Healthy Meals for Large Groups of Kids

Soup and Stew

• Soups, stews and chilies have a long cooking time but require little preparation time and can be made with a variety of ingredients you may already have on hand. Make a vegetable soup by chopping a variety of vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Simmer the vegetables in a large pot of water and season with salt, pepper and spices, such as thyme, oregano and rosemary. Add cooked meat, such as ground beef, stew meat or chicken to the pot if desired. Allow the soup to simmer until vegetables are tender. For stew, remove some of the cooking water and mix it with cornstarch. Return the mixture to the pot and boil until thickened. Make a simple chili with canned or dry kidney beans, tomato sauce, tomato paste and a little chili seasoning. Add cooked ground beef or textured vegetable protein and simmer.

Flatbread

• Flatbreads and tortillas are versatile and easy to work with, especially when you̵7;re cooking for a large group of kids. Top several pieces of flatbread with tomato sauce, shredded cheese and other toppings then bake for a few minutes for quick cheese pizzas. Make tortilla rollups with deli meats, cheese and lettuce. Lay the tortilla out flat, add the desired toppings and roll them up like a burrito. Or set up a do-it-yourself soft taco station with flatbread, refried beans, ground beef, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sour cream and other toppings. Let the kids make their own soft tacos buffet style.

Tater Tot Casserole

• Tater tot casserole is versatile and easily adaptable to any meal. Fill a large baking dish half-full with frozen tater tots. For a breakfast casserole, add sausage and lightly beaten eggs. Make a lunch casserole by adding ground beef or sliced hot dogs to the tater tots and topping with shredded cheese. For dinner, add a variety of frozen vegetables, chicken or beef chunks and brown gravy to the tater tots. Once you mix everything together, bake the casserole until the tater tots and meat are thoroughly cooked.

Drinks

• Instead of serving sugary soda or stocking up on expensive fruit juice, combine the two and make your own punch. Mix fruit juice concentrate with an equal amount of water and add some lemon-lime soda to make it fizzy. Make a batch of lightly sweetened iced tea or mix 1 part iced tea to 1 part lemonade. You can also mix equal parts unsweetened iced tea and prepared fruit juice. Make several different varieties and offer the kids a choice.