ALentil Shepherd’s Pie - a vegetarian family favourite as featured in our Knorr meat-free masterclasses.
Ultimate Crumble Recipe - with Vegan and Gluten-free Variations
Healthier Gingerbread Christmas Wreath
serves 12 or more
Healthier Christmas Gingerbread! Can it be? Well, yes if you count swapping wholemeal flour for white, less golden syrup and the inclusion of nutrient-rich black-strap molasses, containing iron, folate, magnesium and calcium. This recipe features some of our favourite British organic brands - Steenbergs (for organic ginger and cinnamon), Doves Farm (for flour and bicarb) , Meridian Foods (for Black Strap Molasses), and Rachel’s Organic (for fabulous butter).
Storytime Chefs: Space themed storybooks and recipes for the Summer break
It's July (just!) and time for this month's Storytime Chef post. This month, we are embracing the them of SPACE, because what child doesn't love recipes (and stories) featuring rockets, space travel, aliens and intergalactic travel?
For those of you who are new to Storytime Chefs, welcome to our virtual reading and cookery club for families with children aged 2-10 years.
COMPETITION TIME:
We are celebrating our second month of book and cookery activities with a (UK) give away of a personalised copy of The Incredible Intergalactic Journey Home (with your child's name) by Wonderbly.
Just comment and share this post on Facebook, or tag us on Instagram with your space inspired baking (#organiccookeryschool #storytimechefs). See bottom of post for full terms an
The best children's books about Space
Do your kids love the topic of Space? This year both my Reception aged daughter (aged 5) and my 12 year old studied space and the solar system at school. It was great to hear them comparing facts, and I think Emily was a little jealous of how much art and craft her little sister got to do during their studies.
Emily loves to read with her little sister, so we dug out some of our favourite Key Stage 1 story and poetry books with a space theme. The following are all fiction, as it's pretty easy to find non-fiction children's books about space.
We also dusted out some quick recipes/food activities The Organic Cookery School had put together for a month of Rocket Science themed cookery activities at the Royal Horticultural Society’s gardens at Wisley.
Note: As we didn’t have access to any ovens at Wisley, they were all on a no cook / assembling /decorating vibe, but still fun to recreate when the kids have friends over for a playdate.
I’ve included the worksheets, which have recipes and instructions for giant gingerbread planets and astronauts, shooting star kebabs, rocket sandwiches, cake truffle planets and peppermints stars in the documents section of our Facebook group.
You can access those recipes and worksheets for free by joining our friendly Storytime Chefs Facebook group before the end of August 2018. Once you've joined check the announcements or look in the documents section of the group.
But I also recommend making a bowl of alien soup (aka our Summertime soup) and deep space rock cakes (aka cheesy broccoli and quinoa bites), before snuggling down to a magical deep space story from the following list.
Find instructions how to make our Cake Truffle Planets in the Storytime Chef FB group
Fifteen teacher (and child) approved books inspired by the theme of Space
The First Hippo on the Moon by David Walliams
Fun illustrations from best selling author David Walliams, suitable from 3+
Eeek! The Runaway Alien by Karen Inglis
Suggested age 6+ (also great for football fans)
Space Boy by Leo Landry In this charming picture book, the allure of space travel and the longing for peace and quiet entice a young boy to take his space rocket to the Moon for a picnic. Suggested age 4-7 years
Aliens Love Underpants and Aliens in Underpants Save the World by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort "Aliens love underpants, in every shape and size, But there are no underpants in space, so here's a big surprise...." Great books for joining in (and giggles) Suggested age range 3-6 years.
Mousetronaut by Mark Kelly – written by a real astronaut! Astronaut Mark Kelly flew with "mice-tronauts" on his first spaceflight aboard space shuttle Endeavourin 2001. Mousetronaut tells the story of a small mouse that wants nothing more than to travel to outer space. The little mouse works as hard as the bigger mice to show readiness for the mission . . . and is chosen for the flight! While in space, the astronauts are busy with their mission when disaster strikes--and only the smallest member of the crew can save the day. Suggested age range 4-7 years
The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers By best selling author Oliver Jeffers, suggested age 3-5 years
Alien Tea on the Planet Zum Zee by Tony Mitton If you take your rocket to the outer edge of space, you'll come across a funny little alien place. The alien peoples call it Planet Zum-Zee, and they're meeting here today for a special picnic tea. Another great read-aloud book for 3 years plus
Coyote and the Sky: How the Sun, Moon and Stars Began by Emmett ‘Schkeme’ Garcia , a traditional retelling of how the sun, moon and stars began, for younger readers.
