15 Dec

Posted at 06:44h in Edible Blog

Travelling with kids can be stressful, particularly if you are flying long-haul. Believe me, I know all too well as I have been travelling internationally with my kids for the past 9 years – actually since my son was 2 months old (he is now almost 9!). I have gone through every child development stage on our travels – literally from breast feeding, bottle feeding, solids, finger foods etc, and I have travelled with many different airlines, through many different airports. My children are now aged 8 and 6 years old and have been fortunate enough to experience living abroad for many years in a country that is not the same as their passport country. So for us, travelling with kids could not be avoided. We have now come out the other end where travelling with kids is much less admin when it comes to food - hallelujah - and less prep is needed as my kids are now able to cope with eating what food is given to them along the way. I thought I would provide a few tips on food and eating for children when flying, coming from my own personal experience. I would also love to hear...

05 Dec

Posted at 06:34h in Edible Blog

Christmas is in the air, and there are plenty of festivities happening, whether it be with family, friends, at your child's school or in your workplace. If you need to bring a snack plate to any of your Christmas parties, why not try one of the following fun, easy and healthy ideas. I'm sure they will be a hit! Below are three healthy fruit-based Christmas snack ideas: Fruit Candy Cane   You will need (makes 1): 1 Banana 3 Strawberries   Slice the bananas and strawberries around 1cm thick. Place them in the shape of a candy cane following the pattern of banana, strawberry, banana etc. as shown in the picture.   Kiwi Christmas Tree You will need (makes 1): 1 Kiwi (for the tree branches) 1 Mulberry/Raspberry/Strawberry (for the star) Pomegranates or raisins (to decorate) Shredded coconut (for the snow) Banana (for the base)   Slice the Kiwi into 5 thin slices. Then halve each slice. You should end up with 10 pieces as shown in the picture. Place them as shown on the picture. Add a base (banana slice) and a star (mulberry). Decorate with pomegranates or raisins and sprinkle with coconut.   Santa Hats You will need (makes 1): 1 toothpick 1 strawberry 1 banana Popcorn   Slice the banana around 1-1.5 cm thick. Add to the toothpick. Cut the base off the strawberry...

22 Nov

Posted at 05:32h in Edible Blog

Are you ever stuck for lunchbox ideas? I'm a big fan of giving my children sandwiches for lunch in their lunchbox. I personally think it's the easier option - both for grocery shopping and for lunchbox prep - particularly when you are trying to put a lunchbox together 5 minutes before walking out the door! But I know that kids can sometimes find this a boring option, and for parents, the sandwich filling options can often be limited as to what will stay fresh (and not soggy) in the sandwich until lunch time. If your child is a picky eater, providing the same lunch every day is reassuring to them, however, by changing it up occasionally it means that they get to try new foods in an environment that isn't the home, and it is a chance to provide options that give your child a wide variety of nutrients. I always try to include foods from each of the food groups and provide a variety of coloured fruit and vegetables to ensure your children receive a wide variety of nutrients. A great way to provide variety in your child's lunchbox is to give them leftovers from dinner. By doing this you will save time in...

13 Nov

Posted at 18:47h in Edible Blog

Sausage rolls are popular in Australia and most of us have grown up eating them, and even purchasing them from the school canteen. These homemade sausage rolls are a healthier take on the original and can be loaded with vegetables - these ones include grated carrot and zucchini. It is also a great recipe to get the kids involved with, doing tasks such as grating, mixing and sprinkling the sesame seeds. Sausage rolls are versatile, and can be eaten for lunch, dinner, as an afternoon snack, and best of all - can be included in your child's lunchbox! Ingredients 500g mince beef Puff pastry 1 zucchini 2 carrots 2 tablespoons tomato sauce   Step 1. Grate the carrots and zucchini and mix with the mince beef in a bowl. Add the tomato sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Note: Remove the excess moisture from the carrots and zucchini after grating them. Step 2. Layer the mince beef mixture onto the puff pastry as shown below. Step 3. Roll the pastry into long rolls as shown below. Then chop into small pieces (around 5cm in length). Lightly brush the sausage rolls with egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds.   Step 4. Place the sausage rolls in the oven and bake at 180 degrees celsius for around 30 minutes.   Step 5.  Serve...

