Food

Life can be pretty hectic, and some days you just need to be able to get your kids’ dinner on the table as quickly as possible with the minimum of fuss. But coming up with quick, easy and nutritious meals that all the family will enjoy isn’t always easy. Especially if you live with some picky eaters.

To help you, we’ve put together five tasty and healthy kids’ meals that you can get to the table in just 10 minutes.

Naan bread pizza and salad

This is a great recipe for a quick meal and even the fussiest eater can find a topping they’ll love. You can also swap a plain naan for a garlic, or even Peshwari naan to make your pizzas even tastier. This recipe is ideal for vegetarians but you can use whichever toppings you like.

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Watermelon is one of the most popular fruits with children, especially during the summer months when it’s so refreshing. Luckily, as well as being a delicious treat, it also offers a lot of great health benefits for your children and entire family. Here, we will take a look at ten of the health benefits of Watermelon 

1. Hydration

Watermelon is made up of 92% water, so if you have little ones who are not drinking enough water during the hot summer days then watermelon could be an extra tool in your belt to keep your child hydrated.

   2. Highly Nutritious 

One cup of watermelon goes a great way towards your recommended daily allowance of many vitamins and minerals…

• Vitamin C: 21% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
• Vitamin A: 18% of the RDI
• Potassium: 5% of the RDI
• Magnesium: 4% of the RDI
• Vitamins B1, B5 and B6: 3% of the RDI

3. High in Vitamin C

As you can see from the figures above, watermelon is a great source of Vitamin C. This is such a super vitamin, helping to boost the immune system and fight against colds as well as helping the body to produce collagen which helps keep your eyesight sharp.

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Recipe and images provided by WAHACA AT HOME

This sophisticated, crater-like, deeply chocolatey cake, with the merest hint of cinnamon and a generous scrunch of sea salt, is so popular amongst my friends that it comes out at almost any opportunity.  I stole the recipe from a friend of my parents when I was eight (which gives you an idea of how easy it is).  Do not be put off by the look of the cake when it comes out of the oven – it is utterly delicious and looks fantastic when decorated!

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The Instant Pot is one of the world’s most famous multicookers and one of the Best Seller products on Amazon. Its popularity is due to the many functions it brings to the table and the ease of use. It is one of those appliances that truly improve life in the kitchen and raise any home-schooled chef’s level.

While you’ll find many opinions on this multicooker, the one that’s most popular is the diversity of dishes one can prepare with it. The Instant Pot is amazing when it comes to preparing delicious meals without too much effort.

To prove just how great the entire IP series is for anyone’s kitchen, we listed five recipes that are easy to make and are beloved by almost anyone, including our little picky eaters… and if you need any more ideas, there are a wide variety of cookery books available at The Works

#1: Scrambled Eggs

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The winter months can be awfully challenging if you’re trying to avoid piling on the pounds. The combination of lower temperatures, shorter days and unappealing weather can cause many of us to go into hibernation mode. We’ll stay indoors as much as possible and resort to warming comfort foods that more often or not are high in carbohydrates. The combination of a winter diet and reduced exercise can soon lead to weight gain – and that’s without even bringing Christmas into the equation!

While you’re focusing on your weight, don’t forget to look after the rest of your health too – even down to maintaining your ears with ear wax removal 

We shouldn’t feel bad about our winter eating choices. There are solid evolutionary reasons why our bodies want to store fat in the winter months. It’s a barrier against the cold, and the actual act of eating can help make us feel warmer. However, our ancestors didn’t have central heating and generally enjoyed a far more active lifestyle than we do – even during the winter, when ‘enjoyed’ maybe isn’t the right word to use.

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It can be tough to find meals that kids love, are healthy, and don’t take lots of time to prepare. Many families have at least one fussy eater in their ranks who may need some persuading when it comes to fruit and veg! To mix up your weekly food plan, here are five healthy meal ideas that kids will love – each one is packed with sneaky extra veggies and whole grains.

Homemade Egg-Fried Rice

This protein-packed recipe is perfect for everyone from toddlers to tweens! There are two secrets to nailing egg-fried rice: cook the rice in advance and rinse with cold water to cool (this gets rid of the starch, meaning it’s less likely to stick to the pan); you’ll also want to push the rice to the edge of the frying pan before adding the beaten egg. That way you can scramble the egg, making sure it’s mostly cooked, before stirring in to the rice.

Throw in some frozen peas and spring onions and that’s your basic egg-fried rice sorted. You could also make this with brown rice to up the whole grains and add fibre. Top with smoked tofu or prawns for a quick and easy dinner.

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Let’s try something a little different this Taco Tuesday. Don’t worry—it’ll still be Taco Tuesday—but with a twist.

While tacos are scrumptious, filling, and comforting, they’re not the healthiest of dinners. All those refined carbohydrates and fatty cheese? We could do better.

We’re taking all those awesome flavors, and bringing the taco to soup form. This soup from Parenting Pod is hearty. It has depth. And it’s packed with vegetables and beans in a rich tomato base.

One of the greatest things about this soup is that it can be adapted to many different dietary needs. Vegetarian? Skip the beef, and add more beans. Dairy-free? Just don’t add any cheese or sour cream! Gluten-free? Well, this recipe is gluten free. Vegan? This recipe is heavy on vegetables and legumes, no beef or cheese necessary.

I know what you’re thinking. What makes this recipe a Taco Soup recipe if it’s basically just tomato-based vegetable soup?

Two words. Taco seasoning. Also, the beans and the corn (and of course, the ground beef if you’re into that).

Pretty pretty please do NOT go out and buy taco seasoning packets. That stuff contains ingredients like “partially hydrogenated soybean oil,” “maltodextrin,” “silicon dioxide,” and “ethoxyquin” (look them up!) which are truly toxic and SO unnecessary.

On the other hand, if you do find a store-bought taco seasoning with only spices listed in the ingredients, go for it.

Taco seasoning is easy to make at home. Using spices you probably already have, you can whip up your very own taco seasoning in about three minutes.

This recipe makes more than you’ll need for one Taco Soup, so store the leftovers in an airtight container to use next Taco Tuesday.

Homemade Taco Seasoning:

• 2 Tbsp chili powder

• 1 Tbsp cumin

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 2 tsp paprika

• ½ tsp black pepper

• ½ tsp oregano

• ½ tsp coarse salt

• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Mix it all together and store in a cool, dry place.

Now that the taco seasoning is put together, let’s get started on the soup!

Easy Taco Soup

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