Letters from an Alien School Boy by Ros Asquith
The Planet Gods by Jacqueline Mitton
Dr. Xargles Book of Earthlets by Jeanne Willis
Space Poems chosen by Gaby Morgan
We’re Off to Look for Aliens by Colin McNaughton
Link to books on Amazon in books (or check your local library).
By shopping with the links we have provided, we may earn a small referral commission which goes straight back into our community outreach projects for vulnerable families It also doesn’t cost you anymore. Thank you!
Join the Storytime Chef Fun – Here’s How:
- Please leave a comment below, saying that you’re joining Storytime Chefs this month and reading The Rainbow Fish.
- Join our friendly Facebook group STORYTIME CHEFS for shopping lists and bonus activities covering art, crafts, science and links with the curriculum.
- Get a copy of the book using the links above or from your local library.
- Read the book together…
- ….then bring the kids into the kitchen and cook our featured recipes together.
- I would LOVE for you to share your photos on Instagram using the hashtag: #StorytimeChefs and please tag me too (@organiccookeryschool).
- Tune in next month for another book-themed recipe.
Follow and tag us on Instagram to enter #organiccookeryschool #storytimechefs
Ways to enter our competition:
1) Comment and share this post on FB
2) Follow and tag us on Instagram with some parent/child space themed baking
3) Share your space themed cookery activities with us in our FB group.
4) Get £5 off any Wonderbly book using this link.
Any of the above actions (completed by 31/8) guarantees an entry in the competition draw (UK residents only). One winner will be chosen by random and contacted by social media on 1st September 2018. the chosen winner will have 7 days to respond, and will need to supply the name, gender , hair colour and address of the child the book will be personalised for. For further details visit Wonderby and select 'The Incredible Intergalactic Journey Home for information on personalisation details required. These details will not be shared with any other parties.
Storytime Chefs: Rainbow Fish Digestive Biscuits
makes 10-12 biscuits
Here’s the second recipe in Rainbow Fish themed Storytime Chefs series, our monthly virtual cookery and book club for families with children aged 2-10 years.
Read more about this month's book choice here, or try our delicious veg pack Rainbow Fish Pizzas.
equipment:
You will need:
- an apron and clean hands
- two baking sheets, lined with greaseproof paper
- one large mixing bowl
- one small bowl to melt butter
- weighing scales
- measuring spoon
- a wooden spoon or silicone mixing spoon
- a fish shaped cookie cutter
- a rolling pin (and optional rolling mat)
- a palette knife or similar to lift biscuits
- a cooling rack
- oven gloves
Ideas for decorating your rainbow fish biscuits:
To ice or not to ice?
It’s pretty impossible to decorate biscuits (and avoid a mini sugar rush) without using some form of icing, chocolate or sweets and whilst this isn't the healthiest of food stuffs, it is part of the magic of this activity for your kids. These biscuits are delicious on their own, and are not overly sweet, so we normally decorate about half and leave the remainder plain.
When it comes to choosing decorating ingredients, we prefer to go as natural as possible, choosing options which don’t contain palm oil, artificial colours and flavours, and are organic where ever possible.
Baking and decorating biscuits/cakes (especially Rainbow Fish ones) isn’t an everyday event - just like eating birthday cake isn’t an everyday event, which most children understand.
Here are some options (either fruity or chocolatey):
- A little icing, white or naturally coloured (we used these freeze dried fruit powders from Healthy Supplies to colour/flavour ours)
or
- Melted chocolate (milk or white)
- Colourful dried fruit ‘scales’ (eg cranberries, chopped apricots, golden raisins, chopped mango) or snipped up Bear Fruit Yoyos/homemade fruit leather
- Naturally coloured/flavoured ‘Smarties’ or ‘Jelly Tots’ (eg Biona)
Where to get hold of a copy of The Rainbow Fish:
Link to Rainbow Fish on Amazon UK Link to Rainbow Fish on Amazon US
Or don’t forget to check your local library.
