What More sweet Treats?!

I tend to use carob more than chocolate for children's recipes as quite often with the sugar and caffeine found in chocolate they can become very hyper. I am not saying that chocolate should be banned completely - just be aware of the effects. Try it for yourself and see! 

Why make life more stressful for yourself this Christmas? And why not give them an alternative which is healthier for them in the long run?

For these carob chunks all you need is 1-2 large bars of carob (naturally sweetened with no added sugar), some chopped nuts and dried fruit such as raisins, rice syrup, orange rind and cinnamon.

• Break the carob bar/s into chunks and place in a glass dish. Place this dish in a saucepan with simmering hot water and continue to simmer until the carob has completely melted.
• Caramelise the nuts in a pan with the syrup, cinnamon and orange rind (1 minute in the pan is plenty) set aside to cool and harden.
• Lightly grease a dish with a small amount of olive oil, pour in the carob and then start placing the caramelised nuts and dried fruit on top. Gently press ensuring that they are all pressed into the carob.
• Leave to cool (cools best in the fridge) and then remove from the dish and cut into chunks.
• If you have difficulty removing the carob from the dish you can use grease proof paper before hand or turn the dish upside down (with a plate underneath to catch the carob) and gently pour a little hot water onto the base of the dish - this will melt a little of the carob helping it to slide out easily.

Children with supervision can help chopping the nuts with a child safe knife and gently pressing the nuts into the carob.

Perfect Christmas treat for all the family. Even the fussy ones!

Sweet Potato Treats

Have some fun in the kitchen this Christmas with your little ones and made some sweet potato treats for the whole family to enjoy. This is an alternative to the traditional Spanish sweets called 'Panellets' usually made with potato flour and sugar.

In this recipe all you need is the flesh of some oven baked sweet potatoes that have been baked in a low-medium oven until soft inside (the drier the consistency the better), orange rind, and ground almond powder.  Mix together and create little ball shapes and roll into some toasted pine nuts or other nuts. (If you find they are not sweet enough for your liking you can add a little rice syrup to the mixture).

You can also create different flavours by adding some carob powder and rolling the balls in desiccated coconut.

Have fun!

ABC Soup

Recipe for this soup can be found on the recipes page - perfect way to get children involved with vegetables and warm them up this winter!

A spoonful of sugar...

Refined sugar has become one of the most widely used substances in the modern day diet. It is added to virtually everything from the usual cakes, chocolates, sweets, fizzy drinks as well as being hidden in many other products such as bread, baked beans, sauces, crisps etc - yes even savoury foods contain sugar!

Have a little read of labels when you are next in the supermarket -

more than half of breakfast cereals contain between 25%-70% sugar (especially children's brands!) Don't be fooled by the added vitamins and minerals that make the cereal seem healthy!

(There are plenty of good sugar free, natural cereals available)

So what is wrong with sugar anyway? As with anything, we all have free will, however being aware of the affects that each food gives us we can then choose what is best for us in in the moment as well as long term. Once we know and notice how a particular food can harm our health, most tend to opt for a healthier alternative.

If you find you or your children are craving the sugary stuff, try increasing the natural sweetness within main meals. Use more root and round veg roasted in the oven, mashed, in creamy soups, nourishing stews - sweet potatoes, pumpkin and carrot are perfect for this. Avoiding excessive consumption of salty foods such as meat, cheese, crisps and added raw salt will help to reduce this sugar craving too.

A few points about refined sugar...

