Produce For Kids Launches Get Healthy, Give Hope Campaign (Giveaway)

Sooo, I am a mom of two toddlers who seem to dislike eating healthy. They LOVE all things processed including hot dogs, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, etc. This makes meal planning and preparation very difficult for me and I am always looking for new ideas and help in this tough area of parenting. Well, today I am going to introduce you to Produce for Kids...an organization that focuses on  encouraging families to eat healthy by providing healthy meal solutions and recipes! Sounds great, doesn't it? I was just a tiny bit excited when I found out about them and what they are all about. Here is a bit more about them, in case you are new to this fantastic organization (like I am!)...

Produce for Kids’ marketing programs take place in grocery stores across the country promoting healthy eating and benefiting local children’s non-profit groups. These campaigns combine advertising, in-store displays and events, public relations and Internet marketing. Ideal Meals™ offer simple, healthy meal solutions for busy parents through complete meal recipe ideas created by a chef and approved by a nutritionist.

Since its creation in 2002 by Shuman Produce Inc., Produce for Kids has raised more than $3.7 million for children’s non-profit organizations including Children’s Miracle Network® Hospitals, Let’s Move Salad Bars To Schools and PBS KIDS® among others. All funds raised directly benefit these partner organizations.

Year-round resources for parents include Ideal Meals; the Parents on Produce board, a panel made up of busy working parents; Ideal Meal demonstration videos and healthy eating tips and articles.

The Produce for Kids program has been embraced by the produce industry and covers grocery store retailers in more than 40 states and incorporates suppliers in every major produce category.

The reason I am introducing you to Produce For Kids is because they are launching their annual Get Healthy,  Give Hope campaign now through July 28th. Here are the details!

Produce for Kids^® has launched its annual Get Healthy, Give Hope campaign with 16 major supermarket chains across the country, including your local Price Chopperstores, to help raise money for local children’s hospitals.

Now through July 28^th, thanks to the annual Get Healthy, Give Hope campaign hosted by Price Chopper andProduce for Kids, the more produce shoppers add to their shopping lists the more hope they can give to local children. Celebrating a milestone 10^th birthday in 2012, Produce for Kids is excited to kick off this year’s campaign with a new partnership with Sprout^® and LazyTown^TM. 

During the campaign, Produce for Kids will offer shoppers collectible Ideal Meals^TM – quick and easy healthy meal ideas, which are free and can be found in displays featuring LazyTown characters from the popular, health-focused, children’s series airing exclusively in the U.S. on 24-hour preschool television channel, Sprout.

Ideal Meals offer shoppers chef-created/nutritionist-approved easy solutions for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. Featuring fresh fruits and vegetables as the main ingredients, Ideal Meals are great for busy families who crave fast meal options that don’t require stopping at the local drive-thru.

In conjunction with this campaign, I was sent a few recipes to share with you all that are sure to get your children's taste buds perked in the healthier direction!

Chocolatey Fruit Skewers

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:

·   1 premade pound cake

·   8 strawberries, whole, leaves hulled

·   8 raspberries, whole

·   1 cup pineapple, cored, chunked

·   4 Tbsp. chocolate syrup

·   4 (6-inch) bamboo skewers

Directions:

1. Cut pound cake into 4 1x3-inch rectangles and 8 1x1-inch squares.
2. Place 1 1x3-inch piece cake on plate, stick skewer in middle. 
3. Add strawberry, raspberry, pineapple and 1x1-inch piece of cake to skewer.  Repeat with another strawberry, raspberry, pineapple and 1x1-inch piece of cake.
4. Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

Nutrition Information:

Chocolatey Fruit Skewer Calories 354, Fat 2.5g, Protein 12g, Carbohydrate 52.1g, Fiber 2.4g, Cholesterol 9mg, Sodium 280mg, Calcium 348mg, Vitamin A 529 IU, Vitamin C 44.4mg, Iron 1.4mg

Smoothie Pops

Serves 16

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

·   1 large peach or mango, peeled and chopped

·   1 large nectarine, peeled and chopped

·   2 medium bananas, sliced

·   1 pt. strawberries or raspberries

·   ¼ cup orange or fruit juice

·   2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

Directions:

Place all smoothie ingredients in a blender and blend until just smooth.

Place 16 paper cups on a baking tray.  Pour smoothie into paper cups.  Place tray in freezer and freeze until slushy, about 20 minutes.  Remove tray from freezer and insert one popsicle stick into the center of each cup.  Return to freezer and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

To serve, tear away paper cup and place on plate. Enjoy!

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So, there is just a taste (no pun intended!) of some of the recipes that you will find on Produce For Kid's website. Don't they look soo yummy? I am excited to try those out with my children...I know they will love them! 

Here is a listing of events that will be taking place so check to see if any of them are near you! 

• Kroger Southwest: Now through July 24^th
•  Fred Meyer: Now through July 26^th
•  King Soopers: Now through July 31^st  
• Kroger Central: Now through July 18^th

As a thank you for taking the time to check out this Get Healthy, Give Hope campaign from Produce for Kids, you will have an opportunity to win a $25 gift card to Price Chopper stores! Please be sure you have a location near you prior to entering.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received no monetary compensation for this post. I will be receiving free product in exchange for my post. All quotes and stock photos are from the Produce For Kids website and email. Prize is being provided and shipped by the sponsor. All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.