Stuffed Jacket Potatoes!!!

Ingredients

4 large potatoes, scrubbed

Suggested fillings

frozen peas, steamed
sweet corn or canned sweet corn, drained, steamed
mixture of diced tomatoes, white onion and lean ham
bolognaise pasta sauce, warmed
spicy salsa, warmed
baked beans, warmed

Toppings

reduced fat cheese, grated
light sour cream
reduced fat plain yoghurt

Method

1. Pierce the potatoes several times.

2. To cook the potatoes in a microwave oven, place them on a microwave ovenproof dish. Cook on high until tender (15–20 minutes). Or to cook the potatoes in a conventional oven, place on an oven tray and bake at 180°C until tender (about 1 hour).

3. Cut the potatoes in half. Scoop out the flesh from the centre, leaving a 1 cm shell.

4. Place the potato flesh in a bowl and mash with the potato masher or fork.

5. Add the filling ingredients and mix to combine.

6. Spoon the filling into the potato shells.

7. To finish cooking the potatoes in a microwave oven, put them back on the microwave ovenproof dish. Cook on high for 5–10 minutes. Or to finish cooking the potatoes in a conventional oven, put them back on the baking tray and bake at 180°C until heated through and golden brown (about 15 minutes).

 

Kid-Friendly Recipes!!!!

These kid-friendly recipes are packed with nutritious fresh ingredients that won’t take precious hours to prepare. There are great dishes to choose from, so whether you’re cooking a meal for the family – or entertaining good friends – you’ll enjoy making and sharing these beautiful recipes.

 

Coco Banana Bites

Ingredients

1 orange
2 medium sized bananas

1/2 cup dessicated coconut

Utensils

Lemon squeezer
Chopping board and knife
Greaseproof paper (optional)
Small bowl

Method

1. Squeeze the juice from the orange. Pour into a small bowl.

2. Peel the bananas. Cut off the ends.

3. Cut bananas into bite size pieces.

4. Spread coconut onto a sheet of grease proof paper or onto a cutting board.

5. Using a skewer or a fork, dip banana pieces into the orange juice.

6. Roll banana in coconut.

7. Eat immediately, or keep in the fridge until chilled.

Healthy eating is a habit!!!

Recommendations and Guidelines

Healthy eating is a habit. Like all habits, it can take some time and effort to get started but, once set, it can last a lifetime. One of the best things we can do for our children is to help and encourage them to make healthy eating choices at home, at school and when they’re out and about.

What is healthy eating?

The Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents for sound nutrition.

The guidelines recommend that children and young people eat plenty of ‘plant’ foods, such as vegetables, legumes, fruits and grains (preferably whole grain).

They also recommend eating lean animal foods and reduced fat dairy products, drinking plenty of water, limiting the intake of fat (especially saturated fat), choosing low salt foods and consuming only moderate amounts of sugary products.

The key point it makes is the importance of eating a variety of foods, in the right proportions, from each of the food groups:

• bread and cereals, including rice, pasta and noodles and other grain products
• vegetables and legumes
• fruit
• milk, yoghurt and cheese
• meat and meat alternatives, such as fish, poultry, eggs, nuts and legumes

About two-thirds of the food we eat should come from the first two groups: breads and cereals and vegetables and legumes.. It pays to learn about each of these food groups so you can decide what’s best for your child. The minimum number of recommended daily serves from each food group is set out in the table below.

