• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • (727) 787-6335
Children’s Medical Center
  • Patient Portal
  • Bill Pay
  • Patient Portal
  • Home
  • About Us
    • COVID-19 Info
    • Careers
  • Meet Our Physicians
    • Khan Adnan, MD
    • Alfred Alvarez, MD
    • Christine Armstrong, MD
    • Beatriz Arvelo-Sankey, MD
    • Antigone Athanasatos, DO
    • Janet Black, MD
    • Taylor Alberdi Bradley, MD
    • Lara Cavanaugh, MD
    • Lisa Cronin, MD
    • Sonia Farooqi, MD
    • Hafsa Mohiuddin, DO
    • Natasha Hughes, MD
    • Jay Klein, MD
    • Rory Mills, MD
    • Paul Mitchell, MD
    • Efstratios Pantages, MD
    • Dolores Razman, MD
    • Duane Rommel, MD
    • Jennifer Sawka, MD
    • Charlene Weber, MD
    • Ellyn Theophilopoulos, MD
    • LeighAnn Riemer, DO
  • Services & Specialties
    • Expecting Parents/Prenatal Visits
    • Newborns
    • Lactation Services
    • Early Childhood Care
    • School Age
    • Adolescent Care
    • Vaccines & Immunizations
    • Sick Visits/Urgent Care
    • Telemedicine
    • Nutrition
    • Behavioral & Development
    • Mental Health
  • Resources
    • Patient Portal
    • Patient Forms
    • Classes & Events
    • Helpful Links & Info
    • Insurances Accepted
  • Blog
  • Contact & Locations
    • Palm Harbor
    • Westchase
    • Trinity
    • Lutz

Making Mealtime Family Time

June 26, 2020

Nutrition is important to your child’s physical and mental development, no matter what age they are. As parents, it’s important to set a good example and mealtime is a great place to start.

Allowing your child to help prepare meals is a great way for them to be active in the selection process. It teaches them how to make something and works the brain muscles at the same time. It sparks creativity and interest. Your child is more likely to eat something they helped make and even try new foods in the process.

Here’s a fun recipe that children can assist with and it’s one that will feed the whole family, approximately 6-8 servings.

Easy Lasagna

Ingredients:

  • 15 oz. ricotta cheese
  • 2 eggs (kids love cracking the eggs — use a separate bowl in case of shells)
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded (let the kids measure this into a cup)
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh basil (if you have fresh basil, it’s fun for kids to pick the leaves)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
  • 45 oz. tomato and basil pasta sauce
  • 8 oz. no-boil lasagna noodles (these are great for kids to handle)
  • 3 cups fresh baby spinach (optional)
  • 4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded (another good opportunity for kids to measure)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Combine ricotta, eggs, Parmesan cheese, and a 1/2 cup of mozzarella in a bowl. Use a big bowl so the kids can add the ingredients and stir it up without making too big of a mess.
  3. Mix in salt and pepper and, if you’re using them, basil and garlic.
  4. Spread about 1 cup of tomato sauce at the bottom of a 13×9″ pan. This step is great for kids. Think of it as painting the pan red.
  5. Allow the kids to arrange a layer of lasagna noodles on top of the sauce (probably 4 will cover the pan–it’s ok if they overlap).
  6. Next, layer 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture, 1/3 of the spinach (if using), 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Then layer about 1 cup of sauce on top. This part is up to you. It can get a bit messy, but the kids will love that.
  7. Repeat layers in this order (noodles, ricotta mix, spinach, mozzarella, sauce) twice more.
  8. For your top layer, use noodles, then top with the remaining sauce and remaining mozzarella.
  9. Bake covered with aluminum foil for 40-50 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes longer to brown the cheese on top.
  10. Let stand for 5 minutes. Bon appétit!

Family mealtime is so important for children and their development. This is where they learn from you, process what you’re doing, pick up on your eating habits and create their own. We hope you have fun making this recipe with your family and we would love to see you post your pictures of the process.

Tag us!

https://www.facebook.com/childrensmedicalcenter/

https://www.instagram.com/childrensmedicalcenter/

Filed Under: Kids Nutrition Tagged With: family dinner, healthy family meals, kids cooking, kids nutrition, mealtime, Mealtime Family Time

Primary Sidebar

June 2020
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930  
« May   Jul »

Categories

  • ADD/ADHD
  • ASD
  • Baby Food
  • Baby Nutrition
  • Child Care
  • Child Development
  • Childhood Education
  • COVID-19
  • Flu
  • Fractures
  • General
  • Healthy Habits
  • Immunizations
  • Kids Nutrition
  • Lactation Services
  • Mental Health
  • Neonatal Physician
  • Pediatric Urgent Care
  • Pediatrician
  • Physical
  • Safety Tips
  • Summer Slide
  • Vaccinations
  • Youth Development

Tags

best pediatric care near me Best Pediatrician near me best pediatric office near me child care clinic near me Children’s Medical Center child treatment clinic near me Child’s Pediatrician Developmental Pediatric Care in Lutz FL Developmental Pediatric Care in Palm Harbor FL Developmental Pediatric Care in Tampa FL Developmental Pediatric Care in Trinity FL Developmental Pediatric Care in Westchase FL Developmental Pediatric Care near me early childhood development tampa fl Lactation Center near me Lactation Center Palm Harbor FL lactation consultant lactation consultant near me lactation consultant Palm Harbor FL lactation consultant Trinity FL lactation consultant Westchase FL lactation services lactation services near me pediatric care near me pediatrician Lutz FL pediatrician near me pediatrician office pediatrician office Palm Harbor FL pediatrician Palm Harbor FL Pediatricians in Lutz FL Pediatricians in Palm Harbor FL Pediatricians in Trinity FL Pediatricians in Westchase FL pediatrician Trinity FL pediatrician Westchase FL pediatric office near me screen time treatment for children's developmental issues in Lutz FL treatment for children's developmental issues in Palm Harbor FL treatment for children's developmental issues near me treatment for children with mental illness in Palm Harbor FL treatment for children with mental illness near me vaccinations for babies near me vaccinations for children in Westchase FL vaccinations for children near me

Footer

PATIENT REVIEWS

As a result of the compassionate care we deliver, we often hear from our patients about how our doctors and staff have helped them. Here are some of our favorite reviews.

LEAVE A REVIEW
READ REVIEWS
We love this location! All staff members are friendly, caring, and very knowledgeable! We have see a few different Dr.'s at this location and were very pleased with all of them!

Brittany W.

Mother

PATIENT EDUCATION

Do you want to know more about the wide range of conditions we treat at Children’s Medical Center? Check out our exclusive A-Z patient education library!

Learn More

CHILDREN’S MEDICAL CENTER BLOG

Share the latest updates and information in the field of pediatrics, while keeping up on news about our practice with Children’s Medical Center’s extensive collection of blog articles.

Learn More
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Meet Our Physicians
  • Services & Specialties
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Patient Education
  • Contact & Locations
  • Online Billpay
  • Patient Portal
  • Accessibility Statement
  • HIPAA Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
Copyright © · Children’s Medical Center · All Rights Reserved
iHealthspot Medical Website Design and Medical Marketing by iHealthSpot.com

At Children’s Medical Center, some of our pediatric services and specialties include Routine well-care, Adolescent care, Newborn care, Early childhood care, School age care Adolescent care, Adolescent care, Vaccinations and immunizations, Sick visits/urgent care, Sports physicals, Telemedicine, Lactation Center, Registered Dietitian, ADHD/ADD management, Telemedicine, Nutrition, Behavioral & Development, and Mental Health.