Christmas Recipes for Kids

This healthy update of a traditionally rich ham-and-cheese breakfast strata is made lighter primarily by losing a few egg yolks and using nonfat milk. Gruyère cheese has a delicious, nutty aroma and flavor, which means that with the relatively small amount in this recipe you still get a big impact. To finish the makeover use nutritious, fiber-rich, whole-grain bread instead of white. The results: plenty of flavor, half the calories and one-third the fat of the original.

This lightened-up take on the classic Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole is spiked with crushed pineapple and toasted pecans. We top it with an airy, slightly sweet meringue. You can pipe the meringue to make it look fancy or simply spread it neatly with a rubber spatula.

Make a batch of these easy homemade dried-fruit bars to tuck into your kid's lunchbox all week.

Perk up your cheese plate or crudités platter with these crunchy, zesty pickled turnips or try them on a sandwich instead of cucumber pickles.

For a meal that's ready when you get home after a long day, try this flavorful and hearty pot roast.

Dried blueberries give these pancakes a rich blueberry flavor and pecans liven up the texture with a bit of crunch.

Grapefruit for dessert? Why not! In this broiled grapefruit recipe, grapefruit halves are topped with spiced brown sugar, caramelized under the broiler then topped with a dollop of vanilla-infused whipped cream.

The original version of this cheesy potato casserole stars canned soup, full-fat sour cream, a stick of butter and a crust of crushed potato chips. We lightened it considerably by using a homemade white sauce instead of canned soup and swapping nonfat Greek yogurt for the sour cream. Crushed corn flakes replace the potato chips. All in all, we slashed 200 calories, 25 grams of fat (12 grams saturated) and 170 milligrams of sodium per serving. Dig in!

These bite-size pimiento cheese balls from Jamie and Bobby Deen are a huge hit with kids (of all ages). They're the perfect appetizer to bring to a summer picnic. Jamie and Bobby share a passion for great home-cooked food with a Southern flair with their celebrity-chef mom, Paula Deen. These brothers are following in their mom's footsteps with their own TV shows, books and website. Our favorite part of what they're up to: healthy makeovers of some of Paula's recipes! Recipe adapted from The Deen Bros. Get Fired Up, by Jamie & Bobby Deen and Melissa Clark (Ballantine Books, 2011).

Ah, the maligned fruitcake. Many store-bought varieties, stuffed with unrecognizable candied bits, deserve their bad reputation--but not these wonderful cakes, made with a generous serving of dried fruit and candied orange peel in a light batter. There's only one trick: buy the best-quality, moist dried and candied fruit you can afford.

Take your veggies and dip to the next level with this colorful crudité wreath. This vegetable appetizer is a stunner with white cauliflower, red tomatoes and green broccoli, green beans, snap peas, kale and Brussels sprouts. It's also a delicious way to start your celebration with veggies (which there are rarely enough of at parties and holidays). The homemade ranch dip, which uses nonfat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, takes just a few minutes to make, or you can use a healthy store-bought dip.

Serve this spice-roasted chicken with buttered egg noodles and steamed green beans.

Holiday cookies don't get any cuter than these mini gingerbread houses that kids and adults alike will love. Use a mini gingerbread house cookie cutter to cut out all the parts (the kids will love helping with this part), then build the houses and let the kids go to town decorating. Line up your finished creations to make a gingerbread house village, eat them up or prop them up on mugs of cocoa for dipping and munching.

Traditional homemade gnocchi (little Italian dumplings) are made with just potato, flour, egg and salt. Be sure not to work the dough too much or the gnocchi will be tough. Toss them with your favorite sauce and dinner is served!

This healthier cup of hot chocolate uses low-fat milk, natural cocoa powder and just enough sugar to sweeten things up without going overboard on calories. As an added bonus, the milk provides a healthy serving of protein and calcium, which you won't get from sugar-loaded powdered hot-chocolate mixes prepared using water. Spice it up with an add-in like orange zest, cinnamon or vanilla for a delicious twist on this classic treat.

These hasselback sweet potatoes are like mini marshmallow-topped sweet potato casseroles drizzled with sage-infused butter. The hasselback technique, slicing the potato but leaving it whole, makes for a tender potato with a crispy top--the best of both worlds.

Use whatever fresh or frozen fruit you have on hand to make this old-fashioned crumble. Typical crumble topping has as much as a half cup of butter--ours has just a bit of canola oil and, for richness, chopped almonds, which are full of healthy monounsaturated fats.

Pork tenderloin just got even better with the addition of a crispy layer of bacon.

A dozen for brunch? No problem with our delicious makeover of a classic egg casserole. Assemble the casserole the evening before you plan to serve it.

Banana bran muffins are great to have on hand for breakfast on-the-go!

Looking for a fun cooking project to do with kids? Make chocolate truffles! In this easy vegan dessert recipe, we make a chocolate ganache filling with peanut butter and coconut milk instead of heavy cream. Make chocolate bark with the leftover chocolate and wrap it up together with a few truffles for a beautiful edible gift.

EatingWell reader Kathy Moseler of Barrington Hills, Illinois, contributed this convenient recipe to our Kitchen to Kitchen department. The pancakes are made with 100 percent whole-wheat flour and get an additional fiber boost from flaxseed meal.

We've included a basic herb combination in this recipe for roasting two chickens at once, but season your chicken with whatever herbs you like. Though we like to roast two chickens at once, you can also easily halve all the ingredients and just roast one.

These healthy waffles are made from a blend of whole-wheat and regular flour plus nonfat buttermilk and canola oil. Top with fresh berries or sliced peaches and yogurt for a satisfying start to any day.