Beans and Weetabix – odd combos today’s kids crave!
TV Nutritionist Lily Soutter has created 15 nutritional kids’ meals for £15 with Aldi as new research commissioned by the supermarket reveals a third of parents are in need of inspiration when it comes to meal planning while one in four feel it costs more to make healthy options.
The Brain Booster and Veggie Variety meal plans cost £15 and feature 15 meals each – 11 more meals than the average parent currently makes with a budget of £15 per child, according to 1,000 UK parents surveyed.
One in four parents said they don’t have the time to plan and as a result, are making the same lunch every day.
What’s more, almost half say they sometimes give up altogether and let their child choose what to eat to make life easier.
This has led to some interesting food concoctions, including one admitting to banana and crisp sandwiches being on the menu and others indulging in fish fingers and custard.
One child insisted on hot dogs in buns with marshmallows and 13 respondents said their child had requested Weetabix with baked beans following the recent social media hype around the unusual combo.
Top ten unusual food combinations requested by children ...
Weetabix and baked beans
Fish fingers in custard Banana and crisp sandwich
Hot dogs in buns with marshmallows
Ketchup and peanut butter sandwich
Cheese and pickle nachos with chocolate sauce and sprinkles
Spaghetti with marmite Yorkshire pudding with eggs
Pasta with smoked salmon and caviar
Tuna and kiwi sandwich Parents up and down the country are so tired of preparing meals that appreciation for school cooks has soared.
Some two-fifths said they had no idea it was so difficult to prepare five back-to-back
healthy lunches and three
in ten plan to ask them the tricks of the trade.
Harley Street and TV Nutritionist, Lily Soutter said: “The colourful and quick meal plans we’ve created using Aldi’s vast offering aim to not only help money go further but also provide great taste, quality and nutrition to keep kids on track.
For example, it is important to nourish the brain with omega 3 for concentration, memory and mood.
The Brain Power Fish Cakes in the Brain Boosting meal plan is the perfect way to help with this.
“We know from the research that one in four parents would like to incorporate more veggies, so we were keen on a dedicated Veggie Variety plan. The ‘Jam Packed Pancakes’ are not only delicious, but they also provide two of our five a day, whilst the ‘Wild Forest Pizza’ is an easy way to pack in the
greens.”
The research also revealed almost half of parents were keen to incorporate more veggies to help the environment, yet a quarter said they felt healthy recipes cost more to make.
Julie Ashfield, managing director of Buying at Aldi UK, said: “The meal plans are designed to provide quick and easy inspiration for timepoor parents, those stuck in an inspiration rut and for those looking to make their money go further while being assured their child is getting the nutrition they need thanks to Lily’s expertise and seal of approval.”
Designed to cost the value of a National Free School Meal Voucher, the £15 meal plans which include shopping lists and nutritional hints and tips are available online at https://www.aldi. co.uk/c/recipes website. You can download the PDF too.