It’s difficult to come up with tasty nutritious food for your kids tea
every night, so everyday we post a recipe – enjoy!
Why not try chicken and chorizo pasta tonight?
Rustic chicken and chorizo pasta
1 onion
1 red pepper
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
Drop of white wine
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
300g of boneless chicken
100g of chorizo sausage
Pinch of salt pepper and sugar
Pinch of basil
500g penne pasta
Chop 300g of boneless chicken in to small pieces. Finely chop the onion and garlic and slice a pepper.
Put the pasta in a pan and leave to boil.
Whilst the pasta is boiling, heat a frying pan with the olive oil, once heated add in the chopped up chicken and cook until browned.
Add the chopped up onions, pepper and garlic. Fry until the onions soften.
Once the onions have softened add the tin of chopped tomatoes, heat until boiling, then reduce the heat add the seasoning (salt pepper sugar and basil)
Add the chorizo sausage for the last few minutes, while you drain the pasta and serve whilst piping hot!
For more recipe ideas why not check out this months Kids Health magazine? It’s on sale now !
Is your child skipping meals? This could be a cause for concern
Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia amongst children are on the increase.With children as young as five years old being effected, it is important to be on the look out for warning signs in your child .
Sarah Keeton, an eating disorder specialist from Rhodes Farm treatment centre highlights five warning signs of childhood anorexia to look out for in your child.
Cutting out snacks: Young children need to eat at regular intervals throughout the day. A child who may be developing an eating disorder will often cut snacks out of their diet altogether, especially if they contain a high fat content.
Skipping meals and reducing portion sizes:
School lunch is usually the first meal to go. This can be hard for parents to check up on, so if you are worried, it is worth asking teachers to monitor your child. Your child might ask for smaller and smaller portions at mealtimes
Eliminating different types of food from their diet, one by one:
This may start with a high fat snack like chocolate, then move on to chips, then meat… Slowly but surely the child might be eliminating essential foods, with essential vitamins, from their diet
Becoming overly interested in food and cooking:
Children with an eating disorder often become obsessed with food and will try to learn everything about cooking and food preparation. They will also go to lengths to ensure everyone else is eating properly, but will neglect themselves.
“Losing their sparkle”:
Children who are developing an eating disorder may be unusually preoccupied and seem down. They may quite simply, ‘lose their sparkle’ and not seem themselves.
If your child is displaying the warning signs, but seems not to have lost any weight, therecould still be cause for concern. It’s important to remember that children are growing and should be putting on weight. A child’s weight shouldn’t be stagnate. On average children gain about 2-3 kg (5-7 pounds) per year between the ages of 6- 10 years old.
If you are concerned about your child’s eating habbits, this months Kids Health magazine has more information on eating disorders in children.
Getting your children to eat healthily is sometimes difficult in it self, add a low budget to the equation and it can seem impossible.
The supermarket shop can be a nightmare, follow our tips and this will change
With a family to support, we are all looking for ways to save money; at the supermarket is no exception. Between our kids pestering us for unhealthy snacks and nutritious food often bearing a hefty price tag, the supermarket shop can seem like a real mission. Healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive; all you need is some pre planning and a little know-how to spot a good deal.
Alan Jones, a financial advisor and father to ten year oldElizabethshares some tips on saving money when feeding your family:
*Plan your meals for the week ahead, write a shopping list and stick to it. This will help you avoid impulse purchases that you do not need and may not use.
*Limit the junk food that you buy. Items such as fizzy drinks, processed foods and pre-packaged meals are often expensive and low in nutrition, cut these out and you could save a fortune.
*Eat out less. Try to limit eating out with your family to special occasions, as eating out is often expensive. The money you save you could spend on your supermarket shop.
*Shop wisely. Opt for supermarket branded products instead of leading brands as they will be cheaper and will often be the same quality.
*Search out markets. Many towns and cities have fresh produce markets which sell meat, fruit and vegetables, often cheaper than they are in the supermarkets. If you go towards the end of the market, some vender’s may sell the last of their stock at a discounted rate, saving you more money.
*Shop around. Try shopping at frozen food and discount stores for some of the items on your shopping list as they often have special offers that are far better than in the leading supermarkets. Seasonal produce is often cheaper at these stores, as are foods such as boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cheese.
*Buy in bulk. Meat is often sold in larger portions at a lower price. Split packages up into meal-size portions and freeze for later use.
*Buy seasonal products. Fruit and vegetables that are in season tend to be cheaper and better quality, buy them buy the bag instead of by the piece and you will save even more money.
