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Feed Your Kids Right With These Kids Recipes

Article by George Roy

After a hard day of play, a gaggle of kids runs in from the yard hungry and looking for something to eat. Meals made from kids recipes are often great food items that can bolster and refuel a child

Kids and Spices

Article by Kit Heathcock

Back in the mists of time, once upon a time, we were adventurous cooks and eaters, taking in everything from the spices of the Orient to European starchy comfort food in the course of a day's eating. Then we were hit by a culinary upheaval in our lives: our children, one by one, arrived.

Our first child agreeably downed mild chicken korma baby puree and we celebrated. Our children would be cosmopolitan in tastes, we would not have to adjust our eating patterns to accommodate fads and fussiness, or so we deluded ourselves.Until he was nearly two he ate everything we offered him, then something in our smug demeanour must have alerted him that he was missing out on a developmental stage. One by one he eliminated most of his previously favourite foods from his diet, until for a while he subsisted on plain boiled rice, plain yoghurt, apples, bananas, potatoes and bread with an occasional piece of plain meat. Note the emphasis on plain! No sauces were permitted to enliven the pure unadulterated ingredients. No foods might touch each other on the plate. Thus began the downhill slope into nursery food.

While we still had only the one child, I managed to cook us a seperate adult meal in the evenings. When the second and third joined us I gave up the struggle. One meal would have to do the whole family from now on. No more clearing up a children's meal only to start cooking again for the two of us, just when I felt like collapsing on the sofa. For a few years I have managed to feed us all with a repertoire of traditional English dishes, most of which had their roots in the nursery. Stews and casseroles were tolerated, as I could pick pieces of meat out for the kids, stir-fries likewise. The favourite was roast chicken with roast potatoes and maybe a tiny floret of broccoli for a bit of colour.

The once over-flowing spice rack, however, became a sad dusty relic of past flavours. Out of date cumin and turmeric faded into insipidity. My husband occasionally would express a wistful hope of something spicy. Memories of Thai restaurants in London tantalised our dormant taste buds.

Recently therefore I have tried to reintroduce a little spice into our gastronomic lives. Nigel Slater's Moroccan chicken recipe, with a slightly reduced amount of spices, made it past the flavour censors. Another recipe I tried from Madhur Jaffrey's Cookbook was rejected. Reading through her book, which has languished unexplored on our shelves for years, I found a few vegetable recipes that were simple enough to do alongside a main meal and inspiration struck. A spicy vegetable side dish for the parents. Now I can feed us all the vegetables that the kids won't eat. Aubergine/eggplant, spinach, peppers with a variety of authentic Indian spice combinations, liven up our anaesthetised palates and embellish the rather dull, plain meals that are all that the children will accept. Maybe one day they'll be sufficiently intrigued to try the grown-ups' special dish and then we will take the first step towards the cosmopolitan family gastronomy that we once so optimistically hoped for.

Here is Madhur Jaffrey's recipe that broke new culinary ground for our family recently.

Neela's Aubergine and Potato

4 tbs vegetable oil

Healthy Recipe For Kids

Many find it a difficult task to get their kid to eat healthy. Most kids prefer a diet of fruit roll-ups and ice cream, however, it is crucial to get your kid eating healthy at a young age. Whole grain is very important for your kids to consume. Starting off the day with a bowl of Cheerios is a great way to get started on the recommended six ounces of of whole grain your child should consume. If he or she is a big enough eater, they can get all six ounces at breakfast! Also important is the consumption of calcium. Foods that are rich in calcium build strong bones and later on can prevent osteoporosis.

When preparing food or snacks for your kid, it is often important to prepare food that is quick and easy to make. Also important is that the snacks are low in sugar and fat, as well as high in nurtrients and fiber. This can be a challenge if your kid is used to eating candy and hot dogs all the time, so you may need to get creative.

One option is to turn chicken nuggets into a healthy snack.

In order to do this you will need skinless, boneless chicken breasts, non-fat buttermilk, flour, corn flakes, salt, and pepper. Fill up one bowl with flour seasoned with salt and pepper, one with buttermilk, and one with crushed corn flakes. Cut the chicken breasts into squares. Dip the chicken breast squares into the flour. Shake off all excess flour and dip the chicken into the buttermilk. Next, coat the chicken with the crushed up corn flakes. Get as much as you can to stick. Finally, put the "chicken nuggets" on a cookie sheet that is covered with foil. Back for 14-16 minutes at 375 degrees. You can make extra if you want, because these will still be good the next day. Also, the kids can be included in the preparation, if you don't mind the mess.

Instead of giving your kid ice cream for dessert, replace it with a fruit smoothie. You can make a banana smoothie in a matter of minutes. All you need is a frozen banana, 1/2 cup of orange juice, 1/2 cup of yogurt, and 1/4 cup of blueberries. If you have bananas that are going bad, put them in the freezer and save them for this occasion. One you get all of the ingredients, combine them in a blender, and blend them until smooth. That wasn't so hard, was it?

It can be a difficult transition when getting your kid to give up the sweets. You might be surprised by the healthy snacks your child will enjoy. It is important to keep trying new things until you find a variety of healthy meals your kid enjoys. Sure, every kid deserves to have the occasional treat of pizza or ice cream, but try to make it just that, an occasion.