If mealtimes are messy —make them muckin
Struggling to get your children to eat? Then put them to work in the kitchen
WHAT JEWISH mother is not concerned with what her offspring eats? Coming from a culture so concerned with its stomachs, most of us know how important it is to pass on to our children the enjoyment of preparing and consuming good food.
Countless articles tell us that the best way to achieve this is by setting a lifelong example to our kids about the value of communal eating.
But what a headache this can be. We just about cope with putting a meal on the table that meets the diverse needs of the family; anticipating the uncertain whereabouts and numbers of teenagers that will turn up, the fussy fads of 10-year- olds, or the constraints of picky toddlers.
You know the scene. One loves pasta but hates potatoes unless they are chips. Another only eats pasta with the sauce on the side and certainly never with tomatoes that look like tomatoes. And he is adventurous and excited by spicy flavours but so bored of yet more chicken escalope and spaghetti bolognese.
But as the mother of two teenagers and a cooking coach of some years, I have found there is a solution. The minute you involve them in the creation of a meal, allowing them to make some decisions, and get involved in putting something they love on the table, you will see a miraculous transformation.
Suddenly, you will discover your kids will want to try new combinations, especially if they are allowed to get out of the washing up if they have been involved in the meal preparation.
And what better time to try this out than during the summer holidays when things are a little less hectic?
This is how it has worked for me. First, get each child to make a list of all of their favourite foods, the more random the better. Anything from soy sauce, noodles, cucumber, sweet corn, cheese, salmon, pesto, garlic bread, chicken drumsticks, etc.
Also ask them to list the types of
food they love — Asian, Asian pizzas, pi as curries. curries The list can be as random as they like and starts the process off in a positive and fun way.
Next, using their lists, find 30 minutes on your own to find a bit of online/cookbook inspiration. For each child, find a few meals that match a handful of their choices. For example, if they have listed chicken, broccoli, and red peppers, a little Mexican fajita feast comes to mind. If Asian food is their fa favourite, with a pench chant for lunch at Wagam amama, go online and fin find a simple chicken no noodle dish that they wil will love to recreate at hom home.
N Now present them with a few choices of mea meal ideas. They can add thei their own and you can discu discuss which they would like to make. There has to be so some flexibility here, andyo and you can easily leave out certain ingredients that a recipe might suggest.
If ol old enough, you could even se send them to buy the ingredi ingredients on their own, and carv carve out an hour to prep pare the h meal together.
After they have cooked their fi first meal, it is well worth having t them repeat it during the followi ing week so they can practice, feel more confident and start owning that dish.
And the best bit is that they now have a dish that they enjoy maki ing, — and that means one less for you to prepare.
Here are two recipes to get you started. Fajitas are great fun to put together at the table and if your child is a fan of noodle bars, the chicken chow mein should inspire. For information on Justine Kanter’s cookery teaching, visit www. kitchencoach.biz