Learn 20 Healthy Recipes for Kids That Take 30-Minutes or Less
These healthy recipes for your kids solve two common parenting problems: being able to make healthy food—fast. Eating nutritious food is a non-negotiable for your growing child, who needs nutrients like protein, fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, and more.
The good news is you don’t need to be a 5-star chef or super-parent to get healthy food in your kid’s belly. You just need a few go-to recipes that you can turn to on a regular basis. That’s why we rounded up these 20 recipes that take 30-minutes or less to prepare and cook. In some cases, there’s no cooking required at all!
Bookmark this blog post so you can find a quick and healthy recipes for your kid when you need them. Better yet, print the recipes and keep them in a folder in your kitchen for easy access. Don’t forget to download our newest ebook too: 10 Super Easy High-Protein Recipes for Growing Kids!
Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially during the school year, when your child needs to operate at full capacity. Eating breakfast at home ensures you know you're fueling their bodies with the most nutritious food available.
Make mornings easier, and more nutritious, with these 30-minute-or-less breakfast recipes.
Homemade Toaster Waffles for Growing Kids
These freeze-and-reheat homemade waffles have one important secret ingredient: Healthy Height’s Shake Mix. That means your little one will get plenty of protein before they head off to school for the day.
Protein-Powered Strawberry Banana Smoothies
Strawberry and banana go together like peanut butter and jelly, so we know your sleepy kid will love this simple breakfast. It’s as tasty as it is nutritious and can be blended together in less than 5 minutes.
This simple, but fun spin on oatmeal makes your life easier, and let’s your little one “play with the their food.” Make a bowl of oatmeal, then put out a bunch of toppings to choose from. Let your child mix and match to create their own oatmeal while you get lunches ready.
Lunch
These lunch ideas are perfect for your child to take to school, or to enjoy on a weekend picnic lunch. Swap out ingredients your little one doesn’t like to tailor the meal to their preferences or to compensate for nutritional deficiencies.
To keep your kids interested, buy the tri-colored quinoa, which includes red, white and black. Then load up the taco bowl with whatever veggies your little one likes most. This particular recipe calls for avocado, tomato and black olives, but you can add other toppings too, like bell pepper and corn.
Kids love quesadillas and this healthy option is perfect for a tasty lunch. Thanks to pre-shredded chicken, you don’t even have to cook it before mixing with barbecue sauce and tossing into the quesadilla. Don’t forget to add some veggies, like spinach or tomatoes, to round out this lunch.
10-Minute Grilled Chicken Protein Pitas
By @EZPZMeals
Pitas are the perfect kid-friendly food because everything fits in one (edible!) kid-friendly container: the pita. This one is stuffed with hummus and spinach for a healthy lunch that your kid will love.
By @Momables
Homemade lunchables are the perfect blend of what your child wants and what you know they should have. They’re also versatile, so if your little one doesn’t love ham or cheese, which is suggested in this recipe, you can swap them out for other healthy proteins, like chicken or turkey, or a side of hummus for their crackers.
Dinner
After a long day at school, your kids need dinner to replenish and refuel for the rest of the night. Dinner time, however, can be just as hectic as breakfast when you’re trying to squeeze it in between homework, rush-hour traffic and after school activities. Use these meals to feed yourself and your family quickly and easily.
This recipe is a fun twist on kebabs—and one your kids may be begging for week after week. Not only can they use their hands to eat this fun dinner, but who doesn’t love cheeseburger night at home? In 15 minutes, you’ll have a fun, whimsical meal with plenty of protein. Pair it with a side salad to get a boost of veggies.
Few kids don’t love chicken nuggets, and this healthy take on a childhood favorite will be a staple in your household. The healthy secret? Swap breadcrumbs or regular breading for ground almond meal. Stacey, the recipe author, also suggests serving with home baked fries and a salad to round out the meal.
There’s something soothing about a big bowl of rice and veggies and this healthy recipe for kids is exactly that. It’s also filled with healthy fat, fiber and protein, thanks to avocado, black beans and brown rice.
Healthier One-Pot Skillet Lasagna
If your family love lasagna, this will be a go-to recipe. It’s made healthier by using ground turkey, as opposed to beef, along with carrots and zucchini stirred into the mix. But don’t worry, there’s still plenty of everyone’s favorite signature ingredients: cheese and lasagna noodles.
Dessert
Healthy dessert is a must-have, and luckily, it’s not so hard to make when you have the right recipes! We’re sharing some of our favorite Healthy Height desserts, along with two more that will convince your kids they’re anything but healthy.
You won’t believe the ingredients in these indulgent brownie bites, which include almond flour, applesauce and old fashioned oats. And that’s not even the best part—with no baking or cooking required, this dessert an absolute winner.
In just 10 minutes, you’ll wow your sweet-tooth child with an incredible and unique dessert. Bonus: it’s loaded with nutritious ingredients like shredded coconut, pistachios and chia seeds. This is a fun dessert to make with with your little one too; let them sprinkle the toppings before cutting the banana into your “sushi” pieces.
They look like chocolate truffles, and they taste like chocolate truffles, but the secret ingredient, avocado, can only be detected by the creamy texture. Make a batch of these on Sunday night so you and your kids can enjoy after a long day—without having to do anymore work.
Snacks
Quick after school snacks or tasty treats for school are a must for your growing child. They need plenty of nutrients to fuel their growing bodies and brains. Check out these healthy dessert recipes that your kid will love.
Delicious Peanut Butter and Banana Chocolate Smoothie
If we said it once, we’ll say it a hundred times, smoothies are the best go-to meal for any time of day, whether you’re enjoy breakfast for a snack. This one is especially tasty, thanks to the addition of creamy vanilla yogurt and an undeniable pair: peanut butter and banana. If there’s a peanut allergy, swap that ingredient out for almond butter.
No-Bake Monster Cookie Energy Balls
This is a great snack to send to school with your child. With oats as a base, your growing kid will get plenty of iron, vitamin B6 and protein—but they’ll be so excited about the M&Ms, they won’t even notice.
Nutrition to Help Kids Grow - and Sleep!
Every year our team of Pediatricians at Schneider Children's Medical Center have 20,000 visits from children with issues relating to growth. Our doctors wanted to find a non-invasive way to help children grow and the nutrition in our shake mix is the result of their efforts. The nutrition in our shake mix was shown in a clinical study to promote growth in 6 months, as well as improve sleep patterns in kids who take at least 1 serving per day.
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Try Risk-Free for 30 Days!
Healthy Height will provide full reimbursement for one chocolate and one vanilla shake mix bag within 30 days of your first purchase.