By shopping with the links we have provided, we may earn a small referral commission which goes straight back into our community outreach projects for vulnerable families It also doesn’t cost you anymore. Thank you!
Storytime Chefs: Recipes inspired by The Rainbow Fish
This month, we launch the first in a new series of cook and learn activities inspired by popular children’s books.
Storytime Chefs is our virtual reading and cookery club for families with children aged 2-10 years, and we are kicking off with a book I’ve shared with many of our community-based family cookery classes - The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister.
What’s The Rainbow Fish about?
The most beautiful fish in the ocean is asked to share one of his shining scales with a little blue fish, which he refuses. All the other fish in the sea leave him alone, and he wonders why. He goes to the wise octopus for advice, and she tells him to give away his scales. Rainbow Fish reluctantly does so, except for one. In the end, he is less beautiful then he was before, but he has new friends and is now the happiest fish in the sea.
We've put together two beautiful child-approved recipes to make with your children:
Rainbow Fish Pizza and Rainbow Fish Digestive Biscuits
Where to get hold of a copy of The Rainbow Fish:
Link to Rainbow Fish on Amazon UK Link to Rainbow Fish on Amazon US
Or don’t forget to check your local library.
By shopping with the links we have provided, we may earn a small referral commission which goes straight back into our community outreach projects for vulnerable families It also doesn’t cost you anymore. Thank you!
Join the Storytime Chef Fun – Here’s How:
- Please leave a comment below, saying that you’re joining Storytime Chefs this month and reading The Rainbow Fish.
- Join our friendly Facebook group STORYTIME CHEFS for shopping lists and bonus activities covering art, crafts, science and links with the curriculum.
- Get a copy of the book using the links above or from your local library.
- Read the book together…
- ….then bring the kids into the kitchen and cook our featured recipes together.
- I would LOVE for you to share your photos on Instagram using the hashtag: #StorytimeChefs and please tag me too (@organiccookeryschool).
- Tune in next month for another book-themed recipe.
Featured Recipes for The Rainbow Fish
Get the Rainbow Fish Pizza recipe here:
Storytime Chefs : Rainbow Fish Pizzas
makes four individual pizzas
These quick and healthy pizzas are inspired by The Rainbow Fish (by Marcus Pfister), and encourage children to pile up on a variety of different coloured veggies, helping them meet their five a day targets and eat a rainbow too. I’ve honestly never seen my five year old so keen to load up with every colour of vegetable.
For speed and convenience, shop-bought pitta bread works fine (Waitrose and Ocado stock organic versions). Pitta are easy to cut to shape with sturdy kitchen scissors, and both wholemeal and white pitta both taste great in these pizzas.
Trimming into a fish shape can be a bit awkward (there’s a good chance that little ones could accidentally chop off a tail!) but is great for developing motor skills - so be prepared to model where to cut and help little ones. (and have a few pitta spare just in case)
If you want to make your own pitta (which is great fun and everso easy) - we’ve included a recipe to make your own in the resources section of our FB group.
Next comes a topping of our veggie packed magic tomato sauce, but any good quality tomato pasta sauce will work (we like Seeds of Change and Mr Organic sauces).
Let your junior chefs get busy with the cheese grater, minding their fingers (and fingernails) before offering them a rainbow selection of veggie toppings.
*N.B. Children should always be supervised when cooking, and an adult should oversee the use of heat as well as all preparation involving sharp utensils.
