When Kids are the Customers

Few American youngsters consume as many fruits and vegetables as their parents might wish. But battling and bargaining over food can backfire. A better strategy: Slip the good stuff—like grapes—into dishes that kids already like. Pizza comes to mind. Quesadillas and grilled-cheese sandwiches. Smoothies and fruit drinks.

Adding grapes to these popular choices can make it easier for children to get the daily fruit servings they need for optimum health.

Chefs can help parents out — and help combat childhood obesity — by making more healthful child-friendly options available on menus. Consider these ideas:

At breakfast:

• Make a warm pancake or waffle topping with reduced grape juice and fresh grapes.
• Design a breakfast pizza with ricotta cheese, grapes, and honey.
• Top whole-grain French toast with warm roasted grapes.
• Whip up a breakfast smoothie with frozen grapes, bananas, low-fat milk, and honey.
• Create a breakfast parfait with vanilla yogurt, grapes, and granola.
• Add grapes to granola.

At lunch:

• Accompany sandwiches with a cluster of fresh grapes, or offer as an alternative to French fries or chips.
• Make sandwich roll-ups with lavash, lean turkey, cream cheese, and grapes.
• Sprinkle halved grapes on a peanut-butter sandwich.
• Make an open-faced toasted Cheddar sandwich with fresh red grapes.
• Concoct a healthy soda with fresh grape juice and sparkling water.

At dinner:

• Toss fusilli with chicken and grapes.
• Stir-fry chicken with grapes and cashews.
• Prepare a cheesy quesadilla stuffed with grapes.
• Make a dessert dipping sauce for grapes with low-fat sour cream, yogurt, honey, and vanilla.
• Offer low-fat frozen yogurt with a warm grape sauce.

Featured Recipe: Chef Samuel's Red Grape and BBQ Chicken Pizza with Mozzarella and Fresh Basil has flavors that appeal to youngsters in a format they love.

Featured Recipe: Chef Samuel makes a thirst-quenching Red Grape Lavender Soda. Omit the lavender for kids. Add a splash of gin for the grownups.