Fun Family-Friendly Recipe Ideas
Recipes Featuring WIC Foods: Fruits and Vegetables
Looking for something new to make? We have a few family-friendly meal ideas for recipes spotlighting a popular WIC food: fruits and vegetables.
This month Texas WIC is offering even more fruit and vegetable benefits. Here are a few ideas to serve up recipes with some great produce you can get with those added benefits.
This first treat is perfect for kids and adults, and it’s a great treat for the summer.
FROZEN YOGURT BANANAS
2 Bananas cut in half in the middle of the banana
1 cup Yogurt
2 tablespoons of Maple Syrup
½ teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon
Pop sticks
Insert pop stick into bottom of banana. (see photo). Combine yogurt, syrup and cinnamon in a bowl and mix. Dip the bananas in the mixture. Lay dipped bananas onto a cookie sheet. You can add sprinkles or mini chocolate chips for added fun. Freeze for about 6 hours or until yogurt is frozen.
This recipe is the perfect side for any summertime meal. It’s also very easy to make.
CUCUMBER, TOMATO & ONION SALAD
1 large Cucumber, sliced.
3 Tomatoes cut into thin wedges
1 Onion, sliced
1 cup White Vinegar
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
¼ cup Water
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Combine cut vegetables into a bowl. Combine all other ingredients in another bowl and mix together. Pour the mixture over the cut vegetables and mix together. Cover and place in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.
Pick up your WIC groceries at any Lone Star Family Market location in Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos. We provide an easy shopping format for WIC groceries and even have bilingual staff to help you get everything you need. To find a location near you, visit us online at LoneStarFamilyMarket.com/locations.
Texas WIC Online Class Offered Monday
Texas WIC Class Offers Up Recipe To Stay Hydrated During Summer
The hot summer months have arrived, and it’s important to keep you and your family hydrated without filling up on sugary drinks. An online Texas WIC class has several tips to help.
Texas WIC is offering an online class Monday that offers recommendations for drinks for children, ways to drink “more water and less sugar” and how to make kid-friendly infused waters and ice cubes.
“We’ll explore the truth behind many common drinks and demonstrate recipe ideas that are not only cool for kids, but fun for the whole family,” according to Texas WIC’s online class description.
TEXAS WIC ONLINE CLASS
The “Live Discussion and Activity on Cool Drinks for Kids” class is being offered online from 1 to 2 PM on Monday, June 21st on the TexasWIC.org website. If you would like to participate, simply register for the class using the link below:
https://classes.texaswic.org/class/de408a18-4dd4-4457-82ad-c924abd56f59
You can watch the online class with a computer, tablet or mobile device that has Internet.
Lone Star Family Market is a primarily WIC grocery store chain with locations in Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos. Lone Star Family Market makes it easy and convenient to shop for WIC groceries. We have bilingual staff that is familiar with the WIC program that can help you shop for the items you need. Find a location near a WIC clinic today on our website.
Summertime Pasta Recipe
Try This Recipe For Whole Wheat Pasta (A WIC Food) The Whole Family Will Enjoy
It’s summertime. That means parents need healthy, fast, no-fuss recipes that are also kid-friendly. If you are looking for a quick meal using WIC foods, try this pasta recipe.
You may find yourself using this recipe again and again this summer. It’s easy, fast and doesn’t heat up the kitchen during those warm summer months. It’s great for lunch, dinner and makes enough for leftovers. The best part, it features several WIC foods.
WHOLE WHEAT PASTA AND BROCCOLI
1 16oz box of Whole Wheat Pasta, any kind (elbows, bow ties, spirals or even spaghetti)
3 cups of Broccoli, fresh or frozen works
4 tbsp Butter
3 cloves Garlic, minced
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
1.5 to 2 cups of reserved Pasta water
Cooked Boneless Chicken, optional
Cook pasta according to package directions. When you have about 5 minutes remaining, add the broccoli. Once broccoli is tender, drain water In a large colander. Use the cooking pot to melt the butter on low heat. Add minced garlic and saute for a few minutes, stirring often. Add pasta and broccoli back into the pot. Add cheese and pasta water. Stir until the cheese is mixed thoroughly. Mix in cooked, cut up, boneless chicken chunks if using. Enjoy!
Find more great recipes using WIC foods on the Lone Star Family Market blog page. Lone Star Family Market helps make shopping for WIC foods easy for mothers. You can find a location near WIC clinics by visiting our locations page online.
You can apply online for Texas WIC by visiting the organization’s website at TexasWIC.org.
Memorial Day Recipe Round Up
Recipes Featuring Fruits, Vegetables To Make This Weekend
There’s no better time than to start breaking into your summer recipes than Memorial Day weekend. The season offers so many great fruits and vegetables that are perfect to serve up as the weather heats up.
We are spotlighting several recipes using WIC foods perfect for this weekend and for the months to come using some of our favorite fruits and vegetables.
These cool and refreshing treats are fun for kids and are easy to make.
YOGURT FREEZER POPS
12 oz of Fresh or Frozen Fruit (strawberries with stems removed and cut in half before blending or blueberries are our favorites)
2 cups of Plain Yogurt
¼ cup of Honey (omit if serving to children younger than 1 years old) 
Puree fruit in a blender. Add yogurt. Add honey (if using) and blend together. Pour pops into molds of your choice (you can use disposable plastic cups, ice trays with wooden sticks or pop molds from the store). Freeze for 6 plus hours. When ready to eat, you can loosen the pop from mold by running it under warm water for a few minutes to remove it from the disposable cup, ice tray or mold.
Memorial Day (and summer) is the perfect time to cook outside with family and friends. So fire up the grill for this healthy and delicious recipe spotlighting WIC vegetables and even a fruit!