Developing cooking skills:
Encourage your children to do as much of the pizza prep as possible. We’ve highlighted the hands on skills they will be developing below:
Cut the pitta bread into a fish shape using scissors (adult/older child task unless very dextrous)
Spoon and spread pizza sauce (child)
Grate cheese and sprinkle over pizza sauce (child - may need support grating)
Take a pinch of italian herbs and sprinkle over cheese (child)
Prepare veggie toppings - dice and slice peppers, mushrooms, olives (child - younger cooks may need support slicing or offer strips which they can dice/snip with a safe knife or scissors)
Snip spring onions (if using) with scissors (child)
Build your rainbow fish pizza using fingers or a spoon to create colourful (veggie) rainbow scales (child)
Drizzle or spritz with a little olive oil - an oil spray works well for this (child - may need support)
Ask an adult to place in the oven for approx 12 mins (adult or older child)
Wait until cooled and enjoy.
Don’t forget to take some photos and share them with us in the Storytime Chef group (or tag us on instagram #storytimechef #organiccookeryschool)
Enjoy this? Try our Rainbow Fish inspired digestive biscuits.
Where to get hold of a copy of The Rainbow Fish:
Link to Rainbow Fish on Amazon UK Link to Rainbow Fish on Amazon US
Or don’t forget to check your local library.
By shopping with the links we have provided, we may earn a small referral commission which goes straight back into our community outreach projects for vulnerable families It also doesn’t cost you anymore. Thank you!
Healthy Valentine Recipes Your Kids Will Love
We love Valentine’s day at The Organic Cookery School. Partly because it often falls in our February half term (so extra time for kids’ baking classes!) and because it’s Lucy’s wedding anniversary (awww!) on the 14th.
So whether it’s a weekend or school hols activity, Valentine’s is a perfect time to get hands on in the kitchen with your little ones.
Here are some our our favourite health(ier) recipes for Valentine’s.
These raspberry yogurt mousse pots from Eats Amazing are super quick and lower sugar than your average dessert.
Peanut Butter fans will go crazy for Healthy Little Foodies Raspberry Peanut Butter Freezer Bites
More than Just Carrots have also rethought the Jammie Dodger, with a strawberry chia jam and wholemeal hazelnut biscuit.
Frozen strawberries work perfectly in these healthy Strawberry Breakfast Bites from My Kids Lick The Bowl with oats, coconut and sunflower seeds.
All About Kids have reinvented the traditional Jammie Dodger with raspberry chia jam. Yum!
And if hummous is your thing, you can’t go wrong with this Beetroot Hummous recipe from Baby Gram
And Valentine’s is one time when breakfast balls needn’t just be for breakfast! Healthy Little Foodies’s Raspberry and Coconut ones look delicious and are perfect for little hands to roll.
Lucy and Clare over at The Happy Weaner have plenty of ideas for cute Valentine snacks
But one of our favourites has to be these super cute Valentine apple love bugs from Grace at Eats Amazing Who could resist?
We hope that’s given you a little inspiration for 14th February and we’d love to hear if you try any of the above.
Seven Healthy Halloween Treats to Make Your Kids Scream
The countdown to Halloween has started early for The Organic Cookery School, with themed sweet and savoury cookery workshops running all through October half term.
But for those of you planning parties at home, we’ve compiled some of our favourite healthier Halloween treats. They are super simple to make, so get the kids involved and enjoy the festivities.
GHOULISH GREEN SMOOTHIES
What you need:
1 cup spinach
2 kiwi fruit
½ cup white grapes
1 banana
What to do:
Peel banana and kiwi and add to blender with rest of ingredients.
Add a cup of water and blend to desired consistency.
Decorate cups or bottle with ghoulish googly eyes, and serve.
STRAWBERRY GHOSTS
What you need:
Strawberries
Plain or vanilla yogurt
Choc chips or currants for eyes.
What to do:
Pour yogurt into a cup and dunk strawberries by their stem.
Arrange on greaseproof paper and place in freezer for 5-10 minutes.
Remove from freezer and repeat.
After second dunk add chocolate chip or currant eyes.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
SPOOKY NANAS
WHAT YOU NEED:
Bananas (halved)
Plain or vanilla yogurt
Dried coconut flakes
Chocolate chips
WHAT TO DO:
Dunk banana halves in a tumbler of yogurt. Roll in coconut .
Stand on platter and add chocolate chip eyes.
Refrigerate for at least 10 mins before serving
SPIDERS ON LOGS
WHAT YOU NEED:
Peanut butter
Celery cut into 5 cm lengths
Plastic spiders
WHAT TO DO:
Using a small table knife, fill celery logs with peanut butter.
