Superfood - Avocado

Avocados are unique. There is nothing really quite like them in terms of their texture, flavour, colour and properties.

They are very high in monounsaturated fats that help with healthy development in children. Seeing as they are a tropical food, an excess is not recommended in comparison to eating a diet based on local, seasonal produce, however including avocados once or twice a week to children's diets can give them some great quality fats.

If you havent tried the avocado pate on this blog you can find the recipe in the recipe page here delicious served with lightly salted corn chips.

Mmmm!

Superfood - Broccoli

Broccoli is great, full of chlorophyll (if lightly boiled for 3-4minutes) and vitamin C, bringing a wonderful freshness to help cleanse the liver. Especially useful to include in daily meals if you find your kids are grumpy in the mornings (can sometimes be a sign of a liver trying hard to process too much fatty, salty foods).

Children love the sweet and sour taste too so if you are struggling to get them to eat broccoli, try serving it with the following dressing...

• 1 teaspoon of umeboshi paste, few drops of toasted sesame oil, 1-2 teaspoons of rice syrup, a little water and some orange or lemon zest.

Broccoli can also be added to minestrone soups (add in the last 3 minutes before serving so to retain the green colour, ie the vitamins).

Enjoy!

Mmm Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes offer great natural sweetness which children of all ages love. Not only do they taste great, they help nourish the spleen and pancreas, helping to stabilise blood sugar levels.

 

Check out the delicious sweet potato recipes on this blog (more to follow)...

Sweet Potato Wedges

Sweet Potato Treats

Sweet Potato and Apple Cake

Sweet Vegetable Bake

Oven Baked and Delicious

Other sweet potato recipe ideas include sweet potato and red lentil soup, sweet potato and beetroot soup, mashed sweet potato with orange rind, mashed sweet potato with suede, and jacket sweet potato with various fillings.

Weaning off the Junk Food...

I have had many requests regarding this topic, how to wean children off junk food. It can be daunting at first to make the change however in the long run that change can be invaluable to the health and well being of all the family.

So often I have been in restaurants to be amazed at the difference between the children and adult menus. Whilst the main menu is filled with fresh produce, homemade dishes full of variety and colour, the children’s menu is usually a monotonous brown full of oily, breaded and overly seasoned produce – the majority of which has only travelled from the freezer to the deep fat fryer.

 

Is this really what we want our children to grown up with?

Will this provide them with the nutritional benefits that they need at this important stage in their lives?

 

If children have never been given junk food on a regular basis, they will not have anything to compare freshly prepared meals to. They will therefore be more willing to try new fruits and vegetables and consume a varied, healthy diet.

Starting children off from the beginning is easy, however once children have acquired the taste for junk foods it can be a little bit more difficult to make the switch – that is not to say it isn’t possible. As Audrey Hepburn once said, ‘Nothing is impossible, even the word says I’m Possible’. With kind perseverance, creativity and communication you can make that shift for the highest good of all the family.

 

So how do we go from chicken nuggets to freshly prepared home cooked meals?

 

Communicate: Talking to children about the importance of good food can help them to understand why rather than them reacting to the ‘because I said so’. Explain why a particular food is good for them in a way that they can relate. For example…whole grains can give you lots of energy and strengthen your brain power when you are at school. Notice how that will provoke a different reaction compared to ‘eat your porridge because I said so’.

Slowly Does It: Start to create home cooked versions of the junk food favourites. Not only will you reduce the salt and sugar intake, you can be in control, slowly making the junk food versions less childlike and introducing children to home cooked meals that can be enjoyed by all the family. Making your own fish fingers can be quicker than you think. Simply cut some skinned and boned Cod or Haddock into long strips and coat with a beaten egg and bread crumbs. This can be placed on a greased baking tray and cooked until crispy and golden brown. A great way to serve this can be with sweet potato wedges and peas or in wraps with salad and avocado dip (see Recipe section of blog for dip recipe).

Get them Involved: There is no greater way to get children interested in food than with getting them involved with the preparation process. Make it a fun game, for example you may pretend to all be sailors on a ship making your own fish and chips as the pirates have stolen all the fish fingers. Think outside the box and be creative. If it doesn’t work be flexible and try something else! This also helps children to become aware of where food comes from and how it is prepared which can prove invaluable when they are old enough to cook for themselves.

Experiment, have fun and get them involved. Notice what changes and keep persevering. If they don’t like it one day it doesn’t mean they will never like it for the rest of their lives. Continue without bribery or force whilst remaining kind to yourself in the process. It is never too late to make a change and sooner or later you will see results.

New Recipe

For those of you that have been eagerly awaiting the new carrot cake recipe...it is now in the recipe section of this blog for you to enjoy. Do let me know what you think!

Happy Baking!

More Cake Anyone?!

See the recipe section of this blog for this delicious summer berry polenta cake...perfect for all people big and small. Kids will love the colour and sweet, fruity flavour...adults will also love the fact that its 100% wheat free, gluten free, dairy free and sugar free - guilt free indulgence!

