Clean Eating Butternut Squash Quesadilla

I have three very strongly held beliefs about kids and food.

1. They love to eat with their hands.
2. They typically will eat something if it’s presented to them in a “finger-food” fashion.
3. The younger they are, the truer the above two statements are.

So with that in mind, my kid gets a lot of foods wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. He thinks he’s getting “pizza” (See my Pizzadia Recipe), and I get the joy of knowing that he’s eating something healthy, and having a good time doing it. After all, part of the experiences of food are the emotions that go with it. It’s important that your kids enjoy their food and their meal times.

Now, I don’t mean to insinuate that every meal should be a party. That’s just silly. Kids need to learn table manners too. But if you can make the food you serve them just a little more fun to eat, they will be far more likely to actually eat it.

Case in point:

Clean Eating Butternut Squash Quesadillas

I had a little butternut squash left over from my lasagna recipe, and figured I’d make a nice healthy lunch with it for my munchkin.)

Ingredients
1 whole grain tortilla
1/2 cup low-fat shredded cheese
1/2 cup cooked butternut squash (blended till smooth with a bit of agave)

Directions

Simply spread some squash over the tortilla, top with cheese, and pop it in the oven at 350 degrees F. until the cheese is melted.

Note: You could put it in the microwave, but trust me. It doesn’t turn out very tasty that way.

Munchkin Helpers:

If you have little ones, here’s how they can help (With close supervision, of course).

Anything on a tortilla is a fabulous recipe for a kid to get involved with. Let them spread the squash and cheese over the tortilla. They’ll be far more likely to eat a meal they’ve helped to prepare.

Caution: Any time a child is in the kitchen, they will require close supervision. Munchkin Helpers suggestions should be applied with common sense to your own child, taking their own capabilities into account. Do not assume that because it says here that your child can do something, that they can, in fact do it. Please use common sense when in the kitchen with your child(ren).

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