Decorate each log with a spider.
CHEESE MONSTERS
WHAT YOU NEED:
Babybel or similar
Googly eyes in various sizes
Small sharp knife
WHAT TO DO:
Carefully cut out funky monster teeth from wax outer. Decorate with googly eyes.
CLEMENTINE PUMPKINS
WHAT YOU NEED:
Clementines or other easy peel citrus fruit
Black Sharpie
WHAT TO DO:
Draw pumpkin eyes, nose and mouth and leave to dry.
POPCORN HANDS
WHAT YOU NEED:
Popcorn
Jelly sweets for fingernails
Clear food grade gloves
Loom bands or small tie to secure
WHAT TO DO:
Drop a jelly sweet in each finger, then fill gloves with popcorn.
Make sure the popcorn fills each finger and secure with a loom band or small tie.
We hope your little monsters scream with delight when they see what they are going to be making . And we’d love to hear your ideas too! Comment below with your favourite Halloween treats and recipes, we read every comment!
Every Halloween party bag or lunchbox needs a ghoulish joke or two!
Enter your email below and we'll send you a free printable of our best ten spooky Halloween lunchbox jokes.
Organic Week at Lidl - the ten ingredients we're stocking up on this week
We love Lidl - they always stock a great range of organic and fairtrade goodies, and a couple of times a year they run their Organic Week promotions. This week is one of those weeks (running 3rd August to 9th August inclusive).
Here are out top ten storecupboard essentials to stock up on whilst on promotion.
Organic Grains:
Organic Bulgur Wheat (£1.99 for 500g)
Organic Spelt (£1.99 for 750g)
Organic Buckwheat (£1.99 for 500g)
Organic Amaranth (£1.99 for 500g)
There's also this very affordable muesli, which works brilliantly in flapjacks, homemade granola bars:
5) Organic Wholegrain Muesli (£2.19 for 500g)
Next up organic pasta at just 99p for 500g. (Check out their basic organic tomato pasta sauce too)
Followed by three storecupboard bargains:
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (£2.99 for 500ml)
Organic Tomato Ketchup (£1.29 for 450ml)
Organic Coconut Oil (£3.99 for 500ml)
Add this to organic smoked salmon, tons of organic fruit and veg choices, eggs, milk, yogurt and more and you're sure to save a few pennies at Lidl this week.
What will you make?
BAKE IT OFF! Five ways to reduce exam (SATS) stress by Cooking with your Kids
It's SATS week for 10 and 11 year olds across the UK, and after months of practice tests at school, most Year 6 pupils are feeling pretty tense about this week. As a former primary school teacher, I'm feeling pretty aerated by the unnecessary pressure these tests put on our little ones (and they are still little!), so I've come up with some relaxing afterschool activities for my 11 year old. We've made slime, done cartwheels (her not me!), played on a giant piano in the garden, and next up it's cooking.
But why cooking? Well obviously I'm biased, but of all the downtime activities I can rustle up with little effort and expense, this hits a lot of positive buttons. And guarantees smiles (lots of them!)
Here are my five top tips:
Choose a recipe: planning the recipe together is an important stage - leaf through some cookery books or browse some blog posts/pinterest for easy, tested recipes which appeal. Ask them to make an ingredient list and read it out whilst you check which ingredients you already have/need to get in. This teaches your child about planning and prep and builds the excitement about the time you are going to spend cooking together. Result - #buildsexcitement - and give them something to look forward to.
Stress can inhibit appetite - which in turns affects performance and concentration. Baking something delicious together will relax your child and stimulate their appetite. I’d recommend a healthy failsafe muffin or batch of wholefood cookies (see examples below) - sneak in some veggies or dried fruit for added fibre (as stress can affect digestion too). Other great ingredients for exam time are oats, eggs, and seeds. Result - #feelingnourished
Set aside time - cooking together is quality time that can’t be rushed (please don’t rush it or you’ll defeat the object) and illustrates you want to spend time with them and you value their company. Result - #feelingvalued - another great stress buster
Cooking is social and, when shared, involves teamwork, taking turns and collaborating. Decide together who is doing what, and make sure they know which jobs they are solely responsible for (and if you veer towards control freakery, hold back and let them do it themselves!). Result - #feelingindependent - and elevating the importance of non academic skills
Cookery is a sensory, tactile and whole brain experience - and will help balance out the exhaustion many children feel during test week. They’ll use the left part of their brain following instructions, and weighing and measuring, the right for creative flourishes, and evaluating tastes, smells, textures and how the experience makes them feels. Result - #feelingbalanced
Try it out - even as an end of week treat.
