Dear Chef Kathleen,

School is over for the summer, and I can no longer count on a nice regular meal schedule for my children or the help of the school system to guarantee they sit down for lunch every day. I can see my kids sleeping through breakfast, demanding lunch at 2 p.m. and foraging for dinner around 8 or 9 p.m. when I'd rather they were getting ready for bed. How can I keep a decent schedule with my young children home and still keep everyone well fed?

Madeline


Dear Madeline,

Every year we all face the same dilemma. It's not just a problem for the kids but for us grown-ups as well. The typical summer mind-set is: If it's light out I must be awake; if I'm awake I could be eating. While in general, we do use more energy in the summer months because we're naturally more active, we don't need to eat like we're storing up fat for winter.

So to start with, make it a priority to ensure that most of the calories consumed by your children count toward the nutrition their young bodies require. Involve your kids in meal planning. By putting them in charge of their lunch and one or both of their snacks, chances are they'll fuss less and eat more of the right stuff. Use time spent planning meals together as an opportunity to teach them about healthy eating and why the right foods will help them perform better on the playground (so to speak).

As the summer begins, schedule a weekly grocery shopping day just for them. Help them create a health-charged grocery list ahead of time. If there's any chance you can get them to sit with you while you compare their list to the new food pyramid at mypyramid.gov, by all means, engage them at the computer. Be consistent with the day and time you shop so they know what to expect.

When you shop, let them pick out the foods on their list. Encourage them to add a few extra healthy items you'd like them to try. Whether or not you let them choose a treat is up to you. My mother didn't bring any junk into the house when we were kids mostly because we couldn't afford it but also because baking cookies or walking to the ice-cream store were practically all-day affairs with three young kids and helped to wear us out sufficiently by nap time.

10 best kid snacks to keep on hand all summer

1. Sliced deli meats and cheeses for quick "roll-ups" (meat and cheese layered together and rolled).
   
   
2. Yogurt snacks, including drinks, frozen yogurt sticks, mini yogurt cups.
   
   
3. Bite-sized cheese cubes, string cheese and cheese sticks.
   
   
4. Snack-size bags with tiny servings of veggies: baby carrots, celery sticks and cherry tomatoes.
   
   
5. Reduced-fat wheat bread and low-fat tortillas for PB&J, turkey or ham and grilled cheese wraps on the fly.
   
   
6. Frozen fruit to whip up spur-of-the-moment smoothies and the makings of popsicles. Keep 3-ounce paper cups and Popsicle sticks on hand to freeze any leftover smoothie mix. They make great fruitsicles!
   
   
7. Easy to carry to camp: less fragile fruits such as grapes, cherries, oranges and lunch box-size apples.
   
   
8. Super hydrating 100 percent fruit juice Popsicles.
   
   
9. Make your own trail mix fixings: whole grain cereals, dried fruits and nuts, yogurt-covered raisins. Let the kids help you make the mix.
   
   
10. Fun-size bottled waters.

3 quick, kid-tested recipes

1. Freezy sours: Add frozen raspberries, grapes and chunks of strawberries to a glass of fresh lemonade. Garnish with paper umbrellas.
   
   
2. Fright cubes: Freeze their favorite fruit juices in ice cube trays. Place a single peeled eyeball, er ... grape, in each compartment. Serve outside with plenty of napkins.
   
   
3. Blue Goo Brain Freezes: In a blender, mix together 1 small frozen banana, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, a drop of blue food coloring, 1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk, cup of ice, 1 cup 2 percent milk or lite soymilk. Whip until creamy and thick. Serve immediately. Makes one giant Blue Goo Brain Freeze.

kd@chefkathleen.com