• The extreme refinement and concentration of sugar is difficult for the body to cope with.
• It is known as empty calories with no nutritional value.
• Excessive consumption can give a roller coaster feeling which can also affect emotions, giving a quick sugar rush (when kids become hyper) with a big low afterwards (when children become tired and cranky) and this doesn't just affect children!
• Sugar consumption creates acidic blood. Regulars to this blog will know that we need a slightly alkaline pH level of the blood to function properly, if the blood is too acidic the body rebalances itself by using minerals from the bones to balance the blood - not good if you want healthy bones!
• It is harmful to teeth, which can lead to rotting, the need for fillings and other problems.
• After consuming 100g the body's pulse and blood pressure increases just after 15minutes.
• Sugar can become addictive.
• It tires the Liver, Spleen and Pancreas that all help to keep blood sugar levels stable within the body.
• Excessive consumption can produce diabetes and obesity.
• It can reduce the body's natural defence's and feed bacteria.
• With the extreme energy highs and lows that come with sugar, this can increase the chances of depression, anxiety, and concentration levels - not good for school children!

...and the list goes on.

With so many artificial sweeteners (which are just as harmful), syrups, honey, raw cane sugar, fructose etc things can get a little confusing when looking for an alternative.

So what do I recommend as an alternative? Sweet and simple, syrups made from whole grains...corn and barley malt, rice syrup etc 100% natural and delicious and because they derive from whole grains they will not give the same extreme highs and lows as sugar can.

Try it out, see the difference when you and your family consume sugar vs rice syrup.


Disclaimer: If you haven't done so already check out my disclaimer on the Welcome page.



Getting into the spirit

Whether you are one of those people who is relishing in all the festivities or one of those who trying to ignore everything until the 24th December, without a doubt Christmas day is approaching fast!

I found myself wrapping a few presents last night (one of my favourite things!) and was thinking about Christmas food alternatives for this blog. Its a day usually filled with many sweet treats often containing lots of refined sugar, which we all know tends to leave the kids hyper, parents exhausted and a quite a lot of chaos in the family home (more information about refined sugar will be posted shortly).

Here I want to offer some alternatives, easy to make treats that children will love helping with the preparation. This gives the family some bonding time, fun in the kitchen and best of all, some yummy goodies to eat in the end!

Recipes coming soon...

Comfort Food

Ok so the blackberries may have disappeared by now but any fruit will do for homemade compotes. Apple and banana work really well together, making a delicious and comforting dessert - especially with the homemade granola and custard!

The trick is to use eating apples instead of cooking apples, which means you don't need to add any sugar (thus removing the hyperactive behaviour afterwards!) Bananas too add a wonderful sweetness and a tiny pinch of sea salt will bring out more of the natural sweetness of fruit.

Simply peel and chop the fruit (children can help with this with supervision), and season with some orange zest, little rice syrup, (tiny pinch of seas salt as previously mentioned) and a little Kuzu or Maize flour as a thickener and cook until soft. Perfect!

For the homemade granola, mix a packet of sugar free muesli with some rice syrup with a little olive oil and orange zest and bake until lovely and golden. Perfect on top of compotes and porridge etc.

This dessert is wonderful for the little ones around an hour or two before bedtime, as the natural sweetness will have relaxing effect on them by the time they need to go to bed.

The White Stuff

You may of noticed that I don't use dairy in soups...for me this blog is all about encouraging children to enjoy fruit and vegetables, getting them involved with natural, unprocessed foods that will create health and vitality.

Nowadays so many people have lactose intolerance's (lactose - a sugar found in milk), as well as increasing levels of respiratory problems, skin problems etc all of which have been linked to dairy foods.

We are the only species on this planet that chooses to regularly consume milk from another species and continues to do so when we are full grown adults

A few things about the white stuff...

• Cow's milk is originally only intended for calves.
• Our body naturally reduces the levels of lactase (enzyme that digests milk) when we no longer need to be breastfed. This is natures way of indicating that we do not need milk when we are adults.
• Cow's milk is high in saturated fat.
• We need many more minerals than just calcium to create healthy, strong bones which are not present in Cow's milk.
• Dairy foods have been linked with skin and respiratory problems, as well as being known for creating mucus within the body.
• Cow's milk can contain many growth hormones and added chemicals.
• Cow's milk has been linked to digestive problems, prostate and breast cancer.
• Cow's milk has an acidic effect on the body - in order to function properly the body needs a slightly alkaline pH of the blood. If the blood is too acidic, the body uses minerals from the bones to neutralise the blood, thus defeating the whole purpose of consuming milk!
• Oriental countries, who have never traditionally consumed any dairy products have some of the lowest levels of osteoporosis in the world...what did they consume for healthy bones? Sea vegetables!

