Healthy Irish Potato Bites for Kids
Healthy Irish Potato Bites baked with spinach that the kids will love! This is the protein packed meal they’ll be asking for again and again.
Healthy Irish Potato Bites for Kids
March is full of madness and luck of the Irish and the leprechauns love these healthy Irish Potato Bites! They’re stuffed full of spinach, cheese and turkey. They’re like mini twice baked potatoes! The kids will love eating 2 or 3 of these for the perfect protein packed meal.
Dinner Ideas for Quick and Easy Meals
In a perfect world, I love planning out my meals all week long. But life isn’t perfect. So we at Super Healthy Kids consider ourselves the queens (and kings) of quick and easy meals to throw together. Some of my favorites are 10 Minute Dinners , Last Minute Dinner Ideas, and Tangy One Pot Chicken Pasta! When kids get sick, have late night soccer practice, when we’r stuck in PTA meetings all night, we need some favorite go-to recipes in our back pocket!
How to Make Irish Potato Bites
These are basically healthy mini twice baked potatoes. You’ll boil your red potatoes to cook them and then slice them in half. I cut off a little of the bottom of each half to make sure it would lay flat on the pan and not roll around. Scoop out the inside of the potatoes using a melon baller or a spoon and mash away. After you mash your potatoes you’ll cook up some ground turkey and then add in spinach and cheese. Mix it all with the mashed potatoes and then re-fill the potatoes. Your kids can help you fill the potatoes! Pop them back in the oven to make sure they’re heated all the way through and then serve with a tiny dollop of sour cream on top. Add some chives for color and watch out for leprechauns. They might sneak up and try to steal one!
How to Make Delicious Baked Potatoes
A perfectly cooked potato should have a crispy skin on the outside and a light and fluffy center. These potato bites are a little different because the fluffy inside is combined with other delicious savory ingredients to make a creamy, delicious filling. But if you like that crispy outside on the skin, grab a pastry brush and brush a little oil around the outside. This will give you that amazing crispy skin that every baked potato should have!
Are Potatoes Good For You?
Potatoes are a classic comfort food. There are so many ways to cook them, but they all mean comfort. And the great thing is, as comforting as they are, they are loaded with health benefits!
- They are among the most potassium-rich foods. It is recommended that American’s try and get close to 4500mg of potassium a day. Potassium helps to counteract the harmful effects of too much sodium and keeps blood pressure in check. An eight ounce baked potato contains 1000 mg of potassium!
- With the skin on, they are a high dietary fiber food. One potato provides a significant source of fiber that kids needs need in a day. Fiber is important for good digestion and efficient absorption of nutrients. Baked potatoes have both soluble and insoluble fiber, which is great! The soluble fiber controls cholesterol, while the insoluble fiber makes it easier for waste to pass through your system.
- They are low in calories. It’s true. Potatoes often get a bad rap of being loaded with calories. The truth is that one medium baked potato contains only about 170 calories. It is all the heavy toppings that pile up the calorie count of potatoes: bacon, cheese, butter and sour cream. Potatoes are a great food to add more veggies to! Check out these mini loaded bake potatoes for a healthier way to serve up potatoes at your dinner table!
Irish Potato Bites
Ingredients
- 15 small (2-1/4″ dia) potato, red
- 1/2 pound turkey, ground
- 2 ounce cheddar cheese
- 2 cup spinach
- 1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 tablespoon chives, fresh, chopped
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with enough water to cover potatoes and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and boil until tender. Drain and let cool until you can handle them.
- In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground turkey. Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat into small pieces. Once cooked, remove from the heat.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Slice potatoes in half. Cut a little piece of the bottom so that the potato halves won’t roll around, and place on a baking sheet.
- Use a melon baller or a small spoon to scoop out the insides of the potato halves and add them to a bowl. Mash until smooth and then add cooked turkey, shredded cheese, spinach, butter and salt. Mix until well combined.
- Fill the potato halves with the filling and bake for 10 minutes or until heated through. Top with a little dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of chives. Serve warm!
Nutrition
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Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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