids. The school bell rang for the last time this year. Yahoo, they said, we’re done for the summer!

For parents, it’s a big change, too. Planning vacations, organizing sports camps and setting up swimming lessons all take time.

During the school year, after-school snacks were a rather simple menu: juice, fruit, muffins, popcorn. But during the summer your kids are in and out of the kitchen every five minutes. They’re looking for a snack, wanting lunch early, and opening the freezer every hour on the hour.

So here’s where you make your plan. Sit down with your children and figure out what your summer meals will be: taco/Mexican, hamburgers/hot dogs, vegetarian, pizza, barbecue. Put the schedule in a prominent spot on the refrigerator so you’re not asked 10 times a day, “What’s for dinner, Mom?”

List the breakfast cereals you want to keep stocked. Let your children take turns deciding what cereal they like, and alternate it with lower-sugar choices.

Lunch is next. Will you go out for fast food once a week? Will the older kids make their own lunch? What can you serve with a sandwich?

Snacks may be the most important “meal,” because kids get lots of calories from them. Limit the sweets, such as popsicles, to once a day or fruit roll-ups to one box a week.

Plan to go berry picking and up to Green Bluff as the summer rolls along; kids will snack on fresh fruit all day long. Set out lower-fat crackers and cheese along with peanut butter and celery sticks to sneak in some protein.

Grapes on pizza? Your kids will think you’re crazy. Once they try this California Pizza, however, they’ll be hooked on new ways to use familiar foods.

Have a great summer!

California Pizza

From “Goodness Grape-cious!” (California Table Grape Commission).

1 thin Italian prepared pizza crust (10-inch diameter)

3/4 cup prepared pizza sauce

1-1/2 cups halved seedless grapes

1 cup diced lean ham

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Spread bread shell with pizza sauce. Sprinkle grapes and ham on sauce, and sprinkle cheese on top. Place on baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees 20 to 25 minutes.

Yield: 8 good-sized slices.

Nutrition information per serving: 485 calories, 31 grams protein, 12 grams fat (22 percent fat calories), 58 grams carbohydrate, 60 milligrams cholesterol, 1903 milligrams sodium.

, DataTimes MEMO: The goal of Five and Fifteen is to find recipes where you can do the shopping in five minutes and the cooking in 15. Merri Lou Dobler, a registered dietitian and Spokane resident, welcomes ideas from readers. Write to Five and Fifteen, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.

The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = COLUMN, RECIPE - Five and Fifteen

The goal of Five and Fifteen is to find recipes where you can do the shopping in five minutes and the cooking in 15. Merri Lou Dobler, a registered dietitian and Spokane resident, welcomes ideas from readers. Write to Five and Fifteen, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.

The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = COLUMN, RECIPE - Five and Fifteen