Quality Family Meals

By: Jacqueline Gomes, RDN

Quality family meals start with quality ingredients and good nutrition. Mealtime is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen family ties and pass on cultural traditions!

Family meals don’t have to be complicated, think soups, make-ahead casseroles, and sandwiches. Baked pasta dishes can be prepared on the weekends and heated throughout the week, they are easy to freeze too!

Remember to pack a variety of veggies into soup to create a powerfully nutritious meal.

Encouraging your kids to help prep meals will make it more likely for them to try new foods and will set the stage for a confident future cook.

Small children can do the following:

Snap the green beans, snap peas, or break the florets from broccoli and cauliflower.
Sprinkle herbs or other seasoning onto vegetables
Wash fruits and veggies before prepping or cooking
Tear lettuce leaves for salads and sandwiches
Mash the potatoes!

Today we’re taking our favorite time savor – the Rotisserie chicken, and turning it into a fun and healthy family meal.

Easy Chicken Tostadas

Prep: 20 minutes

Bake: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

6 (8-inch) corn or flour tortillas
2 to 3 cups shredded Rotisserie Chicken meat (warm before serving)
2 cups salsa (any variety)
1 to 1 ½ cups shredded Jack cheese
2 ripe medium avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
½ red onion, minced
Cilantro
2 limes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
Lightly spray your tortillas with cooking spray and place on baking sheet. Bake until crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove from oven, top with shredded chicken, followed by salsa, avocado, red onion and cheese. Squeeze lime juice over tostada and enjoy immediately.

Recipe by Jacqueline Gomes, RDN