Today’s post is sponsored by the National Mango Board and I was selected to participate in this campaign by The Motherhood. 

Zuzu demonstrates how to cut a mango.

Kids from India to Ecuador feast on mangos. In fact, mangos are the most consumed fruit in the world. But what about American kids? Do they love mangos? Do you know how to use this delicious and versatile fruit beyond throwing some in your morning smoothie?

Personally, I love mango and enjoy incorporating it into desserts and condiments. Here is a recipe I posted last year for Cinco de Mayo mango salsa and here is a recipe for brownies with mango puree. Yes, mango goes great with chocolate!

My own recipe for mango salsa.

One of the things that I love about mangos, besides their sweet, tropical taste, is that they are in season year round. Mangos grow all over the world and different varieties come into season at different times of year. While there are more mangos in the market during the summer than any other season, this tropical fruit can bring a little sunshine to your table any time of year. Right now, the small, yellow Ataulfo mangos from Mexico are in season and I found them on sale for $1 each at my Whole Foods.

Kids in the kitchen!

This week, my children and I were the guests of the National Mango Board at a Kids in the Kitchen cooking class at The Chopping Block, Chicago’s premier recreational cooking school. At this hands-on class, which was geared towards the kids, we learned how to tell if a mango is ripe — don’t look at the color, but squeeze gently to tell if it is soft — how to store mangos — on the counter, please! — and why mangos make such a great snack. At just 100 calories per cup, mangos provide 100% of your daily vitamin C, 35% of your daily vitamin A and 12% of the recommended daily allowance of dietary fiber. That’s a lot of nutritional bang for your buck.

Also covered in our mango-cooking class was how to cut a mango. This is a mystery to those who only buy frozen mango. But it is actually quite simple: to cut a mango, simply slice off the sides of the fruit, avoiding the large pit in the center.  Score the flesh of the mango in a grid pattern, taking care not to cut through the skin. Then, simply scoop the flesh out of the skin with a spoon. Once I sliced off the sides of the fruit using a chef’s knife, my kids were able to get the flesh out by themselves using just a table knife and a spoon.

Zuzu is quite the expert at scoring the mango flesh.

Once we learned how to get the mango out of its skin, it was time to cook! The kids sipped their mango-banana smoothies while preparing the evening’s main course, Cinco de Mango Quesadillas made with chicken, scallion, mango and red pepper and topped with a fresh mango salsa. My children really enjoyed crafting their own quesadillas with guidance from the chef instructors and Zuzu loved the finished product! (JR stuck with a plain cheese quesadilla but enjoyed snacking on the fresh mango that he had cut himself.)

How does JR get his apron so dirty?

For dessert, we all enjoyed a healthy treat of mango chunks on skewers that had been dipped in a mixture of yogurt and honey and then frozen to create a unique mango-sicle! What is especially appealing about this recipe, besides how quick and easy it is, is the ability to customize the mango pops to your taste with different toppings, like nuts, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips or toasted coconut. What a fun and healthy frozen treat!

I am sharing with you the recipe for the Cinco de Mango Quesadillas, which Zuzu begged me to make again. These are a quick and easy one-dish meal that kids and adults can enjoy. For lots more information on mangos, including tons of mango recipes, be sure to visit Mango.org.