Healthy, Delicious and Easy Turkish Menu Ideas for Every Taste. I have been asked by a few readers to give some Turkish menu ideas to enjoy with family and friends. Most Turkish food is easy to prepare and can also be prepared ahead of time. I hope the below ideas may inspire you to have a go at delicious, wholesome and easy to prepare Turkish food. Using seasonal produce, healthy grains and naturally flavoring with spices, olive oil and sauces like pomegranate molasses, you can create delicious, wholesome and balanced Turkish meals for family and friend easily. A Classic Turkish Menu from Soup to Dessert. Ezo Gelin Corba, Turkish red lentil and bulgur soup, flavored with dried mint and red pepper flakes. Soups have a special place in Turkish cuisine and the meals mostly start with them. In Anatolia, it is very common to have soup to start the day, especially in winter. In my parents home, no matter how extensive dinner menu we is, soup like this Ezo Gelin Corba would always be the one to welcome everyone, along with Pide Bread. There would be a type of borek, savory pastry with fillings, a Zeytinyagli, vegetables cooked in olive oil, made with seasonal vegetables and a mezze, appetizer. Then the main course could be either a casserole, stew or a home style tray bake kebab. Most Turks these days may skip the dessert, unless it is a special family gathering or have a light one like this stuffed baked apricot or sliced seasonal fruits, as in our house. Stuffed peppers and tomatoes in ground meat and aromatic rice Dolma. Turkish Spicy Bulgur and Lentil Soup Ezo Gelin Corba. Spinach and feta filo tray bake Ispanakli, Peynirli Borek. Warm Hummus in red pepper flakes infused olive oil. Green Beans with onions, garlic and tomatoes, cooked in olive oil Zeytinyagli Taze Fasulye. Stuffed tomatoes and peppers with ground meat, onions and aromatic rice Dolma. DdTiEHyiqzW830rowcgpJ0.jpg' alt='Healthy Supper Ideas' title='Healthy Supper Ideas' />Baked stuffed dried apricots with walnuts Cevizli Kuru Kayisi Tatlisi. Vegetarian Turkish meal menu. Turkish cuisine is based on seasonal produce and there are many delicious vegetarian courses on offer. From stuffed pides to vegetables cooked in olive oil, yoghurt based dips to pilafs with vegetables and more, there are plenty, delicious choices. Heres my selection the list includes a family favorite from Antakya, Eggplants cooked with lentils, onions and peppers Patlicanli, Mercimekli Mualla a heavenly, delicious meal that melts in the mouth. Get Sunday Supper Stuffed Pork Chops, Cream Cheese Potatoes, Sugar Snap Peas Recipe from Food Network. Helps people prepare tasty, nutritious meals with less time, hassle and mess, by assisting in menu planning, shopping, preparation and cleanup. Buttermilk keeps baked chicken tender a coating of cornflakes makes each piece as crispy as fried chicken, but with less fat. Our Healthy Living recipes, howto tips and articles cover everything from weeknight dinners to holiday menus, desserts and ideas for picky eaters. While vegan foods can be very rich in grains, there are lots of yummy grainfree vegan foods out thereHealthy, simple and scrumptious recipe ideas that will keep the whole family happy from homemade fish fingers to pasta with tomato hidden veg sauce. Making homemade soup recipes is easier than you think. Whether youre looking for healthy and homemade or quick and simple, theres a soup recipe for every occasionEggplants, lentils and peppers cooked in olive oil Patlicanli, Mercimekli Mualla. Turkish oval flat breads with spinach, peppers and feta cheese topping, Peynirli Pide. Eggplants cooked with lentils, onions and peppers in olive oil Patlicanli, Mercimekli Mualla. Cacik dip of yoghurt, cucumber and dried mint. Bulgur Pilaf with vegetables Sebzeli Bulgur Pilavi. Semolina Sponge Cake in syrup Revani. Semolina sponge cake in syrup, Revani. Festive Turkish Meal Menu. Walnut and red pepper paste dip Muhammara or Cevizli Biber. This is a festive menu that appears at my mothers table at every special occasion and gatherings. With our roots going back to Antakya, southern part of Turkey, the menu is naturally inspired by our home town. The walnuts and red pepper paste dip, Muhammara is a special favorite and makes a great appetizer, served with homemade pide bread. Upside down rice with layers of sauted meat, eggplants and potatoes, Mevlubi, is my mothers signature dish a special, impressive dish that is perfect for entertaining. Having rice, meat and vegetables in it makes Mevlubi a complete course