Later this month I will be hosting an event just for “mommy bloggers” to talk all things nutrition.  Starting your kids off with healthy food not only helps them grow big and strong but teaches them about the right things to eat.  One way to encourage healthy eating and trying new foods is to have your child help you shop and prepare meals.  Below is a recipe for Rainbow Veggie Flatbread Pizza.

This may be just one of the delicious recipes demonstrated by our friends from Jimbo’s Naturally during our event.  (Everything at Jimbo’s is organic and is reflected in the recipe but it is not necessary for you to use only organic ingredients.)  We want your kids to get fruits and veggies any way they can and we know that organic is frequently more expensive making it cost prohibitive for some. As long as you can get a variety of colorful fruits and veggies in their diet, your child will get all of the nutrients they need.

Rainbow Veggie Flatbread Pizza

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 Rustic Crust organic Old World Flatbread pizza crust (or any ready-made pizza crust)
1/2 cup organic pizza sauce
1/2 small organic eggplant, cut into 1” cubes
1/2 medium organic zucchini, cut into 1 inch thick slices
1/2 organic yellow or orange bell pepper, cut in to strips
1/4 cup organic grape tomatoes, halved

3 cloves organic garlic, roughly chopped
sea salt & pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp organic olive oil
1/4 cup fresh organic mint leaves, chopped
3/4 cup shredded organic fontina cheese (If you can’t find fontina, a mixture of parmesan and gruyere will work, but it won’t melt as nicely.)

Feel free to substitute colorful veggies to suit your taste or the current season. Try onions, green garlic, fava beans, edamame, thinly sliced colorful potatoes, broccoli, colorful cauliflower, green beans, beets, etc!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 500F
2. Individually toss the veggies in garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
3. Spread veggies out in a 13×9” baking dish, keeping them clustered by kind.
4. Bake at 500F for 15 minutes, stirring half way through cooking time.
5. Remove and reduce oven to 425F.
6. Top pizza crust with sauce and cheese.
7. Layer veggies in a rainbow pattern over the cheese.
8. Bake pizza at 425F for 12 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is lightly browned.
9. Remove from oven and top with mint.

For information on picky eating, please visit my video Are Your Kids Picky Eaters?