From classroom to kitchen
Ex-teachers Nikki and Hemi Coates have ditched the classroom and bet their future on the country’s littlest tummies.
The New Plymouth couple have launched Eat A Rainbow – a meal delivery service catering for children aged five years and under.
‘‘The idea is that kids aren’t eating them every day, but on those busy days when mum and dad have both been at work all day and get home, this is a real easy option for a healthy meal,’’ Hemi said.
With Nikki’s background as a dietitian and food teacher, and Hemi a PE teacher with a business management degree up his sleeve, the idea popped into their heads more than a year ago while they were living in Whakatane.
There are already a number of food and meal delivery services, but most cater to adults rather than the fussy appetites of toddlers.
Nikki said while working as a dietitian she would often hear horror stories of what parents were feeding their kids. But she also knew just how much work went into producing good meals as she spent the weekends with Hemi cooking and freezing meals so they were prepared for the week ahead. ‘‘I thought ‘oh my gosh what do other people do? There’s got to be an easier way. We’ve got to produce something that’s better than fish fingers and McDonalds.’’
After ticking all the boxes they needed to get Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) approval, they finally launched this week, posting 140 meals around the country.
‘‘They’re classic dinner meals like cottage pie, fish pie, beef and veg lasagne, macaroni cheese,’’ Nikki said.
‘‘Just stuff toddlers will eat and we’ve snuck in lots of veggies as well as finger food veggies on the side. We want kids to be familiar with what vegetables look like and normalise having them on your plate for every meal.’’
The meals cost $5.90 for a small meal and $6.90 for a large one. Parents can go online to purchase and the meals, which are made fresh, are delivered overnight.