I don't actually have any kids, but when I was young, the be-all and end-all of delicious meals was macaroni and cheese, which, because we always had the stuff from the box, we called Macaroni and Cheese Orange.

A few years back I found this updated version of macaroni and cheese in Eating Well, my favorite cooking magazine. It's much better for you than the kind from the box, but still has that air of comfort food that even big kids like me love.

Updated Mac & Cheese
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon paprika
1 16-ounce or 10-ounce package frozen spinach
1 ¾ cups 1% milk, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
1 cup low-fat (1%) cottage cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
8 ounces (2 cups) whole-wheat elbow macaroni or penne

1. Put a large pot of lightly salted water on to boil. Preheat oven to 450�F. Coat an 8-inch square (2-quart) baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Mix breadcrumbs, oil and paprika in a small bowl. Cook spinach according to package directions. Drain and refresh under cold water; press out excess moisture.

3. Heat 1 1/2 cups milk in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until steaming. Whisk remaining 1/4 cup milk and flour in a small bowl until smooth; add to the hot milk and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce simmers and thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Cheddar until melted. Stir in cottage cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

4. Cook pasta for 4 minutes, or until not quite tender. (It will continue to cook during baking.) Drain and add to the cheese sauce; mix well. Spread half the pasta mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spoon the spinach on top. Top with the remaining pasta; sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture.

5. Bake the casserole until bubbly and golden, 25 to 30 minutes.

To make ahead: prepare through Step 4. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, if necessary, then bake for 35 to 45 minutes

Nutrition Information

Per serving: 503 calories; 17 g fat (9 g sat, 2 g mono); 54 mg cholesterol; 60 g carbohydrate; 31 g protein; 8 g fiber; 935 mg sodium.

Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (200% daily value), Calcium (60% dv), Folate (27% dv).

I don't have kids of my own, but I come from a big family and I have 7 nieces and nephews (Brendan, Lynn, Morgyn, Dominic, Nicholas, Joseph, Melanie). I don't often find myself having to cook for kids, but when I do I don't want to give them processed or unhealthy foods. Oh, and I'm not much of a cook. But here are few things that I know work:


Peanut Butter and Apple Sandwich with Honey (Bananas work too). The name alone tells you how to make it.

2 pieces of good, whole bread
Apple or banana slices
Peanut Butter (I like natural, crunchy PB)
Honey (raw is best).

Just assemble as a sandwich. Kids love it. At first they think it's weird to have fruit in the sandwich, but once it dawns on them that jelly is just processed fruit, well, they usually get it.


Oatmeal with fruit and cinnamon
I never liked oatmeal growing up and I know lots of kids don't, and I'm still no fan of packaged oatmeal. I buy the whole, raw oats from the bulk section, cook them down with milk, water, or soy milk, and serve it with some cinnamon and fruit (I like frozen raspberries, banana slices, etc.). If the texture of the oatmeal is a little weird for kids, I add a bit of milk when I serve it and that makes it much more palatable. I used to make this for my little brother Noel when he was a kid and he liked it.


Classic - frozen juice
I know this is the oldest snack in the book, but when I was a kid I used to love to visit my grandparents and have homemade pops. You got it - just make juice from concentrate, pour into ice cube trays, insert toothpick. Some things just work, and this is one of them. My grandmother used to make them in small tupperware containers and we'd eat them with a spoon like "Italian ice". Healthwise, there's not much to complain about in a small serving of fruit juice.

I am a new mother (daughter Sage Adalae, 6 mos.) but as a child I enjoyed "Ants on a Log." This snack is a fun one and makes somewhat boring ingredients enticing. This snack includes celery, peanut butter (or almond butter), and raisins.

To make:
1. Take a stalk of celery (your log) and slather some peanut butter on it.
2. Next you take raisins or "ants" and strategically place them along the log.
3. Voila! Ants on a log. Lucky for us all the peanut butter will keep these lil buggers in place. Yummy.

Some foods take getting used to. I try new recipes all the time that will introduce a "disagreeable" food with a new angle. None of my sons cared for winter squash. Now they line up for a second helping because I add crushed pineapple to it (lots) and they really like pineapple. They disliked "slimy" sauteed zucchini but now that I make zucchini sticks brushed with olive oil and seasoned and baked crispy, they really like those zucchini sticks. I am willing to add extra sweetener to a vegetable such as carrot and then scale back on the sweets once they have taken to the vegetable. I minced or pureed some vegetables to hide them in a soup or bake them into muffins. It is worth experimenting with different cooking methods and seasonings to find a taste and texture that works for a child.

Deb's Pineapple Squash

Cut one large butternut squash in half and place innards down in a baking dish with a bit of water. Bake at 350 until soft (about an hour). Scoop out the seeds and then put the "meat' of the squash into a serving dish. Add a 8-12 ounces of crushed pineapple (juice and all). I also add a bit of nutmeg and 1/4 tsp of salt.

I'm very lucky in that my 14 month old loves veggies. But I still work on getting all the healthy food into her I can, especially grains. Two very easy things I do are to mix wheat germ into her yogurt and dip pieces of whole wheat bread into my homemade soup broth. She loves them both!