What's for Lunch? These Pockets are Vegetarian Heaven
"If you have a teen with vegetarian tastes, any sandwich with cheese is an easy way to fit protein in," said dietitian Roberta Duyff, MS, RD, a prolific writer of such authoritative books as the American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. "Then be inspired by adding seasonal flavors such as pears, apples, cranberries and pecans."
Duyff created delicious Nutty Pear-Cheese Pockets for the Irish Dairy Board using Kerrygold Cheddar, which is made with microbial rennet instead of animal rennet, making it suitable for vegetarians. Kerrygold only uses milk from grass-fed cows that are growth hormone-free. The cheese turns a natural gold from the beta-carotene in Ireland's intensely green grass.
"Cheese is the perfect partner for the sweet taste of fruit, the crunch of celery and nuts, and the fun of a hand-held pocket," said Duyff.
For a lunchbox brochure featuring two weeks' worth of recipes and creative ideas, www.Kerrygold.com/usa.
Nutty Pear-Cheese Pockets
1 cup chopped firm pears or tart apples
3/4 cup (3 ounces) diced Kerrygold Aged Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1/4 cup (1 ounce) chopped pecans or walnuts
1/4 cup lemon yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise or mayonnaise-type salad dressing
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 whole-wheat pita breads
1 cup baby spinach or leaf lettuce
In bowl, combine pears, cheese, celery, cranberries and pecans. In a separate bowl, combine yogurt, mayonnaise and ginger. Add to pear mixture; blend gently. To assemble sandwich, halve each pita and gently pull apart to form pocket. Line each of four pockets with spinach and stuff with the pear mixture, dividing equally. Makes 4 pita pockets (2 pockets per serving).
Per serving, the recipe provides the equivalent of: 1/2 cup fruit, 1/2 cup vegetables, 2 ounces whole grains, 1 cup milk, and 1 ounce meat alternate (from nuts).
Variations: Substitute Cheddar with Dubliner, Blarney Castle, Kerrygold Swiss or Kerrygold Reduced-Fat Cheddar. For kids with nut allergies, eliminate nuts. Per serving, the recipe will lack the 1 ounce meat alternate, but will still make a nutritious lunch.
Photos
To download photos, right click (cmd click on a Macintosh, choose "Save Image As") on the photo itself and choose "Save target as" or "Save link as" from the menu. Because of the large files sizes, the photos may take some time to download depending on your Internet connection speed. Please credit the photographers where they are mentioned.
Pita.jpg
Resolution: 300 dpi
Dimension: 3372 x 3372
File Size: 5.29 MB
