Announcing: The Grow Fit^™ Recipe Contest Winners!

We asked and you answered. We received hundreds of your favorite child-friendly and easy-to-prepare recipes for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner and have narrowed it down to these four outstanding winners! These delicious recipes were reviewed by our registered dietician and taste-tested by our children in our schools. We’re sure your family will enjoy these nutritious ideas as much as we did.

Breakfast Winner: Courtney S., Lewisville, TX

Fruity Oatmeal

A nutritious, sugar-free breakfast that’s loaded with healthy omega 3’s and a cinch to prepare, especially when you’ve prepared and frozen the oatmeal, berries and bananas ahead of time!

Ingredients:

½ cup cooked organic oatmeal

3 tbsp. cooked organic berries*

3 tbsp. diced organic bananas

2 tsp. organic ground flax seed

*For cooked organic berries: Heat a mixture of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and any other berry over medium heat for 10 minutes. Use a masher to mash them up a bit.

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients above and enjoy!

Lunch Winner: Pamela V., Astoria, NY

Peanut Noodles with Chicken and Veggies

An easy-to-prepare lunch for four that can be made ahead of time and served room temperature or cold.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup reduced fat peanut butter

1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce

1 ½ tbsp. rice wine or white wine vinegar

1 tsp. fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 tsp. honey

3 to 4 tbsp. hot water

8 oz. whole wheat pasta (any shape), cooked according to package directions, drained and rinsed

Meat from half of a rotisserie chicken, skin removed, chopped or shredded

1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned or shredded

1 red bell pepper, julienned

½ medium cucumber, julienned

1 tbsp. sesame seeds

1 scallion, thinly sliced

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger and honey. Stir to combine.

Slowly pour in hot water until sauce is of a desired consistency.

In a larger bowl, combine pasta, chicken, carrot, pepper and cucumber.

Pour peanut butter sauce over pasta mixture and toss to combine.

Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.

Dinner Winner: Jessica H., Wilmington, DE

Sweet Potato Burrito

A delicious dinner for four that you can change up every time you make it by adding tomatoes, onions, olives or any other Tex-Mex filling!

Ingredients:

1 to 2 sweet potatoes (depending on size, about 1 ½ lbs.)

½ tsp. cumin

½ tsp. coriander

½ tsp. garlic powder

2 tbsp. lime juice (juice of 1 lime)

1 can black beans

1 cup sweet corn

8 to 10 small whole wheat or corn tortillas

1 avocado, sliced

1 cup of shredded low-fat cheddar cheese

Directions:

Peel and cut sweet potato in chunks. Either steam or microwave until soft enough to mash. Mash with a fork and add all the spices and the lime juice. Mix well.

Heat tortillas as directed on the package.

Add corn and black beans to the sweet potato mixture and heat in the microwave for one minute, until hot.

Add 2 to 3 tablespoons to each tortilla and add toppings (avocado and cheddar cheese). Roll up and enjoy!

Snack: Dawn M., Warren, PA

Cool as a Cucumber Dip with Crunchy Pita Chips

Kid-friendly and nutritious, this snack is perfect to curb your children’s appetites until the next meal.

Ingredients:

For the Dip:

2 cups non-fat plain Greek yogurt

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. lemon juice

½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. fresh dill, chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled

2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and finely diced

2 tbsp. reduced-fat crumbled Feta cheese

For the Crunchy Pita Chips:

4 whole wheat pita bread pockets

Olive oil cooking spray

2 tsp. salt-free Garlic and Herb seasoning blend

Directions:

In a food processor, combine yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, dill and garlic. Process until thoroughly combined.

Transfer to a bowl and add cucumbers and Feta cheese. Stir until thoroughly combined.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. While the dip is chilling, prepare the pita chips.

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Using a pizza cutter, slice each pita pocket into 8 triangles. Lay the triangles evenly across a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Lightly mist each triangle with the olive oil cooking spray. Sprinkle the spices evenly over the olive oil coated triangles.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until light golden brown and crisp.

Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving with the cucumber dip.