Portion control and letting children decide when enough is enough

I have read quite a few articles lately on how we should let our children tell us when they have had enough to eat. We should let them leave food on their plate and say well done for eating as much as they have. I have been guilty of spoon feeding my 5 year old the last bits of leftovers on her plate and these articles got me thinking.

I have always believed that babies were able to tell us they have had enough by refusing to open their mouths and pushing the spoon away - so why do I not still listen to my children now that they are that bit older and able to verbally communicate this with me? I must admit that some of the portions I serve my two are probably larger than they really need. They are both good eaters if not a little fussy at times. My younger one who turns 4 next week is the fussier of the two and I have therefore been a little more forceful in getting him to finish his food. He also had a tendency to wake up early the next morning if he had not had a big tea and my anticipation of another early wake up call probably contributed. My daughter on the other hand has always had a great appetite but I have still been spoon feeding her the last bit on her plate.

My mother and grandmother never liked to see food go to waste and we were always told to finish our plate of food before we could leave the table. I therefore also do not like seeing food go to waste.
Also, on a subconscious level, the thought of my children being hungry tugs at my maternal heart strings. On a rational level this is ludicrous. My children have never had a day without food like many millions of children throughout the world do on a regular basis.

I have a healthy appetite too but with raising levels of obesity and related diseases, I have decided to lessen the portions we all eat and allow my children to ask for seconds if they so decide. If they are still hungry when they go to bed maybe the following day I they will give them an extra potato and floret of broccoli.

A friend told me of a relative's philosophy. He lived in India and he lived till his mid 90s.

He said the key to a long life is:

At dinnertime, fill your tummy with 50% food, 25% water and 25% fresh air (by a leisurely after-dinner walk)

Sounds good to me. Now, I just need to find the time!

Kinder Kitchen Cooking Tip - Pink Pasta

Although most children like pasta, there are some that don't or get bored by it. White pasta is also not as healthy as brown pasta due to processing. I am slowly getting my children used to whole wheat pasta as they still prefer white pasta. Babies and young children do not need as much fibre so white pasta is fine when they are really young.

A way of adding a healthy twist to pasta and giving it a great new colour is to use the water that you have boiled beetroot in. The old wives tale of drinking your spinach water is not one to be discarded. This not only adds some wonderful nutrients from the beetroot to the pasta but it also colours your pasta a wonderful shade of pink.

Fish - Mega brain food

Homemade sesame coated fish fingers with sweet potato chips

Having just spent a week in Cornwall and eating the most wonderfully fresh fish, I have carried on at home and fish is making a very regular appearance on our dinning table.

My children love fish. Yes, I am lucky but here luck has had little to do with it. I made sure that my children ate fish from a very young age. As babies they ate fish mashed up with sweet potatoes, flaked up in a cheese sauce with leeks or in a fish pie.

Like most children they love their frozen fish fingers but I more often than not make my own homemade ones.

Many people are put off by fish because of the smell and because they are not sure how to cook it.

Fresh fish does not smell. It only starts to smell once it is going off. 

When buy whole fish,  look out for:

• bright, clear eyes - dull-eyed fish can be safe to eat but are a couple of days old
• does the fish look clean and metallic? - if it looks shiny and metallic this is means that the fish is fresh
  
• a pungent smell - fresh fish should not have a strong smell

When buying fish fillets, look out for:

• vibrant flesh - a fish's colour begins to fade with age and the skin should look shiny and metallic
• no smell - again the fish should not have a strong smell
  
• clear liquid - if the liquid on the fish is milky, this is the first stage of decay

If you are worried about bones, you could get the fish monger to fillet it for you and you could feed your kids the tail end of a fillet of fish as there are generally less and smaller bones that end. Also, there are a number of fish that do not contain hard bones:

• whiting
• dover/lemon sole
• tilapia

In my opinion, fish is the easiest food to cook. It hardly takes any time and is very versatile.

I find poaching the easiest way to cook fish. In a pan, pour some milk and add a few pepper corns and a bay leaf. Lay the fillet of fish gently into the milk (ensuring its covered) and on a low heat, simmer the milk. The fillet, depending on its thickness will cook with 5 minutes of the milk simmering.

To fry a fillet, place some oil or butter into a saucepan on a medium. Taking a salmon steak here as an example, lay the steak into the pan skin-side down and fry for around 3 minutes or until you can see the flesh on the bottom turning lighter in colour towards the middle of the steak. Flip over carefully and fry for a further minute. Now turn off the heat and allow it to rest in the pan for 5 minutes with a lid on. It will slowly carry on cooking and have time to rest resulting in all the juices collecting in the pan.

