"MUM, I'm hungry!"

The school summer holidays are now in full swing for us mums.  I do love the holidays because firstly, the kids get the freedom to play (and weather permitting) remain in the great outdoors and secondly, also for my own selfish reasons, I get to cut back on my running around to various activities as well as the daily drop offs and pick ups.

There is also something I definitely notice hearing far more often in the holidays too (usually balled at 90 decibels).  

"MUM, I'm hungry!"

...followed by the fridge door being opened them slammed shut (because the food has not leapt out onto their hand ready to be eaten).

So what can we do about this?  

Mums, I suggest the following - let's nourish our kids to the max and reduce these hollers of hunger!

A little experiment for you:

Make a small selection of meats and veg and place on the table.  

Ask your children to choose what they would like to eat.  

Now stand back and watch what they are drawn to.  

My youngest loves his red meat and, if allowed, is also attracted to sugar - this is somewhat typical of a protein type.  My eldest son is not so much drawn to sugar.  Granted he is more aware of the nutritional benefits of food and his palate is a little more advance.  Generally he is drawn to a wide variety of foods, but on certain days he favours some foods over others.  He would be classed as a mixed or balanced type. 

So what am I proposing?

I think firstly we need to ensure we max out on a good breakfast (no surprise there).

I have recently invested in a nutri blender - another gadget to add to my already cluttered utility room - anyhow it seems to be of great use.

If my boys choose to have some organic yogurt and fruit for breakfast I have used the blender to add extra nourishment.  So far I have managed to disguise celery, avocado, some seeds and occasionally a little super green organic protein powder that is packed with plenty vitamins and minerals!  Another very good thing to add would be some fish oil - I recommend Eskimo Brain Shark for kids - incredibly good for their brain power and a good start to the day.

Today I made a snack bar for the kids, using a recipe from "Get the Glow" by Madeleine Shaw - seen below (along with some of my other recently acquired cook books from my mum).

It had a variety of nuts, seeds, dates, coconut oil, cinnamon, ginger and maple syrup, again blended altogether.  

Lunch

Seeing we don't often get heat waves for long periods of time I still aim for soup at lunchtime. If possible I try to make it contain meat too, either chicken or pea and ham.  If soup is not possible chicken legs, pate and oatcakes makes a great alternative!

Dinner

The best advice I could give you here is to try and encourage the children to help.  The holidays is a great time to start this (added bonus is it is an activity and helping you out) and you can really see what they would prefer to eat.

A favourite of mine to make is chicken goujons, the coating is chicken dipped in egg then some ground almond and parmesan and seasoned with salt and pepper. All topped off with a homemade tomato sauce (again a multitude of veg blended through it).  

Chicken and apple meat balls are another easy one as you just blend all of what you want together, then roll into little balls altogether and roast in the oven.  

What about snacks?

A firm favourite of mine is buckwheat crepes (can be a welcomed meal or snack).  The recipe for these can be found on our recipes page.  If I do these for breakfast I will make them sweet with some banana and agave or have them with scrambled egg and bacon.  

So, what I try and achieve at every meal and snack is that there is a healthy fat, some greens and some meat.  I don't overload on dairy and try as best I can to remove gluten. My kids don't get fizzy drinks and are limited on fruit juice, which I water down to reduce the sugar hit! They are greatly encouraged and are very good at drinking water now.  I think by adopting a very strict policy of water they now know when they need to take it.  This alone is worth persevering with over the holidays as often when people think they are hungry all they actually need is better hydration. 

I would love to know how it all goes for you and am happy to help suggest more ways to "sneak the goodness" in.

Happy holidays and hopefully the hunger shouts are not so often!

Sam x