From a personal experience I know how hard it can be to feed a fussy eater, being one myself I can honestly say that meal times when I was a child were anightmare for my parents. For me it began when I started school at 4 years old, as my Mum likes to constantly remind me, “It all just went downhill from there!” I went from eating everything, to literally nothing! (Thankfully I am slowly growing out of it).
I have spoken to numerous parents that are either currently dealing with a child that is a fussy eater, or have already being through and dealt with the frustra-on that comes with a fussy eating child: Samantha Anddison and Gemma King are parents that are currently dealing with children who are fussy eaters. And Yvonne Jones (my dearest Mother) and Helen Dean have the wisdom and prior knowledge of tried and tested methods for dealing with a fussy eater.
Many studies have shown a connection between everything from a child’s environment, to the texture of the food, but from talking to Helen and Yvonne they both seem to think that it doesn’t matter what the cause is for most children as, “you still deal with it all the same way…” says Yvonne, “…you will still spend hours at the dinner table, and you still have the same argument over and over again with your child…’ says Helen. So, if this is true why has there been an increase in the amount of parents taking their children to see the Doctor with the same or similar eating habits that generations of parents have been dealing with?
Samantha stated, ‘I took my youngest because suddenly it became so difficult for him to eat anything. I was lucky if he would eat anything other than white bread and walkers cheese and onion crisps.’ I have spoken to Dr Eddison, a GP from Doncasterwho owns his own surgery called ‘The Village Practise he said, ‘Unless the child has a diagnosable eating disorder or is starving themselves, I suggest carrying on eating as normal. Keep making them food like you do with the rest of the family, most children will give in and eat when they are hungry, unless there are any underlying psychological issues.’ This backs up the same ideas of Helen and Yvonne, suggesting that perseverance is the right way forward.
However, it isn’t always thatsimple, it can put strain on families and even cause parents to feel guilty and blame themselves for their children’s eating habits.Listening to Gemma and the other women has made me look at having a child who is a fussy eater in a different way, maybe focusing more on the effects it is having on the families rather than the children themselves.Checking parents are coping, and siblings aren’t feeling left out or isolated from their parents, as all the information on that has been given and researched seems to suggest that children tend to grow out of being a fussyeater.
Dr Eddison also suggested this, “What I say to most parents dealing with children that have problems with food, is to watch the strain it can have on the rest of the family, like siblings. As for most children it is a phase they are going through, their way of rebelling’ I asked Helen and Yvonne, ‘If you could give a parent who is going through the issue of having a child who is a fussy eater, one piece of advice what would it be?’ It took Yvonne a while to narrow down her choice in advice, ‘Don’t do it alone. Talk to your partner/husband etc., as they will be feeling the exact same way as you frustrated, angry and guilty!’ and Helen said ‘I suppose, don’t worry that you’re a bad parent. I kept thinking it was my fault that it was all down to me being a single parent and my daughter not seeing her dad.’ Two pieces of great advice that Dr Eddison agreed with, ‘Both are good, but we are here to help if things do get too much for families. So don’t hesitate if it has got too much.’ If you have anymore questions please don’t hesitate to email, also check out this website for more information
Growing your own vegetables is so easy, why not try it with your child?
Not everybody is blessed with a sprout loving angel, but almost all children love growing their own vegetables.And if they have grown their own veggies then they are more likely to try them, also they will have learned something about where their food is coming from. As well as this you will be confident about where the food has come from and what’s being used to make them grow so beautifully!
What do you need for your kids to grow vegetables?
(The basics- space, sun, seeds & water)
• You don’t need much space; in fact most vegetables can be grown in small flower beds, pots or even window boxes full of compost.
• Sun is important, so most vegetables need a sunny spot in your garden.
• Seeds- you can buy packets of basic vegetable seeds from your local supermarket.
• You will need to water the seeds/plants in, then either every day or every other day depending on
the weather. (Kids love to water but will forget so you’ll have to keep an eye on this yourself)
When and how is the best _me to sow the seeds?
Spring is the best #me to plant most vegetable, a trick is when you start to see weeds growing you know your seeds will be able to grow. There will also be instructions on the packet, but the main thing is to let your children sow the seeds themselves.
How do I get my kids interested in growing
vegetables?
Let them be in charge Mum! Plant veg that they like and get them to plant and water them. They may be less enthusiastic about the weeding but they should still do the picking!
Why should our family bother growing our own?
You can teach your children about how to grow healthy food, which is much tastier and fresh. Itis also surprising easy to do, and gives you quality time with your children in the fresh air.Not to mention you will also save yourself a fair bit of money!
Keep it simple and give it a go!
Try not to worry too much just have a go with one or two vegetables and see how you get on. A packet of seeds costs less than £1 so you sowhat have you got to lose?!?
