Okay, we can hear the groans from our office…school holidays! What are you going to do with the kids?
How about getting them cooking in the kitchen? Last month we chatted to Celebrity Chef, Alastair McLeod about encouraging families to cook together as he prepares for next month’s Good Food & Wine Show in Brisbane, along with Lunchbox Dad, George Georgievski. They both shared recipes and tips to inspire children to help in the kitchen.
"This is a habit that, while we have to foster it, never feels forced. Cooking creates connections – it is a conduit to contentment. We always sit at the table, it’s not formal, with the food shared. My daughter Clancy will grab the bowls, my wife will flick the TV off and we connect,” Alastair explains.
"I hone in on what Clancy likes to eat and show her how the tastes that she enjoys are born. She makes great gnocchi, which ultimately comes down to repetition. To get good at a ‘thing’. You have to do the ‘thing’.
"We bake together which is picking the low fruit, but in doing so, she learns about process and organisation. So, when she’s in the mood to cook, I always encourage it and we get in the kitchen. The last tip – it’s easier if I do the washing up!”
In the McLeod household, the recipe that gets the kid’s kitchen party started is fried rice.
"It has the added benefit of teaching our wee girl about not wasting anything. We always have eggs from our chickens, in the crisper maybe half a capsicum, a floppy carrot and some tired-looking green beans, that can with some old steamed rice be turned into a delicious and nutritious meal.”
Try this family dinner-winner recipe for marinated chicken skewers, Summer salad, lemon and feta dressing from Alastair one night this week and get the kids cooking!
George became involved with making school lunches in the morning about eight years ago when home sick from work, he saw how much his wife had to do.
"Usually, I’d be out the door before anyone woke, but eight years ago I took over making the kids’ lunches from my wife,” he shares. "She already had too much on her plate with everything and so I had to make sure I did my bit too. Here we are eight years later!”
‘Here’ is an understatement as George has become known as the ‘Lunchbox Dad’, written four cookbooks and creates recipes to inspire Australian parents to meet the daily lunchbox challenge.
"Being a hands-on parent, I’m inspired by just how busy raising kids makes us, so I like to figure out ways to speed up the cooking time and process, by making it fun and creative also.”
George says kids eat with their eyes so use colourful produce and make sure it’s bite-sized as bite-sized food is always fun to eat and less daunting. Be a little creative and get them to help you with choosing food for their lunchbox.
His Italian meatball and egg dish is a high-protein delicious meal that he never gets sick of eating and is easy to try at home with the kids, all cooked in one pan.
Here are three more family-friendly recipes to make these school holidays and beyond:
A quick and delicious meal that will boost your vegetable intake for the day. Zoodles are a light, nutritious replacement for pasta and very quick to prepare. The green leafy spinach provides a rich source of energy, along with B vitamins and iron.
Ideal for a school holiday day at the beach, lunchbox treat for when school goes back or just a backyard picnic, these wraps from Wellness personality Luke Hines are full of goodness and super easy to make.
This recipe is packed with mood-boosting nutrients to help put a spring in your step. Red lentil pasta is available at supermarkets – not only does it taste delicious, it is far more nutritious than regular pasta, as well as being high in protein.
