Milk - Health Benefits
                                                     

Milk Magic:
Abracadabra! Children can satisfy their daily calcium requirements by enjoying the rich taste of milk in a glass – and by eating their favorite foods made with milk! Try these delicious, nutritious alternatives:
·        Creamy soups: Substitute fat free or 1% low fat milk for the water, following package directions for proportions.
·        Hot cereal sensation: prepare almost any hot cereal with fat free or 1% low fat milk instead of water.
·        Egg-straordinary eggs: whisk fat free or 1% low fat milk into the raw eggs for fluffier scrambled eggs and omelets. Also, substitute 1% low fat milk for some of the cream in quiche.
·        Veggies in disguise: add fat free or 1% low fat milk to canned cheese soup or cream of mushroom soup to make a quick, delicious light sauce over vegetables. Also, bring out the flavor of frozen vegetables by cooking them in milk instead of water.
·        Pure pudding pleasure: satisfy the craving for sweets with an after-school snack of instant pudding made with fat free or 1% low fat milk.

Beat the Bedtime Blues:
If stories aren’t enough to put your children to sleep, serve them a cup of warm milk or hot chocolate milk before bed. For an irresistible taste twist, add caramel or butterscotch ice-cream topping, ground cinnamon, or a few drops extract: peppermint, coconut, almond or vanilla.

Recipe for Happy Kids:
Inspire appreciation for wholesome foods as you cook or bake with your children. Depending on their ages, they’ll explore math, science, and art as they measure the right amounts, mix, cook, and taste their remarkable creations.
·        Measuring up. Practice fractions as you measure the milk and other ingredients for a dish.
·        Shake it up! Try any of the milkshake recipes; then experiment with your own flavor combinations. Observe how milk influences the texture and color of the beverages.
·        Solid or liquid? As you prepare your favorite recipes, notice how milk dissolves dry ingredients and how liquid batters become solid when baked.
·        Creativity on the loose. Use the recipes as a starting point for creating your own recipes with milk. Encourage children to come up with healthy variations!

Go the Distance with Milk:
For your aspiring athletes, fat free milk or 1% low fat milk provides high-quality protein with little or no fat. It not only supplies important nutrients to help build and maintain muscles; it also sustains energy and helps replenish fluids lost during activity. Milk also has more vitamins and minerals than the leading sports drink!

Three Cheers for Chocolate Milk:
Chocolate milk is good for your kids and for you! In fact, it is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and has the same nutritional benefits as unflavored milk. Available in low fat varieties, it’s lower in caffeine and sugar – and far more nutritious – than soft drinks, coffee, and tea.

Make it Better with Milk:
Enrich the flavor and boost the nutrient value of favorite foods by preparing them with milk instead of water. For starters, try some of these ideas.
·        Sweeter corn-on-the-cob: Boil whole fresh or frozen corns in lightly salted milk instead of water.
·        Plump potatoes: Use milk to mash potatoes; then season with roasted garlic or horseradish.
·        Pleasing pasta: Blend milk, canned tomato paste, and Italian seasonings into a wholesome, creamy sauce; then pour over any dish of shapely cooked noodles.
·        Wild for wild rice: Prepare a healthy, hearty side dish by boiling wild rice in milk instead of water. Season with reconstituted dried mushrooms and thyme.