Below are seven of our favourite snack recipes that have received a healthy makeover. You'll feel great about serving these to the kids, and they won't be able to resist them.

Say goodbye to sodium
We asked Test Kitchen Food Specialist Amanda Barnier where the inspiration for the healthy makeover came from. She said that the Test Kitchen wanted to make healthier versions of the foods they grew up loving, which meant reducing the sodium content.

The Test Kitchen chose to make over foods kids tend to order when out with the family at a restaurant, where many of these dishes are usually deep fried and loaded with unnecessary fat.

Challenges for the Test Kitchen
One of the challenges that the Test Kitchen expirenced when revamping the Mini Turkey Cheeseburgers was upping the fibre content. Eventually they settled on oatmeal, which both ups the fibre and acts as a binder for the meat.

Tricks of the trade
To get the Baked Zucchini Fries just right, the Test Kitchen had to play around with the coating and oven temperature.

"The Baked Zucchini Fries were a little tricky, to get the coating to stick and a temperature high enough to make sure they were crispy but not too dark in colour," Barnier explains. "When making them, it's important to shake off the excess flour before dipping them into the egg wash. If there is too much, the egg wash will not coat properly and the bread crumbs will not stick to the zucchini."

Try out some of these tasty snack recipes on your little ones.


Mini Turkey Cheeseburgers
If you can't find applewood-smoked Cheddar cheese, old Cheddar is just as good. Serve with toppings to dress up the burgers.  





 Rainbow Veggie Pizzas


Challenge your children to eat every colour of the rainbow by offering vegetables for every arc (except maybe blue!). Young ones may have room for only one pizza, but older kids or adults may want two. Have kids help in the assembly and make their own “rainbows.” We used an assortment of vegetables, but this will also work with vegetables that you have on hand. Or choose vegetables you think the kids will try. You'll need to double the Marinara Dipping Sauce recipe.

Alphabet Soup
Kids love soup and reciting the alphabet – and we love this lower-sodium version of the canned stuff that we enjoyed in our youth. This is a meal that encourages playing with food by spelling out words and gobbling them up. If alphabet pasta is unavailable, use tubetti, ditali or mini shells. Have the kids help wash and peel the vegetables, so they know exactly what's going into their soup.

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Parmesan Chicken Fingers
Baking chicken fingers is not only healthier than frying but also a safer alternative to using hot oil, which may spatter. A chicken tender is the little filet that separates easily from the rest of the breast. Kids can help by coating the chicken fingers and arranging them on the baking sheet. Serve with Marinara Dipping Sauce.

Baked Herb Sweet Potato Fries
We all love french fries. Kids can roll up their sleeves to toss the sweet potato sticks and spread them on the baking sheet. The natural sweetness of the potatoes is so flavourful that you don't need a dip.


Marinara Dipping Sauce
This sauce serves double duty as a dip and as a spread for the pizzas. You can also puree it if the kids prefer a smooth texture.





 Baked Zucchini Fries
Kids will love this take on fries, even though they're secretly made from an unexpected vegetable. Marinara Dipping Sauce makes a tasty alternative to ketchup. Kids can help by cracking the eggs, shaking the flour mixture and dipping the zucchini sticks. Have them use one hand for dry ingredients and the other for wet, so the breading sticks to the zucchini and not their fingers.

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