A lot of parents are facing the challenge of keeping housebound kids happy and healthy.

This is the perfect time to teach kids the basics of nutrition and eating right.

Consider these simple suggestions from Melanie Marcus, MA, RD, health and nutrition communications manager for Dole Food Company:

• Healthy snack time taste tests - Sometimes it feels like kids can snack all day long on easy-to-grab crackers, chips or cookies.

Next time they reach into the snack pantry, try incorporating a taste test or food critic activity to encourage something different and more nutritious.

• Purposeful playtime - Many households have a play kitchen or some kind of play food. Use this as an opportunity to act out how to create a healthy kitchen with activities like making salad, setting the table, peeling bananas and washing dishes. This can help young children become more independent, learn what to expect and grow into little helpers at family mealtime.

• Sensory activity - One idea that can work for school and at home is making a sensory box. Simply place a fruit or 2 inside a tissue box and have children put their hands inside then try to guess which fruit it is by feeling it.

• Explain the bathroom routine - Make sure to wash hands and explain that this is a way of washing away germs to stay healthy. Also explain why brushing teeth is important by reminding children that food can get stuck in teeth and cause cavities.

• Recipes for fun - If you’re preparing a meal, it could be a good time to teach children of reading age how to review a recipe. Evaluating ingredients to learn how food transforms from raw to cooked or how a dish is created can help kids learn kitchen skills.

Try this fun, fruity recipe.

“Kids” with Almond Toast

Total time: 10 minutes

Servings: 4

4 slices whole-grain bread

6 tablespoons unsalted almond butter

2 teaspoons honey

1 Dole banana, peeled

2 Dole Strawberries, trimmed and halved

4 chunks (1 1/2 inches) fresh Dole Tropical Gold Pineapple

2 Dole Blackberries

2 teaspoons toasted flaxseed (optional)

Toast bread slices. Spread with almond butter and drizzle with honey, if desired.

Cut 8 slices and 32 matchsticks from banana. Arrange 1 strawberry half and 1 pineapple chunk on 2 slices toast; arrange remaining strawberry halves and blackberries on remaining slices.

Place 1 banana slice “head” at top of each piece of fruit and arrange 4 banana matchsticks around each “kid” for arms and legs. Sprinkle flaxseed along bottom edges of toast under kids’ feet, if desired.