EAT AND BE MERRY

Mike’s cracking Christmas table

Celebrity chef Mike Van de Elzen is passionate about cooking healthy, nutritious food that’s also tasty and packed full of flavour. His latest cookbook is all about involving children in the kitchen and is packed with recipes for younger ones. With Christmas time upon us, many of us will find ourselves with children at the table this year – so what should we be serving up? Should we be setting up a kids’ table or setting a place at the main dinner table? What do we need to keep in mind?

Mike’s got it all covered, plus he fills us in on what he’s up to! “This Christmas, we’ll be in Auckland. I’ve just spent eight weeks going around New Zealand talking to schools and community groups about my new Good From Scratch Kids Cookbook, so I’m very happy to be staying put and spending some time with the family.

I believe Christmas is about family time more than anything, so we all sit together for the main meal, but it is all about what works best for each family. Some like to have everyone together and for others, it works better if all the cousins can play grown-ups and sit together at their own special table.

I know everyone will be sitting together at our place this year and my girls, Hazel (7) and Ivy (5), will be eating the same food as the adults.

If you do have younger ones coming for Christmas and are worried about what to serve, my best idea for those under-fives would be home-made cola ice blocks with fresh fruit and spices. They’re the perfect dessert for a hot summer’s day and there is no fighting about portion sizes!

And for the older kids, I’d recommend serving up sliders. Smaller portions mean you can whip up a bunch at once and try out different flavour combinations. They’re a good size, which is wise to remember for whatever else you’re serving the young ones – go with foods that can be easily made into small bites that are easily manageable for little hands. Oh, and make sure you’ve stocked up on lots of paper towels!

My last tip to keep in mind when you’ve got children over for Christmas really goes without saying, but try to keep the sugar to a minimum to curb those highs and then the inevitable crash. Christmas is a time for indulging, but try to use natural sugars like those found in fruits – at least then they will be getting the additional fibre!”