Healthy Kid-Friendly Dishes

By Food & Wine
Updated May 17, 2017
These perennial kid-approved dishes will satisfy both picky eaters and their parents, with classic recipes getting a boost from healthy ingredients, great flavors and lots of fun visual appeal.
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Mexican Pizza

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Deconstructed nachos were the inspiration behind this fun pizza. Made with chili-spiced black-bean puree, tomatoes, olives, shredded lettuce and low-fat Jack cheese on a whole-wheat crust, the pie also gets a little low-fat sour cream (that nacho staple) on top.

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Carrot Macaroni and Cheese

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The silky carrot puree mixed with the cheddar here is a terrific source of vitamin A and helps reduce the amount of fat in the recipe.

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Black Bean Burgers

Credit: CEDRIC ANGELES
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Most veggie burgers are a pale imitation of the all-beef original, but even with ordinary black beans in place of Rancho Gordo Midnight beans, these robust patties with roasted red pepper spread are moist and delicious. The spread doubles as a fantastic dipping sauce for French fries.

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Cinnamon Polenta Pancakes

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Using polenta (cornmeal) in addition to white flour in these pancakes makes them especially satisfying, as the ground whole grain delivers lots of fiber and a good amount of protein.

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Penne with Triple Tomato Sauce

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Melissa Rubel uses tomatoes in three forms—fresh, sun-dried and paste—for her thick and creamy, deeply tomatoey sauce.

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Coconut-Mango Frozen Yogurt

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Sophie Dahl's coconut frozen yogurt with a swirl of mango is like a tropical take on the classic orange Creamsicle. The method here, which does not require any special equipment, gives the frozen yogurt a fluffy, slightly icy texture, like a granita. For more creaminess, freeze the coconut base in an ice cream maker and swirl in the mango as soon as the frozen yogurt is done.

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General Tso's Chicken

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Zach Brooks adores this sweet-spicy Chinese-American restaurant staple. The version here is lighter than take-out because the chicken is only lightly coated in cornstarch and is pan-fried rather than deep-fried.

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Wagon Wheels with Broccoli and Parmesan Cheese

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Wagon wheels, or rotelle, are pastry chef Gale Gand's son Gio's first choice for this dish because he thinks they're fun. Any other pasta shape, such as penne or fusilli, can be used instead.

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Mom's Nutty Granola

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This granola recipe from Jessamyn Waldman's mother is more nutty than sweet.

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Oven Fries with Herbs and Pecorino

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Made with starchy baking potatoes—flavored with garlic, fresh herbs and Pecorino Romano cheese—and tossed with just a little extra-virgin olive oil, these fries emerge from the oven crisp and delicious.

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Brownie Bites

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These wheat-free, butterless brownies are decadent and dense. "It's really, really hard to make a good vegan brownie," says chef Erin McKenna. Her first efforts using applesauce and vegetable oil were cakey or fluffy. It took her six months of making small adjustments to perfect them.

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Apple Sandwiches

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This is a quick and satisfying little "sandwich" of apples that’s great to wrap up and take on the go.

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Almond-Milk Rice Pudding

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Sushi rice makes this dairy-free rice pudding—made with unsweetened almond milk—pleasantly chewy and creamy.

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