Fish can be very costly. I generally buy fish that is on special offer or that is not so well known. Cod  and haddock generally are much more expensive but always look out for other white fish that can cost up to half the price as the aforementioned. Fish with it's skin on is also cheaper.

Fish is such a great food and tastes mighty good on it's own or covered in sauces and marinades.

Here are some links to some old posts of mine containing this wonderful food for the brain.

mash with fish and sweetcorn
http://kinderkitchenrecipes.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/todays-nutritious-recipe-from-kinder_22.html

easy fishcake fingers
http://kinderkitchenrecipes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/todays-nutritious-recipe-from-kinder.html

homemade fish fingers
http://kinderkitchenrecipes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/healthy-kids-recipes-homemade-fish.html

 

Foodies delight - the jewels of England's countryside

I am back in London after a week in Cornwall and a long weekend in Suffolk. I am rested and well fed. I have eaten so well over the last couple of weeks and so have my children. With all the sun and good food their trousers have become too short on both of them.

Living in London makes me sometimes forget how simple food can be as we have such an array of different ingredients and influences that I love to use. Being out in the countryside or by the sea where farm shops primarily sell local produce helped me get back to the real basics of cooking. Suffolk lamb was some of the best I'd ever tasted - even comparable to the lamb feeding from the herb filled hillsides of Sardinia. On a couple of coastal walks I saw happy cows grazing on the green grass nourished from the sea's morning dew. With every mouthful of the sirloin steak I ate I thought of those cows and thanked them for providing me with such tender delicious meat - although the farmers have something to do with that too.

My children also became a little more adventurous. After years of sitting down with us at the dinning table and watching us eat all and sundry my daughter tried scallops and langoustine tails. On the way back home at a pit stop off the M4 she tried sushi too. This has made me so happy because I have never pushed her into eating anything as her diet has been varied. Now however after years of my influence she is becoming more adventurous. My son too ate some carrots (he has been much more fussy) and tried some steak. He is only three so he has a couple more years watching us eat before his taste buds start to prompt him to become a little more adventurous.

The school term is about to start and so are my cookery classes. I can't wait to start teaching children the basics of cooking again and imparting my love of food to them.

Kinder Kitchen Competition winner - Ellie from North London

Competition question - How many broad beans are in this bowl?

Well done to Ellie from North London. You were the closest with your guess of 92 broad beans. There were actually 117 broad beans in the bowl. Your spatula will be with you shortly!

Details of the next competition to follow shortly.

Happy cooking everyone!

Kinder Kitchen Top Tip - Staying hydrated

During this hot spell it is important to keep you and your family hydrated. Many children resist drinking water so here are 5 fruits & vegetables high in water content that you could give your children to keep them hydrated on these wonderfully balmy sunning days. They are packed full of wonderful vitamins too!

1. Watermelon
2. Cantaloupe melon
3. Cucumbers
4. Celery
5. Grapes

To read more and get nutritional information go to: http://www.seattleorganicrestaurants.com/vegan-whole-food/hydration-foods-drinks-dehydrate-your-body.php

Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

I have recently been reading a selection of books written by Michael Pollan. His books simplify the global food problems we all seem to be experiencing, in the Western world at ay rate.

The answer, he writes, to this increasing problem is

'Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants'

 

Yes it is supposedly as simply as this and really on reflection, it is. Our Western diet consists of too much processed food and meats, lots of added sugar and salt and refined grains. We just don't eat enough vegetables apparently - and this is true. Michael writes that people from countries that eat a range of traditional diets that haven't been 'Westernised' are much healthier and suffer up to 80% less from illnesses such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

 

This is particularly the case in Japan. My brother visited Japan recently and commented on how slim and fit the Japanese are. On returning to Heathrow and boarding the tube into London he looked around and was shocked how 'fat' we all are.

 

The truth is some people will not eat a single vegetable in a day, a week or a month. Some hardly ever eat vegetables. Frozen processed foods, take away meals and fast food restaurants have become the norm and people are not cooking any more.

 

In order for the next generation to live long and healthy lives we really need to turn this around. Tinned sweetcorn, frozen peas, broccoli or freshly boiled potatoes all have the valuable nutrients needed for a healthy diet so please always try and provide you and your children with some form of vegetable with your meals.

 

For more information on Michael Pollan and his books go to: http://michaelpollan.com/books. They are a fascinating read and easily digestible!