too. Kunefe, pastry strands soaked in syrup with melted cheese would be the ultimate dessert for this festive meal. Red pepper paste and walnut dip Cevizli Biber or Muhammara. Homemade Turkish flat pide bread, Pide Ekmek. Spicy bulgur wheat salad with pomegranate molasses Kisir. Stuffed grape vine leaves with aromatic rice and herbs Sarma. Upside down rice with layers of meat, eggplant and potatoes Mevlubi. Pastry Strands in syrup with melted cheese Kunefe. Kunefe, Kadayifi pastry strands in syrup with melted cheese a glorious dessert that would make any day special. Mezze based Turkish Meal Menu. Baked prawns with tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms and cheese Karides Guvec. I love the small plates of mezzes in Turkish cuisine, probably my favorite style of enjoying Turkish food. Dips, salads, borek pastries, vegetables cooked in olive oil, mini meatballs, and oven baked shrimp casserole all adore the tables as starters and shared amongst the guests. I love them so much that I tend to have a variety of them as my main course. Here is a delicious selection for you to create at your home. Turkish coffee accompanied by Turkish delight would be the ultimate end to this Turkish meal, shared in good company of friends and family Filo rolls with feta and parsley, Sigara boregi. Best Vegetarian Cookbooks there. Borlotti beans cooked in olive oil Barbunya Pilaki. Shepherds Salad with diced cucumbers, tomatoes, onions with olive oil and sumac Coban Salatasi. Baked shrimp casserole with peppers, mushroom and cheese Karides Guvec. Baked Mini meatballs in tomato and pepper sauce Domates ve biber soslu mini kofte. Potato, red onion and olive bake with cumin and chili flakes. Turkish Coffee. Homemade Turkish Delight. Baked mini Turkish meatballs in tomato and pepper sauce. I do hope these delicious varieties of Turkish menus inspire you you can pick and choose the dishes that suit your taste and needs, I hope you enjoy them. Deliciously frothy Turkish Coffee more than a drink. Afiyet Olsun,Ozlem. Fresh Food Ideas for the School Party. Just when your family had started to recover from the holiday sugar binge Along comes Valentines Day to provide yet another excuse for a class party laden with candy, cupcakes and other sweets. I dont know about you, but I am not too excited about the idea of my kids downing 1. Im all for an occasional treat preferably at home, but the last thing they need is another over the top junk fest. Valentines Day is an anniversary of sorts for me. It was this time last year that I finally freaked about all the empty calorie treats being fed to my son a kindergartner at the time at school. My frustration had been building for a while, but the week of February 1. It wasnt just the sweets served in class on V Day itself. It was all the candy that came attached to his Valentines. The cupcakes and gummy bears to honor his classmates birthday two days later. And the ice cream at the schools annual 1. Days of School celebration two days after that. It was a special week, my sons teacher explained after I emailed her about the mountain of sugar that had been consumed over the span of five days. She was right Valentines week was exceptionally bad, unlike anything we had seen so far that year. But the truth was, unhealthy food had been making regular appearances in the classroom all fall and winterat least once a week, by my estimate. It was too much. And I felt that it was undermining my efforts to teach my kids how to eat. As those of you have been following my blog know, I acted on my frustration. I asked to start a wellness committee and help start one I did. And while things are far from perfect, I have noticed somepositive changesthis school year, including a push for healthier food at classroom parties. My sons new fitness minded teacher only permits one group birthday party a month and has specifically requested parents stick to nutritious snacks. Its been much better, without a doubt. But what will happen during Valentines week is still up in the air. Thats where this list comes in. The head of our new Wellness Committee asked me to provide some healthy Valentines Day food ideas to share with teachers and parents. Because it seems a lot of families want to be healthier but may default to junk food out of lack of better ideas. Im a firm believer that kids will get excited about a spread of healthy nibbles if they taste yummy and look special. So with no further adoThe List Heart melon pop I did a variation on this idea at Christmas using kiwi. This