Saturday, May 12, 2012

Mothers Day is a Great Day for Growing Healthy Kids: Spinach Frittatas


Happy Mothers Day!  

Did you ever stop to think about what your mother taught you about foods, cooking, and exercise?  What are your childhood memories?  I remember baking apricot pies with my mother for our family’s weekend  trips to Stinson Beach north of San Francisco.  I remember learning how to make stews filled with carrots, potatoes, and turnips in our family kitchen in California.  I remember making homemade ice-cream and sitting on the freezer, struggling to hand crank it right before an adult would deem it ready to eat.  I remember skateboarding to travel from my house to my best friends’ houses.  I remember hiking in the Sierra Nevadas on snowshoes (now, that is a workout!)

Create some new family memories for Mothers Day.  Take your children to the Saturday Green Market today and buy locally grown veggies from the farmers who are also your neighbors.  Then teach your kids how to make a veggie frittata.  Buy some navel oranges and have fresh squeezed orange juice. Take a 30 minute walk together.

Last month, one little girl who attended one of our Growing Healthy Kids in the Kitchen programs told me, "My mother never lets me help in the kitchen.  She thinks I'm too young."  I told her what a great job she was doing.  She was smiling and having so much fun helping with each job she was asked to do by myself and several other volunteers that night.  Our children deserve to our respect and if we don't teach them how to enjoy, respect, and prepare foods that nournish their growing minds and bodies, then who will?

This Mothers Day, teach your children respect for real foods.  Create a new family favorite recipe together.  Below, is one of the recipes from the soon-to-be-released book from Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. to inspire you.  

Frittata with Spinach and Cheese

HEAT in a 9-inch nonstick skillet until hot:
  • ·        2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil


ADD in this ingredient and stir until onion is soft, about 5 minutes:
  • ·        1 onion, finely chopped


ADD in these 2 ingredients and cook for about 2 minutes:
  • ·        1 cup spinach, finely chopped
  • ·        ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped  OR ½ cup grape tomatoes


MIX these 5 ingredients in a large bowl:
  • ·        8 large eggs
  • ·       ¼ cup extra sharp cheese, grated or thinly sliced
  • ·        ¼ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
  • ·        Sea salt
  • ·        Freshly ground black pepper


POUR egg mixture into the skillet and cook until bottom has set, about 5 minutes. 

HOLD a flat plate over the pan and invert frittata onto the plate, then slide it back into the pan.  (Note:  If you use an oven-proof pan, you can place frittata into oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes after the bottom has cooked instead of flipping it.)

COOK until just set, about 5 minutes more, and serve hot.

Adapted from a recipe by Mario Batali.
Nancy Heinrich teaching at a recent GHK in the Kitchen program.