Recommended Serves per Day

Age	Bread & cereals	Vegies & legumes	Fruit	Milk, yoghurt & cheese	Meat & alternatives
4-7	3	2	1	2	1/2
8-11	4	3	1	2	1
12-18	4	4	3	3	1

 

Examples of what a serve means for each food group:

• 1 serve bread or cereal = 2 slices bread, 1 cup of rice, pasta, noodles or porridge, 1 1/3 cup breakfast cereal
• 1 serve vegies and legumes = ½ cup cooked vegies, 1 medium potato, 1 cup salad or ½ cup cooked legumes (beans, peas or lentils)
• 1 serve fruit = 1 medium or 2 small pieces, 1 cup canned, 1 ½ tablespoon dried
• 1 serve milk, yoghurt and cheese = 1 cup (250ml) milk or custard, 1 small tub (200g) yoghurt, 2 slices (40g) cheese
• 1 serve meat or alternatives = 65 -100g cooked meat or chicken, 80-120g cooked fish fillet, 2 small eggs, ½ cup cooked legumes (beans, peas or lentils)

‘Extra’ (sometimes) foods

‘Extra’ foods include biscuits, cakes, desserts, pastries, soft drinks other fatty, sugary and salty snack foods, such as crisps, pies, pasties, sausage rolls and other takeaways, lollies and chocolates. These foods have low nutritional value and are high in energy (kilojoules). These foods should be eaten only sometimes, in small amounts or not at all.

Vegetable Cheese Sandwich with Caramelized Onions

Toast two slices (on one side only). Apply eggless mayo to an un-toasted bread slice. Layer lettuce leaves and tomato slices. Place an un-toasted bread slice over it. Over this slice, place a cheese slice. Layer cucumber slices, lettuce leaves and caramelized onions and cover with the other toasted slice. (To caramelize onions, saute a sliced onion and a tbsp of brown sugar in a 1/2 tbsp of olive oil till brown).

Mango Pineapple Juice

Blend 1 cup ripe mango pieces, 1/2 cup pineapple cubes, few mint leaves, 1/4 to 1/2 cup water, honey to taste and few ice cubes. Pour the cold mango pineapple juice into tall glasses and serve.

Breakfast Recipes for Kids

Palak Lachha Paratha

Palak lachha paratha is an easy, healthy spinach paratha recipe.

How to make Palak Lachha Paratha!!!

Palak Lachha Paratha and Dal Tadka made for a delectable healthy vegetarian meal.

Ingredients:2 cups atta/whole wheat flour/godhuma pindipinch of salt (optional)

1 cup spinach puree (wash, blanch and puree 2 bunches of spinach)

1/2 – 3/4 tsp red chili powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

3/4 tsp carrom seeds/ajwain/waamu

salt to taste

1 Prepare a soft pliable dough of the atta/whole wheat flour, palak puree, carrom seeds, red chili powder, coriander powder and salt. Add little water if necessary while preparing the dough. Allow to sit for 3-4 hrs (minimum an hour).
2 Pinch off large lemon sized balls from the dough. Dust some flour on the working surface and roll each ball to about 5-6″ in diameter. Drizzle a few drops of ghee or oil and spread it around the paratha. Dust a little flour all over.
3 Use a knife and cut 3 inches from the center of the paratha to one end of the rolled out paratha. Take the cut end of the paratha and roll it towards the other end of the paratha (towards the cut side). See picture above.
4 Flatten it lightly with your palm. Dust the working surface and roll out a thick paratha. Prepare with the rest of the dough.
5 Heat a tawa and place on high flame. Place paratha on the hot tawa. Cook on both sides till brown spots appear and the paratha is cooked. Drizzle ghee on both sides and serve hot with dal tadka, yogurt, salad and pickle of your choice. Makes for a complete meal.

Watermelon Lemonade Recipe

Summer heat is very bad in India,drinking copious amounts of juices, smoothies and milkshakes.Watermelon Lemonade Recipe wonderful concoction with sweet and sour flavors and quenches our thirst during these sultry summer days. Just some freshly squeezed lemon juice, honey, a dash of salt and of course watermelon juice.

Watermelon Lemonade Recipe

Blend 3 cups of watermelon cubes and strain (if required). Keep aside.
Add 3 tbsps honey, 5 tbsps freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1/4 tsp salt to 3 cups of ice cold water. Add the blended watermelon juice to the lemonade and mix. Serve in tall glasses with ice cubes.

