There aren’t many healthy qualities to Pop Tarts, potato chips, lasagna, cake or pie, but they’re the things most kids like to eat.

The trick, said Scarborough resident Michele Howard, is to get kids interested in how food is made to persuade them to eat healthier versions of the snacks, dinners and desserts they love.

Howard owns and runs Measuring Up! Cooking for Kids in Scarborough. In her large kitchen in Oak Hill, she teaches healthy cooking classes to kids ages 3 to 17. As a dietitian who also works for Hannaford teaching nutrition, cooking and wellness, her goal is to mix in healthy food with fun food.

“It’s kid friendly food, but it’s teaching them to make it rather than eating it out of frozen bags,” said Howard.

The classes are once a week for seven weeks, and in that time Howard teaches kids everything from main courses to desserts and snacks. Everything they make – even the fruit rollups and chicken nuggets – has a healthy twist designed to show her students that nutritious food can taste just as good as foods they buy at the store.

Howard can even get them to eat their vegetables.

“If they’re involved in it, they’ll eat it,” said Howard.

On Saturday in the ages-8-to-11 class, she was busy helping her students Brooke Lomma of Cape Elizabeth and Jonathan Raisen of Scarborough make pop tarts without the artificial ingredients that come in the grocery store version.

The weekend before that, said Lomma, they made her favorite food so far – cake.

“When we’re making something like cake I really like mixing all the stuff together,” Lomma said as she leveled off cups of flower to add to the pop tart dough. To make the normally sugary snack, said Howard, they’ll use a low-sugar jelly for the filling. She also likes to mix in some whole wheat flower for the dough.

“The kids get a little nervous when they hear something like whole wheat bread,” said Howard. Once they cook and try it, she added, they end up loving it. Howard gives her students copies of recipes to take home and try, which many of them love, she said.

Howard opened her new business in early September and, despite initial fears, she has a large range of students. Some ideas for the classes she takes from her three kids who are 9, 12 and 13.

“They give me a lot of advice,” said Howard. “It’s nice to hear from kids.”

Coming up for the holidays Howard is signing kids up for two special events, one on Thursday, Nov. 16 , for pie making, and another on Tuesday, Nov. 28, for gingerbread house construction. The gingerbread class is actually in two parts, with the second day on Thursday, Nov. 30.

These holiday traditions, said Howard, are a perfect way to involve kids and their families in learning how to make healthier versions of typically decadent foods. Teaching cooking to kids, she added, is a good way to keep them eating food that’s better for them.

“People just don’t have a lot of time anymore to cook with their kids,” said Howard.

Howard also hosts field trips and birthday parties where kids make pizza and cupcakes. As grocery stores get bigger and more and more choices are offered, said Howard, it’s important to teach kids early that there are healthier ways to eat their favorite foods.

“This is all hands on,” said Howard. “We cook the food, we make the food and we make the mess.” Part of her classes, said Howard, are about learning that messes are fine – as long as you clean them up. She also tries to add elements of math, asking kids quick questions about measurements as they cook.

Opening her own business, said Howard, has been a long, stressful process, but now that a couple months have gone by she’s feeling more confident.

“It was pretty scary as opening got closer and closer,” said Howard. “But now I’m more comfortable since people seem to like it.”

To register for classes or find more information, call Michele Howard at 885-0611, visit the Web site at www.measuringupcookingforkids.com or visit the kitchen at 25 Plaza Drive in Oak Hill.

Jonathan Raisen, left, of Scarborough helps Brooke Lomma of Scarborough and Measuring Up! Cooking for Kids owner Michele Howard mix dough for a healthy version of poptarts.