24 Oct

Posted at 06:18h in Edible Blog

If you've been following my page for a while, you will know that I love baking, I love pastry and well, I love making quiches! Actually, a quiche was the very first thing I learnt to cook so my love with them began many many years ago. Without a doubt we eat quiche once a week in our house, and I make a variety of fillings so it isn't predictable and boring. I think they are versatile and a great way of including a variety of vegetables into our diet. These mini quiches are a slight tweak to the standard quiche, but they are great for your child's little hands to handle, are perfect to pack in your child's lunchbox and to serve at birthday parties. The recipe below is one of many to use, and the benefit is you can make a variety of different flavours to suit the different members in the family at the same time. In six simple steps, here is how you can make them.   Ingredients Puff pastry Ham Cherry tomatoes 2 eggs 1/4 cup of grated cheese 1/2 cup of milk   ** You will need a mini muffin tray or mini quiche tray Step 1. Lay out the puff pastry on a bread board. Using a...

20 Sep

Posted at 20:10h in Edible Blog

In a previous post we have shown how to make a watermelon bookmark, and now for all the little book worms out there, this is how you can make a carrot bookmark. This is a great art and craft activity for the classroom or at home. Below are the step-by-step instructions on how to make these cute bookmarks. What you need: Scissors Orange paint - we didn't have orange so we mixed red and yellow together instead Paintbrush Hole punch Green ribbon - we used curling ribbon White cardboard Pencil   Instructions: Step 1: Draw a carrot shape onto the cardboard for your child. In addition, draw a circle where they need to punch the hole for the ribbon.  I also drew some dashed lines around the outside of the carrot to show where they need to cut. Step 2: Painting time! Let your child go to work painting their carrot. If they want to be creative and add a face then let them go for it! Step 3: Once the paint is dry, let your child cut out the carrot. Step 4: Punch a hole at the top of the carrot with the hole punch. Step 5: Cut the green curling ribbon into equal lengths. Step 6:  Get each piece of green curling ribbon. Fold it in half and put the folded end through...

29 Aug

Posted at 06:06h in Edible Blog

Who doesn't love a good croissant? We are a croissant loving family and these savoury mini croissants tick a lot of boxes: 1. they are very easy to make; 2. are enjoyed by everyone in the family; 3. are great lunchbox additions; 4. and are versatile depending on what ingredients you have in your fridge/cupboard.   Ingredients: Puff pastry Tomato paste Ham Baby spinach leaves Grated cheese   Step 1.  Cut triangles into the puff pastry (as shown below). Step 2. Spread the puff pastry with tomato paste (as shown below). Step 3. Place the baby spinach leaves onto the tomato paste (as shown below). Step 4. Sprinkle the ham and grated cheese onto the tomato paste (as shown below). Step 5. Tuck in the corners of each triangle, as shown below, and then roll the pastry starting from the widest end. Step 6. Place each mini croissant on a tray lined with baking paper. Brush each one lightly with egg white or milk. Place in the oven and bake at 180 degrees for 25 mins or until golden. Step 7. The savoury mini croissants can be eaten warm or cold, and are a great lunchbox addition. You can also experiment with different fillings depending on what you have available.   Bon appétit!  ...

24 Aug

Posted at 23:16h in Edible Blog

When I was a child, the age old saying was to 'eat your greens', which is how kids were told to eat their vegetables. Fast forward many years, and our children's generation are now being told to 'eat the rainbow', ensuring that a wide variety of fruit and vegetables are eaten and nutrients received. This advice is great in theory, but in reality how can we help encourage kids to 'eat the rainbow'? Yes we can serve them a variety of coloured fruit and vegetables every day and hope that they eat them. Or another way of approaching it is to let them take some accountability for their own food intake. You can do this by making it fun and getting them to create a fruit and veg rainbow. You Will Need: 1 piece of plain white paper Coloured pencils or textas How: Using the paper and coloured pencils/textas, the aim is for your child to keep track of how many colours they are eating during the day. This applies only to fruit and vegetables. Every time they eat a coloured fruit or vegetable, they can add that colour to their rainbow. At the end of the day your child should have a colourful rainbow. Count how many colours...

24 Aug

Posted at 04:28h in Edible Blog

Are you a teacher looking for a fun food-based activity for your class? Or are you a parent looking for a craft activity that is not only entertaining and educational, but produces an end product that is actually useful? Then look no further. This week my children and I made these cute watermelon bookmarks. We are actually using them for our own books, or they would also make a really useful and thoughtful gift. Below are the step-by-step instructions. What you need: 1 paper plate per child (Note: 1 plate produces 2 bookmarks) Paint – red, green and black Paintbrushes Scissors Stapler Instructions: 1. Paint the plate as shown in the pictures below, starting with the base colours, then painting the black seeds when dry. 2. Cut the plate in half, and then cut in half again, so you end up with 4 quarters. 3. Get two quarters and face them back-to-back, with the coloured sides facing outwards. 4. Staple along the two straight edges. Leave the round edge open. 5. Get the other two quarters and repeat steps 3 and 4. 6. The two bookmarks can now be placed over the corner of a book. For smaller books I would suggest using smaller plates. Have fun! ...