Variation – Add crushed mint leaves, 1/2 tsp chaat masala and 1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder for a desi twist.

Role of different food items!!!

Eat healthy for a good life!!!

Spices

Use spices such as ginger, lemon, cumin, ajwain, turmeric, asafoetida and honey in your food is advisable. These food ingredients help improve digestion. So you don’t suffer from acidity or nausea due to overeating in winters. They help in increasing body temperature.

Cow Milk

Consuming butter milk with cumin powder while eating or after meals is beneficial. It is better to reduce the intake of non-vegetarian and oily foods in winters. Milk, clarified butter, mawa, rabri, kheer, cream and sweets are foods that provide energy.

Moderate consumption of fat, especially 2 tsps of ghee from cow’s milk daily, helps produce enough heat in the body and is good for skin and joints.

 

Grains

Wheat, millet, maize, gram, moong, black gram and masoor are especially beneficial.

High-energy-dense wholegrains, especially bajra and makai (corn); energy and protein-dense whole legumes, nuts and oilseeds help increase the body temperature.

During winter, one likes to eat gajar halwa and dishes prepared with sesame seeds and jaggery.

 

Seasonal fruits and vegetables 

It is best to consume seasonal fruits and vegetables, as they are loaded with nutrients. For example, orange, sweet lime and amla that are available in winters are rich in Vitamin C, which helps build immunity. Juices of amla, carrot and tomato are highly beneficial. Amla products like murabba, amla juice and chawanprash are beneficial in winters.

Leafy vegetables like methi, palak and sarson that are rich in Vitamin A and Vitamin C are good antioxidants.

Root vegetables such as carrots, white radish, onion and garlic are preferable, as they are warm in nature.You should also consume carrot, radish, tomato and cucumber in form of salads.

The body needs more calories to keep warm during the winter season. This can be provided by consuming starchy roots like potato and yam.

Other food items like groundnut, date, papaya, banana, apple, pomegranate and cheeku are also beneficial. It is good to eat dates boiled in milk for two hours after evening meals.

 

Soups

Soups are an excellent and easy way to incorporate all the dietary elements of the winter diet; and soups cooked in a slow-cooker are ideal. Baking or roasting vegetables and meats will give you the added benefit of warming your home and filling it with an aroma that will nourish your spirit.

The following diet is advisable in winters:

·         A cup of herbal tea infused with ginger, tulsi, lemon grass, cardamom, pepper & honey

·         A warm cup of cow’s milk with haldi at bedtime

·         A bowl of lentil soup

·         Make sure that you drink enough water (8-10 glasses of water daily) even if not thirsty 

It is important to incorporate sesame seeds and groundnuts in your food during winters, as they are rich in proteins and help overcome the cold. Many Indian dishes use groundnuts as the main ingredient. Sesame seeds can be used to make til laddus.

 

Cooking

It is best to bake, broil, roast and slow-cook foods in winter season.

Oil

Mustard oil is great for winter season as it is rich in vitamins and antioxidants.

Being high in calories, it is good for the season and it is recommended in cholesterol reduction programs.

Flaxseed oil, very rich in omega-3 is recommended for seasoning of salads.

Making Fruits and Vegetables Simple, Fun, and Delicious!

It’s important for kids to learn to love a variety of fruits and vegetables, in a variety of ways.  Serving fruits or vegetables in different forms, textures, and temperatures will actually help them to develop a mature palate, which is more accepting to a wider variety of new foods. Kids can have fruits and veggies fresh, frozen, dried, canned, juiced, pureed, blended, etc!

 kids who eat the recommended amount of fruits and veggies

• Have a decreased risk for Type 2 diabetes
• Have Improved immunity
• Maintain a healthier weight
• Have better vision and skin
• Have healthier gums and teeth.
• Have more energy to play
• Have a preference for healthier food!
• Have better brain function.
• Have better sleep.
• Plus, live longer!