Get children involved with making this cake, they will love to be a part of the process.

Mmm Carrot Cake!

Who said sugar free, dairy free, wheat and gluten free can't be sweet,  indulgent and deliciously creamy? This is a great, moist carrot cake with a zingy, lemon cream topping...perfect alternative for iced cakes and a great way for children to enjoy a healthier treat . To add more fun simply use a shaped cake mold and decorate the cake with fruit, nuts or a smiley face :)

Recipe to follow soon in the recipe section of this blog!

Simply Delicious!

Last weekend saw another great seminar at 'La Escuela de Alimentacion Natural y Energetica' in Barcelona. Here is a great recipe idea by David Marcos, one of the Teacher Training students.

Simply core, peel and half some apples and cook by pan frying or steaming. Mix carob sauce with raisins and chopped nuts and place in the centre of each apple half. Decorate with an agar agar glaze, chopped nuts and strawberries.

YUM!



Pasta and Pesto

Great new pesto recipe now added to the recipe section of this blog...easy to make and completely vegan so perfect for any little ones that are intolerant of lactose.

Sweet Vegetable Bake

Ok so this is not for dessert but as part of the main meal, however by bringing into the meal sweet vegetables such as carrots, sweet potato and pumpkin you can reduce chocolate and sweet cravings afterwards.

Naturally sweet vegetables are great for nourishing the spleen and pancreas, and help children to relax after a long day at school - as well as the parents after a long days work!

• First of all finely slice plenty of onions (5-6) and saute with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt for about 20-25 minutes until very soft and sweet. 
• Whilst this is cooking, peel and finely slice carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips and pumpkin and start to fill a greased oven proof dish with a layer of vegetables.
• Scoop on top a little of the onion mix and then place more vegetables on top.
• Continue in this way, as if you were making a lasagne. If you wish to brush the layers of vegetables with a soya sauce, toasted sesame oil dressing as you go along you may.
• Bake in the oven until soft inside and golden and crispy on top.

Children will love this!

Mmmm!

Flavours to try...

Creamy soups (Blend to create creamy consistency at end with a hand held blender)...

• Carrot and Orange (add some orange zest when cooking carrots with the sauteed onions)
• Pumpkin and cinnamon (add a touch of cinnamon powder when cooking the pumpkin with the sauteed onions)
• Pumpkin and chestnut (add some cooked, peeled chestnuts to the pumpkin and sauteed onions)
• Lentil and Fennel (add red lentils and chopped fennel to the sauteed onions)
• Cauliflower (Add a few bay leaves or a little nutmeg along with the cauliflower and sauteed onions - This makes a perfect alternative to bechamel as well)
• Courgette and leek (Add courgette and leeks to the sauteed onions. Wakame sea vegetable works very well with this soup)

The list is endless...


Just experiment! Remember the sauteed onions are key and also watch how much water is added. Keep the soup nice and thick and creamy, bringing lots of nourishment for the little ones!

Nourishing Soups

Soups are the perfect way to cram the veggies in, and the best way to start a nourishing, creamy soup is with onions.

Sauteing onions is the key to bringing natural sweetness, creaminess and body to soups.

Finely slice 2-3 onions and saute in olive oil with a pinch of sea salt for 10-12 minutes until they become transparent. The longer onions are cooked, the more natural sweetness they bring, something that is really lacking in modern day diets. No need for dairy, thickeners etc. You can make completely delicious soups using only vegetables and a few natural seasonings.

Once you have the onions sauteed, you are then free to add many different vegetables as you like, a little water (adding hot water instead of cold will create more natural sweetness) and cook until soft. To season try adding some white miso before blending, which helps to reinforce the intestinal flora and strengthen digestive systems (perfect for growing children) as well as adding great flavour.

For extra nourishment add a piece of Kombu sea vegetable (available from health food shops and large supermarkets) and cook with the vegetables. Kombu contains high mineral contents and its calcium is much easier to digest compared to dairy foods. Keep it in the soup when blending to ensure that all of the minerals remain in the soup. Once blended its completely concealed, and it will not affect the delicious flavour of the vegetables.

Why not give it a try? You may be pleasantly surprised!

Oven Baked And Delicious

Baked Pumpkin, Squash and Sweet Potato have to be one of my favourites and they are also a huge hit with children. The natural sweetness and crispy texture will be a winner for sure.

Simply remove the seeds from the pumpkin and cut into slices (about 2cm thick) and the sweet potato into similar sized slices or wedges and drizzle the following dressing all over for an extra mmm factor...

1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of apple juice concentrate and a dash of soya sauce

...bake in a medium oven until edges are crispy and the vegetables are soft and delicious in the middle.

Perfect as a vegetable side dish for many different meals, leftovers (not that there will be many left!) can even be added to soups, stews, cold salads etc etc.

Enjoy and do let me know how your children respond!