I can’t wait to hear how you get on. I guarantee smiles and happier, relaxed kids!
Here are some recipe ideas to get you going.
Any tips you'd like to share on how to relax and restore balance in your kids' lives? Comment below, I'd love to hear from you. And if you enjoyed this post, please share.
Bread and Butter Pudding Muffins
MAKES 16 MUFFINS
Lunch box staple and after school treat. These never last long in our household and are ideal to cook with little ones. Great for using up stale bread and a portable form of bread and butter pudding. Need we say more?
Did you know?
These muffins are full of calcium (good for your bones) and contains very little added sugar because of the natural sweetness of the dried fruit.
Cheese, Leek and Potato Pie
Here’s a popular dish from our Cooking with Dad project and afterschool clubs. Using cheap winter veg, tasty cheese and dried herbs, it’s inexpensive to make and delicious. You children will love getting creative with the pastry scraps too – so make sure there’s plenty left for all their decorations.
N.B. Children should always be supervised when cooking, and an adult should oversee the
use of heat as well as all preparation involving sharp utensils.
Try something different
Try using alternative vegetables in this pie. Peppers, sweetcorn, courgettes would all work well.
Did you know?
- Cheese contains both protein and calcium – something we all need for growth and development.
- For other interesting facts about cheese visit: www.britishcheese.com
Pear and Chocolate Pudding
serves 4
Low sugar and using store cupboard staples, this is perfect when you need a healthier chocolate pudding for the family. This goes down a storm in our community cookery classes and we’ve heard reports of it being served at fancy dinner parties. If you’re feeling indulgent throw in some extra dark chocolate chips ☺
Tip:
Younger children may prefer their pear cut into smaller chunks.
Optional chocolate sauce recipe:
Break 150g dark chocolate into pieces and melt in a bowl over simmering water, add a tablespoon of honey and a knob of butter and stir until combined and glossy. Slowly whisk in 100ml of warmed (but not boiling milk). Can be made in advance and reheated when ready.
Did you know?
- Pears are good source of dietary fibre, vitamins C and K and minerals such as copper and potassium.
- There are over 3000 varieties of pears grown around the world.
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet for an adult. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Infants and Toddlers will need less calories according to their age.
Click here for advice on how many calories your child needs.
Sweet Potato and Orange Muffins
makes 12-18
The apricots in this mix make these muffins – which are low in added sugar and full of natural sweetness from sweet potato, carrots, orange juice and dried fruit. We made them in standard muffin cases here, but they are perfect as mini muffins too – split the mix and have some mum and baby/toddler-sized ones. Perfect for lunchboxes and freezable.
* Adult supervision is required for all chopping, and use of ovens.
Did you know?
- Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene).
- They are also a good source of vitamin C, manganese, copper, pantothenic acid and vitamin B6. Additionally, they are a good source of potassium, dietary fibre, niacin, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and phosphorus.
Try this!
Swap chopped apricots for any other favourite dried fruit – cranberries, raisins, even chopped prunes!
Tomato and Paprika Biscuits
makes 20 small biscuits
There’s something pretty unique about these biscuits – our very anti-tomato 10 year old loves them! As does pretty much everyone who’s made them in our community classes (even fussy eaters!) They can be thrown together in minutes, require pretty much store cupboard staples (just need to make sure you have a couple of spring onions to hand) and are perfect blw or lunchbox staples.
* N.B. Children should always be supervised when cooking, and an adult should oversee the use of heat as well as all preparation involving sharp utensils.
Did you know?
