Are you ready to rock your kids’ world with a simple food hack? Canada’s makeover king Steven Sabados created a series of Havarti makeovers to ensure sandwiches don’t come home half-eaten, and kids willingly race home for their afterschool snacks.
The secret is in the cheese! Steven knows kids love cheese, and they really love grilled cheese as well as pickles. So Steven’s solution: swap out the cheddar in their grilled cheese sandwich for Dill Pickle Havarti and watch them ask for seconds.
Steven’s havarti hack works on all of your kids’ favourites: think about swapping havarti into nachos, pizza, mac and cheese, poutine and more!
Thanks to Steven’s favourite havarti, Castello, there are seven flavours to choose from: Dill Pickle, Roasted Garlic, Jalapeno, Herbs and Spices, Garden Vegetable, Smoked and the Original Creamy. And since Castello is made with 100% Canadian dairy and no artificial ingredients, it’s a nutritious and delicious snack kids will actually eat!
Havarti may not be the new cheddar yet, but it’s more mild, versatile and melts like a dream ensuring we get that epic cheese pull every time. And clearly Canadians are gravitating towards it since Stats Canada recently reported that havarti sales are up 20% while cheddar is down 2%.
Try making your kids a mac and cheese with roasted garlic havarti, or some pizza with the jalapeno havarti and see for yourself. Steven’s fussy eater test subjects all gave him two thumbs up. And for additional lunch box and after-school snack ideas, check out Steven’s recipes below.
Wafflicious-wiches! Add some excitement to their lunchbox with Steven’s reconstructed Monte Cristo that swaps swiss cheese for creamy and smoked havarti, and uses waffles for bread. Get even more creative and use cookie cutters to make fun mini sandwich shapes! 
Ingredients:
Castello Creamy Havarti, grated
Castello Smoked Havarti, grated
1/4 cup strawberry jam or grape jelly
8 toasted waffles (store-bought is fine!)
4 slices of fresh deli turkey meat
4 slices of fresh deli ham
4 strips of cooked crispy bacon
Tomato and greens, optional
Maple syrup
Directions:
Cook waffles and spread jelly over the waffles, layer with turkey, ham, bacon, and a generous amount of the Havarti mixture. Melt cheese over a griddle or in a microwave. Serve with maple syrup on the side.
In Queso You Were Wondering : Turn your queso from drab to fab by replacing the cheddar with jalapeno-flavoured havarti. Makes the perfect after-school snack or pack it in a thermos for an easy-cheesy lunch idea.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups shredded Castello Jalapeño Havarti
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup chunky salsa (drain any juice)
- Approx 1 tsp onion flakes, garlic powder, ground cumin
- Season with salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then whisk in flour and incorporate until lightly golden in colour. (stir in garlic, onion and cumin, to incorporate the spices.) Gradually whisk in milk, bring to boil, then reduce heat until thick. Add the Havarti gradually until incorporated. Remove from heat and stir in the salsa.
French Class French Toast : This make-ahead sandwich uses French Toast stuffed with your kids favourite fruit and creamy havarti melted cheese to hold it altogether. A sweet and savoury sandwich finished with a dusting of icing sugar will ensure nothing is brought home but the container it came in.
Ingredients:
Serves Four
- Castello Creamy Havarti, thinly sliced
- 2 thinly sliced pears
- 8 slices of French or Brioche-style bread
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2-4 tablespoons butter
- Icing sugar, maple syrup
- Sliced strawberries or fave berries, optional
Directions:
In a large skillet, sauté the pears in butter and cinnamon until tender (5-8 minutes), set aside. Whisk together eggs and milk and place in a shallow bowl. Dip bread in egg mixture and cook in a buttered skillet until golden brown. The next morning, build your sandwich with the cooked pears and your favourite berries, plus a generous amount of Castello Creamy Havarti. Place on a skillet on medium heat, and cook each side until cheese has just melted. Lightly dust with powdered sugar and drizzle with maple syrup
For more fun and delicious Havarti recipes visit https://www.castellocheese.com/en-ca/ and check out your local grocery store to grab your favourite havarti flavour!