For many thousands of years sea vegetables were consumed worldwide, however only the oriental countries continued to this day. Traditionally in the UK people consumed Laverbread from Wales, Dulse from Scotland etc etc. Even the Vikings were known to chew on Dulse on their sea voyages!

If you are new to sea vegetables, it may be a little weird at first to consider them as part of your diet, however start first with soups for the family. A piece of Kombu, Wakame etc added to soups and blended will be undetectable but all the goodness will remain. They have been said to offer the broadest range of minerals than any other known food on Earth and their properties are easy to digest and gentle on the stomach.

They are great for stronger healthier bones and helping to add to the wonderful nourishment of vegetable soups.

Disclaimer: If you havent done so already please read my disclaimer on the welcome page.

Make Soups Fun

As seen in the photos section of this blog, adding a decorative element on top of soups can help children to be more interested in eating it.

Dont worry this needn't be a Picasso masterpiece, however a simple smiley face, a heart, a sunshine etc will add a bit of fun to their meals.

Through using nuts, seeds (If your child cannot chew properly then grounded nuts/seeds in a coffee grinder work just fine), croutons etc...

Small cubes of fried Tofu, Seitan or other good quality proteins also work well giving extra protein and a delicious crunchy texture to the soup which kids will love.

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!

Happy November

Happy November everyone!

Well it may be getting a little cooler and the days drawing shorter, however this is not to say this season doesnt come with benefits - there is so much on offer too. Perfect time to wrap up warm, enjoy the comforts of our home after a beautiful autumn walk by the sea or in the countryside. This season is all about comfort and what a better way to achieve this than to bring in some hearty comforting food.

This season is all about soups, stews, caseroles, bakes, vegetables roasted in the oven...all of which can offer a wide variety of possibilities and opportunities of giving nutritious vegetables to your children.

I will be focusing on soups over the next few weeks, a perfect way to serve vegetables and also add the extra minerals of sea vegetables without drawing attention...

Keep posted for delicious recipes!

Pumpkin Fun

Why not be a little creative in the kitchen with your children and design some Halloween pumpkin faces...

...everyone can design their own face and draw it on to their chosen pumpkin. Children can also help to scoop out the seeds from the pumpkin. Cutting the face is a little tricky so is best left to the adult.

And why not have a pumpkin themed evening with some roasted pumpkin for dinner too!

Chips?!

Who doesn't love sitting by the seaside with some freshly prepared fish and chips from the local chippy - I do for sure...every once and a while. However when fast food becomes a weekly, daily habit it can cause many health problems as well as offering not much nutritional value to keep ourselves and our children going in this ever hectic world of ours. 

Chips are popular with children especially, being (for many years) a staple in school lunches. Thanks to Jamie Oliver and other like minded people/organisations this is starting to change.

So heres an alternative, try cutting sweet potatoes into chunky chip shapes and roasting them in the oven. Just a little olive oil, tiny sprinkle of sea salt and bake until golden and crispy. Delicious and it also counts as one of your kids 5 a day...

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!

Pumpkin Soup With Cinnamon

Pumpkin soup is one of the most simple and easy recipes to do and kids will love the natural sweetness as well as the added smiley face :)

All you need is to saute 3 chopped onions in olive oil and a pinch of sea salt for 10-12 minutes until transparent, add chopped 1 or 1/2 a pumpkin depending on size (seeds removed), and a little water to cover a third of the vegetables and a pinch of cinnamon. Bring to the boil and simmer until the pumpkin is soft. Add some white miso to taste (roughly 1-2 tablespoons) and blend into a lovely creamy soup with a hand held blender.

Delicious!