- The English word “tomato” comes from the Aztec word, “tomatl”. Tomatoes are full of health: A good source of vitamins A, C and E tomatoes also contain potassium which may help lower blood pressure and calcium which is vital for healthy bones and teeth.
- To read more about the humble tomato visit: www.britishtomatoes.co.uk
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet for an adult. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Infants and Toddlers will need less calories according to their age.
Click here for advice on how many calories your child needs.
10 Steps to More Veggies: Chocolate and Beetroot Muffins
Over the summer hols, we ran our first online challenge for parents who’d previously attended or signed up for info on our courses. 10 Steps to more Veggies is a five week e-course which aims to inspire and support parents to cook more with their children and when better to test it out than over the long school summer holidays.
We featured 10 of our more popular veggie smuggling recipes and support from tutors and other families through a private Facebook group. Everything was kept pretty low key, as we were testing our new e-course platform but were thrilled when 100 families signed up within a week.
Today we’re featuring the hands down favourite recipe of the course (although there were no losers!) Everyone loves this recipe and it’s a great lower sugar treat for your family, which your little ones will LOVE making with you. We’ve been known to polish a few off with a pot of tea.
Chocolate and Beetroot Muffins
makes 16 muffins
* Adult supervision is required when using sharp objects (graters, knives) and the oven.
Tip:
Grating beetroot can be tricky (and messy). Try disposable rubber gloves!
Try something different...
- Try sultanas, chopped prunes or apricots instead of cranberries
- Wholemeal flour works well in this recipe
- If you can’t find beetroot, finely grated carrot could be used in its place.
Courgette, Pear and Carrot Cakes
makes two small loaves or 8 - 10 muffins
Here’s another low sugar lunchbox treat, which the kids will love making. Dead simple, packed with veggies and naturally sweet with very little added sugar. We regularly make these in our Little Foodies toddler cookery classes, and everyone loves them.
Need any further excuse to try them?
Carrots are rich in beta carotene which is converted in the body to vitamin A. This nutrient is used to strengthen the immune system and to ensure good eye health. Courgettes are also a good source of vitamins A and C, as well as folate and potassium and fibre, which help to ensure a healthy bowel and prevent constipation in little ones.
*N.B. Children should always be supervised when cooking, and an adult should oversee the use of heat as well as all preparation involving sharp utensils.
Try something different
- Try changing the pear for another fruit or your choice. Apples, plums and peach would work well.
Did you know?
- Courgette (also known as Zucchini) contains more potassium than bananas and are a rich source of vitamin C and manganese.
- Carrots although usually orange in colour can also come in purple, red, white, and yellow varieties.
- The human body turns beta-carotene from carrots into vitamin A. Vitamin A is important for the health of our vision (including our night vision) as well as our bones, teeth and skin.
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet for an adult. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Infants and Toddlers will need less calories according to their age.
Click here for advice on how many calories your child needs.
Cheesy Spinach and Apple Muffins
Perfect for babies and toddlers
If your children are bored of sandwiches, these are great in lunchbox ( perhaps with some cooked chicken or a boiled egg for extra protein). Loved by toddlers, fussy eaters and baby-led weaners they freeze perfectly and are our secret weapon for sneaky some extra veggies into our little ones diets. We’ve made these as full sized muffins, but they work just as well as mini muffins for babies and toddlers.
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet for an adult. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Infants and Toddlers will need less calories according to their age.
Click here for advice on how many calories your child needs.
Cheesy Courgette Bake
to serve 2 adults or 4 children (double quantities for a bigger family)
Another toddler friendly veggie smuggling dish – get your kids grating the courgettes and squeezing out the excess water, and throw in some cooked new potatoes for a substantial veggie side. Perfect for BBQs or summer lunches, just double or triple the quantities to feed a family.
Try something different:
- Swap sweetcorn for peas, and add a teaspoon of chopped mint.
- Or added cooked new potatoes or cooked bacon to make a meal.
Did you know?
- Courgettes (also known as zucchini) are rich in Vitamin A and potassium. They are normally a bright dark green but can also be golden yellow.
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet for an adult. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Infants and Toddlers will need less calories according to their age.
Click here for advice on how many calories your child needs.