time, I took a mini heart shaped cookie cutter and carefully cut out pieces of cantaloupe. While Ive struggled to make shapes out of watermelon in the past, the cantaloupe held up well. For color, you could try making heart shapes out of other fruits like honeydew, kiwi and pineapple. Flower shapes made into a Valentines bouquet would be cute, too Heart shaped brownie bites Oh, how my 4 year old twins and I love these faux brownies, made with raw almonds, unsweetened cacao powder,  dates, and a tablespoon of honey. Instead of rolling them into little balls like I normally do, I took about a third of the dough and made a big ball, then flattened it out with my hand until it was about 12 to 34 inch thick. Next, I used a mini heart cookie cutter to make shapes. If your child goes to a nut free school, you can substitute half a cup of sunflower seeds plus half a cup of hemp seeds for the almonds I added an extra tablespoon of honey when I did this because the almonds felt were naturally sweeterbut judge for yourself. Healthy banana splitA healthy twist on a favorite kids dessertI subbed Greek yogurt I used plain, but you could try vanilla to make it sweeter, heart shaped strawberries and dark chocolate shavings for ice cream, chocolate sauce and a maraschino cherry. To make the shavings, I used a chocolate bar and a carrot peeler. This would make a perfect item for a breakfast party or at any time of day. You can do a make your own version Slice the bananas for the kids, then provide the toppings in bowls. For extra toppings, try slivered almonds, granola or natural pink sprinkles. Be still my beating heart sandwichOrganic unsweetened SunButter and red raspberry preserves on locally made honey wheat breadYUMSweet potato cheddar crackers Move over, Goldfish These little guys taste just as good but are better for you. I cut the recipe in half and still had enough dough to make 1. One warning Not long after taking the crackers out of the oven, they got soft even though I transferred them to a wire rack immediately after cooking. My kids still loved them, but they were more bready than crackery. And cute as can be Angel food and fruit kabobFor this, I used store bought angel food cake no artificial ingredients and alternated chunks of cake with heart shaped strawberries and blackberries on long skewers. Chocolate zucchini mini cupcakes Made with whole wheat flour and shredded zucchini, these are much less sinful than traditional frosted cupcakes but plenty sweet enough to please the kids. I put mine in mini muffin liners adorned with pink and red hearts. Add a Valentines cupcake topper to further up the appeal. Valentines fruit cupTo make this one, I just put a little fruit including a heart shaped strawberry  in a mini cupcake wrapper. Fun and easy Love potion smoothiePut a fruit smoothie  in a colorful up, add a whimsical straw, and what do you get A special love potion I made this smoothie with fresh strawberries, mangoes, carrot juice, plain Greek yogurt and a little ice. For a pinker color, try this Pink Smoothie from Bake Your Day or the Berry Banana Smoothie from Two Peas and Their Pod. Silly Straws Kit makes 6 purchased at Target. Popcorn party favorHomemade microwave popcorn becomes a fun treat when placed in a food safe Valentine favor bag I got this onemade by American Crafts and sold in a pack of 6at Target. I wanted to figure out a way to dye the popcorn pink using beet juice but didnt get a chance. Next time Plus. a few more festive ideas from around the web Heart shaped boiled eggs Chocolate dipped fruit on a stick. Love this fruit saladoasted strawberry fruit dip with dark chocolate. Heart shaped peppers and dip Sweetheart yogurt parfaitseart shaped stacked sandwich Dark chocolate fruit hearts ll starred items can be done with store bought food for those who have a store bought only food policy. Items could be transported to school in sealed packages and then assembled immediately before the party. Valentine Card Ideas. I dont know when it became the norm to attach candy to Valentines Day cards. Last year, I was shocked by the amount of sugar that came home with my then kindergartner and my then 3 year old twins at preschool. It felt like Halloween all over againMy kids get excited just to receive a simple card and wouldnt even notice the absence of candy. If your child wants to send in something extra in addition to a card, here are some non sugary options Fun sticker. Fake tatoo. Small bag of popcorn. Glowstick. Lip balm Photograph. Pencil or pen. Party favor.