FROZEN FRUIT POPS
Another idea is to pop fresh or frozen fruit into those popsicle molds (or plastic cups) and add fresh herbs, water and a pop stick. Freeze until frozen. Your kids will love the cool, fresh treat all summer long!
VEGGIE KABOBS
8 wooden/ bamboo skewers or metal skewers. You can also use an aluminum foil tray on the grill.
Zucchini slices
Yellow Squash slices
Fresh Mushrooms
Onion, quartered
Pineapple chunks
Bell Pepper chunks
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1½ teaspoons Dried Basil
¾ teaspoon Dried Oregano
½ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
Garlic Powder, to taste
Soak wooden skewers in water for 20 minutes.Preheat grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate. Place vegetables of your choice, including these options: zucchini, squash slices, mushrooms, onion, tomatoes, pineapple, and bell pepper onto the skewers. Mix olive oil and seasonings into a bowl. Brush onto vegetables. Cook vegetables on a preheated grill until done, turning and reapplying oil as needed for about 15 minutes.
Turn your beans into a salad with this next recipe. It’s a delicious way to eat your beans in the summertime. The added vegetables also add a lot of flavor to this side.
PINTO BEAN SALAD
1 ½ cups Dried Pinto Beans, soaked overnight and drained
2 tablespoons Salt
2 medium Tomatoes, chopped
1 medium Onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons fresh Lemon Juice
1 tablespoon Lime Juice
1 teaspoon Salt
¼ cup Olive Oil
1 clove Garlic, minced (or garlic powder to taste)
¼ cup fresh Cilantro, chopped
Pepper to taste
After letting dried pinto beans soak overnight, drain them. Place beans in a large pot and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in salt and cook for another 30 minutes, until the beans are tender. Drain beans. Let beans cool. Combine lemon juice, lime juice. Add olive oil gradually until mixed well. Add garlic and cilantro. Pour dressing over warm beans and toss. Add chopped tomatoes and onions and toss well.
Get Foods For Your Memorial Day Recipes at Lone Star Family Market
Get all your WIC groceries at Lone Star Family Market locations in Austin, Round Rock and Waco. Find a location near you online. Find more great recipes on our blog.
3 Reasons To Join Texas WIC
WIC Program Helps Mothers Raise Healthy Babies
Texas WIC can be a mother’s best friend.
Many moms and their children across Texas are benefiting from this nutritional supplement program aimed at getting babies off to a healthy start. It’s a FREE program for eligible mothers and their children up to age 5.
If you haven’t heard about Texas WIC or aren’t sure of it’s benefits, we are giving you our top 3 reasons to consider applying for the program:
1. MOTHER’S HEALTH
There are few better ways to help a baby grow healthy than by helping an expecting mother with nutrition and health. A healthy mother can help create a healthy baby. That’s why the program is open to pregnant women.
The Texas WIC program helps mothers with nutrition counseling and guidance along the way. There are so many health considerations to make once you become pregnant: What should I eat? Should I exercise? How much? Am I getting the right nutrients? It can all be a lot to take in for any mother, but Texas WIC nutritionists can be there along the way to help you make healthy choices.
One of the best parts is that Texas WIC provides free, nutritious food package supplements each month to help you eat healthy in order to give the baby (and you) the nutrition you need during pregnancy.
Once the baby arrives, they are also there for support. WIC experts help with breastfeeding guidance and nutrition support for your child up to age 5. That means there is help for so many of the concerns you have as a new mother, like: “Am I feeding my baby the right way and enough’ Texas WIC offers FREE counseling and guidance to so many of these health questions.
2. YOUR CHILD’S HEALTH
Texas WIC is an amazing gift for your child. The program ensures that your baby doesn’t go without healthy nutrition. Aside from breastfeeding support, Texas WIC even pays for baby formula (which can be very expensive). If your baby needs a special baby formula, it will pay for that too with a doctor’s prescription. As the child gets older, the free monthly food package changes with your child’s needs.
Keeping your child fed with the right nutrition isn’t the only support you will get. Texas WIC also offers free counseling and guidance to help make sure your baby is growing healthy. There are even free online nutrition classes.
3. JOIN TEXAS WIC FOR FREE NUTRITIONAL FOOD 
There is no better benefit than free, nutritious food for you and your baby. Knowing your baby is getting the nutrition they need is enough to calm almost any anxious mother. The best part is that it’s free to qualifying mothers and their babies.
Each month Texas WIC will load benefits onto an ebt card. WIC clients can use this card to redeem their benefits for WIC foods at stores. The food benefits will change as your baby grows and has different needs. The food packages can cover everything from baby formula and baby food to milk, cheese, yogurt, beans, whole wheat bread, tortillas and pasta and fresh fruits and vegetables.
To make it even easier, Lone Star Family Market locations are open near Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos area WIC clinics to help WIC clients redeem their benefits in an easy shopping format. Lone Star Family Market stores are not affiliated with WIC – but are a Primarily WIC grocery store – which means they mostly carry only WIC-approved items. At Lone Star Family Market, WIC clients don’t have to go searching for WIC items in the store. Instead, they simply walk up to a counter where a staff member will walk them through the shopping process for getting their WIC groceries. It’s a super easy and convenient way to get your WIC groceries.
JOIN TEXAS WIC TODAY
Want to find out if you qualify for Texas WIC? The program is open to pregnant women, breastfeeding women, infants and families with children under age 5. There are also income requirements to qualify for the program. If you would like to join Texas WIC, you can start your application today by visiting: https://texaswic.org/apply
You may soon learn what so many families already know: Texas WIC can be a mother’s best friend.