You can now find Max on Snax® in the weekday morning block between 8 and 9am on AFNfamily starting April 6th! American Forces Network airs in a 176 countries serving our forces overseas, bringing them great entertainment!

Kidtoons, more than just a Movie…a Family Event! is featuring Max on Snax this May as part of the previews for Sesame Street’s Dinosaurs! Go to http://www.kidtoonfilms.com/ to find a theater near you!

Moroccan Turkey Meatballs/serves 4

1 lb ground turkey

1 small yellow onion, minced

1 egg

1 t ground coriander

salt and pepper

Moroccan Tomato Sauce

4 cups canned diced tomatoes in juice

1 4 oz can tomato paste

1 T ground cinnamon

1/4 cup honey

2 T raisins

1/4 cup slivered almonds (if children are not allergic)

salt and pepper

For the meatballs. Preheat the oven to 425. Mix all of the meatball ingredients together and form them into 2″ balls (you can test your seasonings by taking a small amount and cook it in a saute pan before forming). Place them in a roasting pan, cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. While the meatballs are cooking, place all the sauce ingredients in a large sauce pan and let it simmer to meld the flavors. After 30 minutes, check the meatballs to insure they are fully cooked (no pink), drain the liquid, add the meatballs to the sauce and coat. Serve with mediterranean pita and a large green salad.

Garnish with fresh cilantro, only if the kids are not adverse to anything “green”!

(You can enhance this with the following spices, but sometimes you don’t want to get to advanced for a child’s palate) but if you’re making this for big kids add 1/2 T ground cumin, 1/2 T allspice and some fresh chopped garlic!

Enjoy!

For Max’s Snax Makers

A nutritionist once told me that when you create a salad, make sure there are at least five different colors in it, this is a great idea for kids!  But I will encourage parents to think outside of the box when coming up with the “salad bar” for their children to create from.   The salad bar is your secret, we’ll call it a “taco” and let children build their own.  The shell is a crisp piece of iceberg lettuce that they can fill with their choice of ingredients and fold over and eat with their hands.  There are wonderful fun and healthy foods that are fun and different and doing it this way makes it interactive so it encourages creativity and let’s the child feel like they are making their own choices.  So please review the list of items below that would be fun items to have for your child’s….

“Rainbow Tacos”!

Using crisp washed iceberg lettuce leaves as your taco shell allow your child to fill as they like, it’s crispy,
fresh and flavorful!  (psst…healthy too and a fun way to get them to eat their veggies!)
Sometimes by cooking just a little it makes the veggies a little more tasty/acceptable to the child’s palate.

Sweet Potatoes or Yams-washed, cut into small cubes and either boiled or roasted with a little canola oil and salt and pepper

Peruvian Blue Potatoes-same technique as above

Sweet Grape or Pear Tomatoes-halved

Jicama, skin removed and cut into little cubes

Roasted Broccoli-again, cleaned, trimmed and tossed in a little canola oil and salt and pepper and roasted for about 20 minutes

Red, Yellow or Orange Bell Peppers cut into dice

Shredded Carrots

Chiffonade of Iceberg

Red Lentils-cooked and cooled then tossed in a little tomato juice for flavor

Wild Rice-cooked and cooled then tossed in small amount of a light vinaigrette

Chicken Breast-cooked and cooled and cut into small cubes

Crispy Noodles-available ready made in Markets

You can even offer a fun salsa like a tomato-mango that would add just a touch of sweetness!

Ole’