Take Your Child’s Learning Outside the Classroom

Take Your Child’s Learning Outside the Classroom

Use shrimp to teach your children more than what is in their school books.

While parents around the country are anxiously awaiting that back-to-school bell, chances are their children aren’t as excited to hop out of the pool and into the classroom. Make this year not just about learning new school subjects, but also about learning healthy lifestyle choices through healthy eating. Shrimp is the perfect way to get your kids excited about learning in a fun, easy and interesting way that will create lifelong lessons that will not be found in their classrooms.

You might struggle trying to get your child excited about learning math or science so why not turn your kitchen into a classroom? Shrimp is healthy, busy mom preferred and even kid friendly. Whether you have a picky eater on your hands or a little chef in the making, shrimp can play the superhero role. With its mild taste shrimp can be woven into countless meal options that can be specifically transformed to catch your kid’s eye.

“When you incorporate nourishing foods like shrimp into your kids’ meals, you’re giving them a real gift,” said registered dietitian Jennifer McGuire. “Shrimp provides omega-3s, healthy oils needed by the growing brain. And developing a taste for shrimp as a child can lead to a lifetime habit of eating seafood.”

Get your children off the couch and into the kitchen after a long day at school. Let them spread the sauce on the shrimp pizza panini or put together their own buffalo shrimp po’boy sandwich. Not only will your kids have fun, they will learn about healthy choices whether they realize it or not.

The Shrimp Council encourages you to fight those back-to-school blues by using shrimp to make healthy, and fun, memories with your children!

Shrimp Pizza Panini

Number of Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1 can (6-oz.) tiny shrimp, drained

½ cup pre-shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

3 tablespoons pasta sauce

1 tablespoon prepared pesto sauce

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Four slices (1/2-inch-thick) Italian bread (about 5 x 2 ½ inches)

Instructions:

Preheat the Panini grill on high heat. Combine the shrimp, cheese, pasta sauce, and pesto in a bowl and set aside. Lightly brush one side of each slice of bread with olive oil. Place two slices of bread on the work surface, oiled side down. Divide the shrimp mixture evenly between the bread. Top with the remaining slices of bread, oiled side up. Place sandwiches in the Panini press and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Slice each sandwich in half and serve.

Recipe Courtesy of: The Shrimp Council and Janice Newell Bissex, MS, R, and Liz Weiss, MS, RD, Cofounders, Meal Makeover Moms.com