Another way to serve the rice and beans and greens, with some lightly steamed vegetables. Can't you just see a theme here with the rice and beans :). I interchange the type of rice I use, some days it's white and other days it's brown. I always add carrots, onions, garlic and either spinach or kale to the rice dish.

There are so many ways to serve this dish, beans give you protein, greens calcium and a host of other vitamins....and of course the glass of water to top it off :).
We have had it with corn on the cob, avocado salad, roasted beets, sauteed chicken, etc....







I love the colors of this easy to make dish on the left. Red cabbage, carrots and scallions (I added later). Sautee in the wok until the cabbages are wilted and the corn is a little crispy, add the scallions and cook for a few minutes more. Meanwhile boil some Udon noodles according to the package directions. Then add it to the vegetable mixture and pour some low sodium soy sauce mix it well and serve while hot. I cut the cabbage ahead of time and then go about my business while it settles, (about 45 min) then drain the water out. The cooking time from beginning to end is about 20 minutes or so.. (not counting the time to cut the cabbage). My kids love this dish!
The main objective in feeing your children healthy dishes is to get as much color as you can on their plate. I love to experiment with food and try new dishes that I'm pretty sure my family will eat. Usually I'm right. :) But you shouldn't be afraid to do the same, even if your kids are not crazy about a lot of vegetables or flavors. The rule as far as food goes in my house is you eat what you are served, if you don't like it you can get a healthy snack. I usually have apples, organic yogurt, bananas etc if they try a few bites and really don't like the food. My youngest one is usually the pickier of the 3 but she has gotten used to a lot of various flavors and I have only had to use the 'get a snack' route 3 or 4 times in the last year or so.  :)