For 6 years, since starting this blog, I’ve been on a mission to convince my children that fruits and vegetables are not only going to help them feel great, but also that they taste great! Last night I felt success! We were at church, and all the 12 year old girls were being introduced to the group. When it was Erica’s turn, and the girl introducing her said “Erica’s favorite food is…” I cringed. I actually didn’t know what she had told them, and I was sure she was going to say pizza or cookies. But she had answered- ORANGES! Her favorite food is oranges! I was definitely proud of her!
Getting kids to love fruits and vegetables early enough in life to enjoy the benefits is a noble goal. When fruits and veggies are a big part of your families life:
- Their risk for disease will decrease
- Their Weight will be easier to manage
- The aging process will slow down,
- They will sleep better
- They’ll have more energy
- And best of all, they’ll be happier
The promises of eating more fruits and vegetables are so fabulous that every good parent should desire for their kids to fall in love with produce. Today’s recipe is a great way to make spinach taste amazing! We first shared this recipe a year ago in our Valentines meal plan, but we’ve enjoyed it so many more times since then, I wanted to share it on the blog.
Calzones are a great place to add veggies. We’ve made these with broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, and carrots and onions before. Each time, my kids gobbled them up! Here is our final recipe:
I’ve done home made poptarts… Is the crust for these calzones closer to say a puff pastry? Or breadier like a roll? I don’t have too much experience with calzones, but would like to try the recipe.
Oh, that salad… I know this post isn’t about the salad at all, but I’m dying over it. It’s my favorite, especially in the summer when all that produce is fresh. Mmm…
And those calzones… LOVE the heart shapes. It’s all about the appearance with kids, isn’t it?!
All I can say is that I’m headed to the store to buy spinach, strawberries, and feta cheese (already have the nuts). Spinach Strawberry Salad, here I come! I can’t wait ’til lunch time!
It’s softer- like pizza crust!
Hi — How many calzones would this recipe make and how many do you think are a servings (not sure how big they are). Thanks!
We get about 8 calzones out of these. We use the big heart cookie cutter- like the one intended for sandwiches.
Thanks! Do you think an adult would eat one or two? I assume a kidlet 1! 🙂
Two if you are like me (love to eat!)
Ummm, maybe! 😉 thanks!
I’d like to make this for my 14 month old and husband for valentine’s day dinner, but I will be working and won’t get home until late. Can this dough be made up the night before?
Sorry I’m late to reply! If you haven’t already done this, I probably would make the entire thing (including cooking), and just reheat them. I think bread dough is sort of unpredictable in the pre-making.
How well do you think these would do if they were frozen?
The do freeze well as long as your packaging is freezer safe (so they don’t get freezer burn).
Just make sure the entire thing is cooked and then frozen, so you only are reheating it. Rather than freezing the raw dough.
good luck! let us know how it turns out!
Im from holland im not sure what you mean by pkg yeast? a packet of yeast?
sorry- yes. it’s about 1 tablespoon of yeast
Can I use pizza dough to make this?
I just made these with chopped strawberries inside and brushed on egg with a little sprinkled sugar for a healthy Valentine’s dessert tomorrow!
Erin, I love that Idea!! I need those right now 🙂
What if you only used whole wheat or white whole wheat flour? Thanks!
You could definitely do it 100% whole wheat. Let us know how it goes.
How many does this yield?
Depends how big you make them Jessica- I think we get about 6 out of one recipe.
Could you add some chicken or beef in there too to add a little more substance and make it a main dish? Or would that ruin the consistency of the dish?
Swift- you can add meat for sure!
Is the dough supposed to be pretty heavy? I just mixed the dough ingredients together in my kitchenaid and i had to add extra water. Just a bit, otherwise there would be dry ingredients at the bottom of the bowl. I just put it to rise… any suggestions? Does this sound normal to u?
And you used a full cup of water to start with, and then 3 total cups of flour? Usually it’s pretty sticky!
I had the same problem – stiff heavy dough, I couldn’t even get all the flour mixed in and it hasn’t risen at all. Second attempt with the same results – clearly I’m doing something wrong!
Came back to say despite the heavy dough it rolled out really well and baked to perfection! Kids ate them up! Thanks.
Oh, that is interesting Joanne! thanks for the feedback!
Hello I too have found the dough quite dry. You don’t specify any kneading? Is that because it is a given? And also you have listed 3 tblsp of Olive oil in the ingredients but the instructions never tell you to use them? Should I have used the oil in the dough for more moisture?
Still looks great tho can’t wait to try the kids with them! Thanks for sharing!