by Liz Hamill

ktaylorg @iphoto

January, 2011 — Buy organic, buy local, eat only sustainably farmed meat and produce — these ideas about food have dug deep roots on the Coastside. Knowing this, chefs create a fabulous array of healthy, sustainable menu items for their adult customers. But what about kids? Even on menus that offer nutritious and delicious grown-up meals, the children’s menus fall back on tired, nutrient-minimal staples — chicken tenders, spaghetti and meatballs, burgers, fries, and of course macaroni and cheese. How can a conscientious parent find a way to feed her children healthy meals outside the home — without ordering an expensive adult entrée that’s way too big and will go mostly to waste?

Enter Well Kiddos.

Based in Half Moon Bay but rapidly expanding outward into the rest of the Bay Area, Well Kiddos helps restaurants to create health-conscious kids’ meals. Offering everything from a set of guidelines on its website to one-on-one consultations with chefs, Well Kiddos seeks to bring children good health and good food, “one restaurant and one family at a time.”

© Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com

The first family that Well Kiddos founder Manuela Seitz-Hipkins wanted to change was her own. A medical professional who was concerned about her own health and her family’s, she did her homework and decided that one key to keeping her kids happy and healthy was nutrition. She met Olivia Wu through a friend, and Well Kiddos was off and running. The first chef Seitz-Hipkins spoke to was shocked when she showed him a healthy school lunch menu; “That’s what kids eat?” he asked. And so the first Well Kiddos restaurant signed on to the program, which includes personal assistance with menu design and is completely free to participating restaurants. Parents can also contact Well Kiddos for recipes and food shopping ideas to improve their families’ at-home dining.

© Tomas Hajek | Dreamstime.com

Half Moon Bay Mayor Marina Fraser endorsed the efforts Well Kiddos is making in the Coastside community: “You have nothing to lose, and many happy customers to gain.” Other cities quickly leapt on the bandwagon. San Jose and Burlingame have already pledged their support — a great start for a grassroots organization that’s only one year old.

Coastside restaurants are jumping to join Well Kiddos. Sam’s Chowder House acted as the beta tester for the program — now kids eating at Sam’s can choose from Grilled Salmon with Butternut Squash, Faro, and Baby Spinach; Sammy’s Chicken and Mashers with Broccolini; and Green Beans and Butternut Squash. Yes, they’ve got mac and cheese too — but it’s made with low-fat milk and other healthier ingredients.

Other restaurants participating in the program include Café Gibraltar, Chez Shea, Mezzaluna, the Oceano Hotel, It’s Italia, Pasta Moon, LaDiDa, and Granucci’s. More chefs are contacting Seitz-Hipkins all the time. The Coastside region is blessed with wonderful local organic, sustainable farms and ranches, and a local seafood industry that provides the freshest possible fish and shellfish — why shouldn’t kids get a chance to sample this wonderful local bounty alongside their parents?

So what does Well Kiddos recommend to its chefs? Seitz-Hipkins says: “Cook from scratch, use items from your adult menus and make them a kid size. If you have to serve mac and cheese because your customers want it, make the ingredients healthier.” She suggests replacing white pasta and processed cheese with whole wheat noodles, low-fat milk and organic cheese — and garnishing the dish with broccoli and baby carrots. Seitz continues: “If it has to come from a package, choose organic because the ingredients are ‘cleaner.’ One more thing: Please make your own oven baked chicken dish and ditch the chicken tenders from the box in the freezer with the unpronounceable ingredient list.”

Want to support Well Kiddos? First check out its informative website. Subscribe to the “givekidshealthychoices” blog. “Like” Well Kiddos on Facebook. And when you go out to eat, ask the restaurant staff if they participate in the Well Kiddos program, and encourage them to sign on.